Birkir Bjarnason
Birkir Bjarnason (born 27 May 1988) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian club Brescia and the Iceland national football team, where he is their all-time leader in appearances. Club career Viking 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 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. Standard Liège On 12 January 2012, it was announced that Birkir would sign for Belgian Pro League side Standard Liège on a five-year deal. He played 16 league matches in the Belgium Pro League for Standard. Pescara 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, for €300,000, with an option to sign for an additional €900,000. 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. Pescara bought Birkir from Standard Liège on 9 June 2013 on a permanent transfer for a previously agreed fee, with the aim of selling him for a higher amount that summer with interest being reported from clubs in the top leagues in England including, Italy and Germany. Sampdoria On 2 September 2013, it was confirmed that Serie A side Sampdoria had signed Birkir on a co-ownership deal. In total he made 14 Serie A appearances during the 2013–14 season for Sampdoria. Return to Pescara On 20 June 2014, it was announced that Birkir would sign again for Pescara on 1 July 2014, after the club won the co-ownership bidding for the player from Sampdoria. Upon signing, he was appointed the captain for the 2014–15 season. He scored 12 goals in 38 Serie B matches to help guide Pescara to a seventh-place finish and qualifying for the Serie B playoffs. Pescara beat Perugia 2–1 to qualify for the playoff semi-final. They beat Vicenza Calcio 3–2 over two legs in the semi-finals, with Birkir scoring the crucial match winning aggregate goal for Pescara on 2 June 2015 to