Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson

Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson
Björn with Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson[1]
Date of birth (1991-02-26) 26 February 1991 (age 33)[2]
Place of birth Akranes, Iceland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
ÍA
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 ÍA 30 (6)
2009–2012 Lillestrøm 70 (17)
2012–2016 Wolverhampton Wanderers 69 (7)
2014Molde (loan) 15 (3)
2015Copenhagen (loan) 14 (1)
2016–2017 Molde 38 (20)
2018–2020 Rostov 38 (8)
2020APOEL (loan) 0 (0)
2020–2021 Lillestrøm 7 (1)
2021–2022 Molde 1 (0)
2023 ÍA 0 (0)
International career
2006–2007 Iceland U-17 5 (0)
2007–2008 Iceland U-19 7 (2)
2010–2012 Iceland U-21 7 (4)
2011–2018 Iceland 17 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 May 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 September 2018

Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson (born 26 February 1991) is an Icelandic former footballer who played as a forward.[3]

He began his career with ÍA in his native Iceland before a three-year spell at Norwegian side Lillestrøm, during which time he made his international debut. In July 2012, he moved to English side Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported £2.4m fee.[4] His contract with Wolves expired in June 2016 without renewal.[5]

Club career

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ÍA

[edit]

Björn made his debut for his hometown club ÍA in the 2007 Úrvalsdeild. He was mostly employed as a substitute in his first season, but became a regular first team player during the next season. However, ÍA suffered relegation to the second level.

He did not remain at ÍA after their relegation, though, and instead signed a three-year contract with Norwegian club Lillestrøm in January 2009.[6]

Lillestrøm

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After making his club debut on 22 March 2009 against Viking,[7] Björn's first season in the Tippeliga was troubled by numerous lower back injuries. He did manage to make 12 appearances, scoring once (against Bodø/Glimt on 20 September).[8]

In the 2010 season, he became regular player for the club, a position he has held ever since. In Autumn 2011, his contract was extended further to run until 2014, though this news was not made public.[9]

In the 2012 season, Björn scored seven times in the first eleven league games, as well as four goals in two cup ties.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

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On 18 June 2012, Björn's club officially announced that they had accepted an undisclosed bid for him from English side Wolverhampton Wanderers, believed to be in the region of £2.4 million.[10][11] After passing to a medical and agreeing to personal terms for a four-year contract, the deal was finalised on 17 July 2012.[12]

The Icelandic striker made his Wolves debut as a substitute in an opening day defeat at Leeds United.[13] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win at Peterborough in late September,[14] the first of five goals during a campaign that ended in relegation to League One.

In the 2013–14 season, under his third different manager during his time at Wolves, Björn failed to hold down a regular place in Wolves' team and, on 31 January 2014, he was loaned to Norwegian side Molde for the remainder of 2014 in order to complete the Norwegian league season.[15] During this loan spell he won the league and cup double with Molde.

On 1 January 2016, he came on as a 67th-minute substitute for James Henry in a 1–0 Championship win at Brighton & Hove Albion, his first Wolves appearance for over two years.[16] Björn went on to often be used during the second half of the season, frequently as a lone forward, but failed to score during these 15 appearances, meaning his final goal for Wolves had come almost three years prior in August 2013.

At the conclusion of the season, Wolves announced they would not be renewing his contract.[5] He had made 75 appearances in total for the club, scoring seven times.

Molde

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On 12 July 2016, Björn joined Norwegian club Molde on a free transfer.[17] This came after his short loan spell with the club in 2014. He made his debut for Molde on 28 March 2014 in a 2–0 home win against Vålerenga. In this match, he also scored his first goal for Molde. It came in the 29th minute, and was the first of the game. He was subbed off in the 82nd minute of that match, being replaced by Tommy Høiland.[18]

Rostov

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On 5 January 2018, Björn signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the Russian club Rostov.[19]

On 22 January 2020, he was loaned to Cypriot club APOEL.[20]

Return to Lillestrøm

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On 14 August 2020, he returned to Lillestrøm and signed a contract until the end of 2020.[21]

Return to Molde

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On 1 February 2021, Molde announced the return of Sigurðarson on a two-year contract.[22]

International career

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Björn has represented Iceland at numerous youth levels, most recently playing for their Under-21 team in the qualifying competition for the 2013 European Under-21 Championship. He played two matches in the 2011 European Under-21 Championship Finals in Denmark.

He has seven caps for the full Icelandic national team, having made his debut as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Cyprus during Euro 2012 qualification on 6 September 2011.[23] He scored his first goal for the Iceland senior team in a 2–1 World Cup Qualifying win against Kosovo. The goal came in the 25th minute.[24]

He played at China Cup 2017, where Iceland won silver medals[25][26]

In May 2018, he was named in Iceland's 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[27]

Personal life

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Björn has three half-brothers, Bjarni Guðjónsson, Þórður Guðjónsson and Joey Guðjónsson, who have all been professional footballers as well as playing for the Icelandic national team. Joey also played for Wolves.

