Birkir Bjarnason
Birkir playing for Iceland in 2014
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Birkir Bjarnason | ||
| Date of birth | 27 May 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Akureyri, Iceland | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Central midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
Aston Villa | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| KA Akureyri | |||
| Austrått | |||
| Figgjo | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2011 | Viking | 102 | (16) |
| 2008 | → Bodø/Glimt (loan) | 22 | (5) |
| 2012–2013 | Standard Liège | 16 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | → Pescara (loan) | 24 | (2) |
| 2013 | Pescara | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Sampdoria | 14 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Pescara | 35 | (10) |
| 2015–2017 | FC Basel | 42 | (14) |
| 2017– | Aston Villa | 8 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004 | Iceland U17 | 7 | (2) |
| 2005–2007 | Iceland U19 | 14 | (3) |
| 2006–2011 | Iceland U21 | 25 | (3) |
| 2010– | Iceland | 57 | (8) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 December 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2016 |
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Birkir Bjarnason (born 27 May 1988) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for English Championship side Aston Villa and the Iceland national football team. In his homeland he is nicknamed Thor.
Birkir started playing football with local clubs in his hometown of Akureyri. His family moved to Norway in 1999 and he joined the youth teams of Figgjo. In the summer of 2005 Birkir joined Viking. In the 2006 season he scored his first goal for Viking against Hamarkameratene. Following that he played consistently as a starter for Viking and was a key aspect in helping the club avoid relegation that year and helping them obtain a third-place finish in 2007 under trainer Uwe Rösler.
In 2008 Birkir had a successful loan spell at newly promoted Tippeligaen side Bodø/Glimt, playing a big part in them finishing fourth in the league. His impressive performances brought the attention of bigger clubs such as Serie A club Reggina during January 2008, but he stayed at Viking until 2012. During this time he made 100 appearances for Viking in the Tippeligaen, scoring 16 league goals.
On 12 January 2012 it was announced that Birkir would sign for Belgian side Standard Liège on a five-year deal. He played 16 league games in the Belgium Pro League for Standard.
After the end of the 2011–12 season, in July 2012, Birkir joined the newly promoted Serie A side Pescara on a season-long loan deal. He scored his first goal for Pescara in a 5–1 away defeat at Napoli. After the 2012–13 season he stated that he was not interested in going down to Serie B with Pescara and, with two years remaining of his Standard Liège contract, he was unsure where he would be playing in the 2013–14 season.
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