Brynjar Gunnarsson

Brynjar Gunnarsson

Personal information
Full name	Brynjar Björn Gunnarsson
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Defensive Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Reading
Number	6
Youth career
	KR Reykjavík
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995-1997	KR Reykjavík	50	(1)
1998	Vålerenga	4	(0)
1998	→Moss (loan)	5	(2)
1999	Örgryte IS	24	(1)
1999-2003	Stoke City	131	(15)
2003-2004	Nottingham Forest	13	(0)
2003-2004	→Stoke City (loan)	3	(0)
2004-2005	Watford	36	(3)
2005-	Reading	120	(9)
International career‡
1997–	Iceland	70	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:53, 2 April 2010 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:00, Wednesday 24 March 2010 (UTC)

Brynjar Björn Gunnarsson (born 16 October 1975 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic footballer who is currently playing his club football as a defensive midfielder for Reading in the Coca-Cola Championship. So far during his Reading career he has appeared in 137 matches and has scored 10 goals for the Royals in all competitions. He was signed by former manager Steve Coppell back in the summer months of 2005. When Reading got promoted to the top flight in the premier league in 2006, Gunnarsson played a pivotal role in the remarkable march to promotion. He is also one of Reading's longest serving players alongside other iceland international Ivar Ingimarsson.

Club career

Gunnarsson has previously played for Nottingham Forest, Stoke City and Watford in England as well as Vålerenga in Norway, Örgryte IS in Sweden and KR Reykjavík in Iceland.

In 1999, Stoke City paid a club-record fee of £600,000 for Gunnarsson. He spent four years at the Britannia Stadium, making over 150 appearances, before moving onto Nottingham Forest on a free transfer in 2003.

However, he did not impress at the City Ground and was loaned back to Stoke just months later before Watford signed him in the summer of 2004, taking advantage of another Bosman move.

Gunnarsson signed for Watford in the summer of 2004, after being released by Forest. He made 43 appearances in an impressive first season. However, Ray Lewington's replacement as Watford manager, Adrian Boothroyd, to some raised eyebrows from the Watford support, allowed Gumarsson to leave for Reading for a nominal fee in the summer of 2005. Boothroyd gave the justification that Gunnarsson was too similar to his central midfield partner, Gavin Mahon, and of lesser quality.

On 13 November 2006, Gunnarsson signed a contract extension to keep him at Reading until June 2008.

Gunnarsson may not be considered as a first team regular by most, but he has scored plenty of important goals. Notable goals include an impressive strike against Liverpool, an equalising goal against Manchester United in the 2006-07 season's FA Cup and a winning goal in the dying moments against Sheffield United in the 2005-06 Championship season.

On 13 January 2010 Gunnarsson cemented his reputation as a club legend after a breathtaking performance to knock Liverpool F.C. out of the FA Cup. Gunnarsson's dummy and nutmeg past the imposing Liverpool defence and his subsequent perfect cross to set up Shane Long won the tie in extra time.

International career

Gunnarsson made his debut for Iceland in a June 1997 World Cup qualifying match against Macedonia. He has been capped more than 70 times for Iceland, scoring four goals.

External links

• Brynjar Gunnarsson profile at readingfc.co.uk
• Brynjar Gunnarsson at Soccerbase
• Brynjar Gunnarsson – FIFA competition record (archived)
• National football teams profile

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