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of match played 31 June 2022[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
ÍA 2007[29] Úrvalsdeild 11 2 1 1 7 2 19 5
2008[29] 19 4 1 0 3 1 2 1 25 6
Total 30 6 2 1 10 3 2 1 44 11
Lillestrøm 2009[30] Tippeligaen 12 1 0 0 12 1
2010[30] 25 4 1 0 26 4
2011[30] 20 5 3 3 23 8
2012[30] 13 7 4 5 17 12
Total 70 17 8 8 78 25
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2012–13[31] Championship 37 5 0 0 2 0 39 5
2013–14[32] League One 18 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 21 2
2014–15[33] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015–16[34] 14 0 1 0 0 0 15 0
Total 69 7 2 0 2 0 2 0 75 7
Molde (loan) 2014[30] Tippeligaen 15 3 2 0 0 0 17 3
Copenhagen (loan) 2014–15[28] Danish Superliga 14 1 3 1 0 0 17 2
Molde 2016[30] Tippeligaen 11 4 0 0 0 0 11 4
2017[30] Eliteserien 27 16 3 1 - 30 17
Total 38 20 3 1 0 0 41 21
Rostov 2017–18[28] Russian Premier League 6 1 6 1
2018–19 26 5 26 5
2019–20 6 2 1 0 7 2
Total 38 8 1 0 0 0 39 8
Lillestrøm 2020 OBOS-ligaen 7 1 7 1
Molde 2021 Eliteserien 1 0 1 0 7 1 8 1
Molde 2022 Eliteserien 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 282 63 22 11 12 3 9 2 2 0 327 79

International

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As of match played 9 September 2018[35]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Iceland 2011 1 0
2012 0 0
2013 0 0
2014 0 0
2015 0 0
2016 2 0
2017 6 1
2018 8 0
Total 17 1
As of match played 24 March 2018
Scores and results list Iceland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Björn goal.
List of international goals scored by Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 24 March 2017 Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania 6  Kosovo 1–0 2–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

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Molde

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/02/2014 and 28/02/2014" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 6. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  2. ^ a b "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia: List of players: Iceland" (PDF). FIFA. 10 June 2018. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  3. ^ Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson at Soccerway
  4. ^ "Wolves' bid for Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdsson accepted". Express & Star. 18 June 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Contract decisions revealed". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson til Lilleström staðfest" (in Icelandic). Fotbolti.net. 20 October 2008.
  7. ^ "Lillestrøm 1–1 Viking" (in Norwegian). Altomfotball. 22 March 2009.
  8. ^ "Lillestrøm 2–2 Bodø/Glimt" (in Norwegian). Altomfotball. 20 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Signerte i all hemmelighet" (in Norwegian). Romerikes Blad. 24 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Wolves' bid for Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdsson accepted". Express & Star. 18 June 2012.
  11. ^ "Deal agreed for Sigurdarson". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 19 June 2012. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Wolves confirm Sigurdarson deal". Sky Sports. 17 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Leeds 1–0 Wolves". BBC Sport. 18 August 2012.
  14. ^ "Peterborough 0–2 Wolves". BBC Sport. 22 September 2012.
  15. ^ "Molde sign Bjorn Sigurdarson from Wolves". BBC Sport. 31 January 2014.
  16. ^ "Brighton 0-1 Wolves". BBC Sport. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Bekreftet: Sigurdarson har skrevet under kontrakt for Molde". dagbladet.no. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  18. ^ "Molde vs. Valerenga - 28 March 2014 - Soccerway".
  19. ^ Бьорн Сигурдарсон – игрок «Ростова»! (in Russian). FC Rostov. 5 January 2018. Archived from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Συμφωνία δανεισμού με FC Rostov για Björn Sigurdarson" (Press release) (in Greek). APOEL. 22 January 2020.
  21. ^ "SIGURDARSON TILBAKE I LSK: - DET ER HER JEG VIL VÆRE" (in Norwegian). Lillestrøm. 14 August 2020.
  22. ^ "BJÖRN BERGMANN SIGURÐARSON ER KLAR FOR MOLDE FK". moldefk.no/ (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Iceland beat Cyprus to break Group H duck". UEFA. 6 September 2011.
  24. ^ "Kosovo vs. Iceland - 24 March 2017 - Soccerway".
  25. ^ "Iceland vs. Chile - 15 January 2017 - Soccerway".
  26. ^ "China PR vs. Iceland - 10 January 2017 - Soccerway".
  27. ^ Smith, Jamie (11 May 2018). "Injured Gylfi Sigurdsson in Iceland's World Cup squad". Goal. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  28. ^ a b c "B.Sigurðarson". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson". ksi.is. ksi. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  30. ^ a b c d e f g "Björn Bergmann Sigurdarson". nifs.no. nifs. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  31. ^ "Games played by Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  32. ^ "Games played by Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  33. ^ "Games played by Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  34. ^ "Games played by Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  35. ^ "Björn Sigurðarson". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
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