Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir

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This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Sara Björk.

Sara B. Gunnarsdóttir
2017293155747 2017-10-20 Fussball Frauen Deutschland vs Island - Sven - 1D X MK II - 0110 - B70I0731.jpg
Sara Björk in October 2017
Personal information
Full name Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir
Date of birth (1990-09-29) 29 September 1990 (age 30)
Place of birth Iceland
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Olympique Lyonnais
Number 8
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2008 Haukar 22 (18)
2008–2010 Breiðablik 41 (17)
2011–2016 FC Rosengård 110 (34)
2016–2020 VfL Wolfsburg 63 (12)
2020– Olympique Lyonnais 12 (3)
National team‡
2007 Iceland U-17 4 (0)
2007–2008 Iceland U-19 13 (4)
2007– Iceland 136 (22)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 January 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 December 2020 (UTC)

Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir (born 29 September 1990) is an Icelandic footballer who plays for Olympique Lyonnais of the French Division 1 Féminine. She previously played for Swedish Damallsvenskan club FC Rosengård and VfL Wolfsburg. Sara Björk has been part of Iceland's national team since 2007 and represented her country at the 2009, 2013 and 2017 editions of the UEFA Women's Championship. She is the only woman to have been named the Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year twice, in 2018[1] and 2020.[2] In August 2020, she became the first Icelander to win the UEFA Women's Champions League.[3]

Club career[]

Sara Björk joined local team Haukar at the age of six and remained until she was 18. After three subsequent seasons with Breiðablik, she left Iceland in 2011, to sign a three-year professional contract with Swedish club LdB FC Malmö.[4] She was an immediate success in Sweden, contributing 12 goals as Malmö won the Damallsvenskan title.[5] In August 2013 she announced the extension of her Malmö contract for another two and a half seasons via Twitter.[6]

In May 2016, Sara Björk announced that she would not extend her contract with Malmö (now known as FC Rosengård) and planned to leave Sweden after winning four Damallsvenskan titles in five years. At that stage she did not confirm speculation that she was heading for German club VfL Wolfsburg.[7] Shortly afterwards the transfer to Wolfsburg was made official, ahead of their 2016–17 season.[8] In her four seasons with Wolfsburg, the club won the Frauen-Bundesliga and the German Cup each year.[9]

On 1 July 2020, she joined Olympique Lyonnais.[10] On 9 August, she won her first title with the club when it defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the Coupe de France after penalties.[11] On 30 August, she scored one goal in Olympique Lyonnais' 3–1 win against her former club, Wolfsburg, in the UEFA Women's Champions League final.[12]

In December 2020, Sara was named the Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year, becoming the first woman to win it twice.[2]

International career[]

Sara Björk was included in Iceland's senior national squad in August 2007, aged 16.[13] She had recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury after having to delay surgery because she was too young and her bones were not yet fused.[14]

Still a month short of her 17th birthday, she made her national team debut in a UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying match versus Slovenia in Dravograd. Sara Björk substituted in for Katrín Ómarsdóttir on 87 minutes. Sara Björk's gossiping teammates started a false rumour that she was having an affair with the married national team coach, Siggi Eyjólfsson.[15]

Sara Björk playing an international friendly against Sweden at Myresjöhus Arena in Växjö, 6 April 2013

Sara Björk scored twice in Iceland's 3–1 win over Norway at the 2009 Algarve Cup and was selected in the squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2009 finals in Finland.[16] She played in all three group matches as Iceland were eliminated in the first round.

Eyjólfsson selected Sara Björk in the Iceland squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013,[17] where she played in all four matches including the 4–0 quarter-final defeat to hosts Sweden.

With Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir on maternity leave, incoming national coach Freyr Alexandersson appointed Sara Björk as Iceland's new team captain in 2014.[18]

Sara Björk limped out of the 2018 UEFA Women's Champions League Final with an injury. She was ruled out of Iceland's match with Slovenia in June 2018, which was the first national team fixture she had missed since 2009.[19]

Honours[]

Club[]

Rosengård

VfL Wolfsburg

Olympique Lyonnais

Individual[]

References[]

  1. ^ Valur Páll Eiríksson (29 December 2018). "Sara Björk er íþróttamaður ársins 2018". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Anton Ingi Leifsson (29 December 2020). "Sara Björk íþróttamaður ársins með fullt hús stiga". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  3. ^ Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (31 August 2020). "Forsætisráðherra sendi Söru hamingjuóskir: "Mögnuð íþróttakona og sannkallað afrek"". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  4. ^ Sigurdsson, Albert (27 March 2011). "Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir to LdB Malmö". Wsoccernews.com. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  5. ^ Steinarsson, Vilhjálmur (15 January 2012). "Lífið í atvinnumennskunni: Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir" (in Icelandic). Pressan.is. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Sara Björk framlengir við Malmö". Visir.is (in Icelandic). 365 (media corporation). 13 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  7. ^ Þórðarson, Tómas Þór (2 May 2016). "Sara Björk segir ekkert um Wolfsburg". Visir.is (in Icelandic). 365 (media corporation). Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Der perfekte Schritt für mich" (in German). VfL Wolfsburg. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  9. ^ Haukur Harðarson (17 June 2020). "Sara Björk þýskur meistari fjórða árið í röð". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  10. ^ @OLfeminin (1 July 2020). "L'Olympique Lyonnais informe des arrivées des internationales Sara Gunnarsdottir et Lola Gallardo qui ont signé un contrat de deux ans avec l'OL, soit jusqu'en juin 2022" (Tweet) (in French) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Anton Ingi Leifsson (9 August 2020). "Fyrsti titill Söru í Frakklandi". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Wolfsburg 1-3 Lyon: Women's Champions League final report". UEFA.com. 30 August 2020.
  13. ^ Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (1 September 2020). "Sjáðu viðtal við Söru þegar hún var valin fyrst í íslenska landsliðið". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Tek strætó í skólann". MBL.is (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. 21 August 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  15. ^ Guðbrandsdóttir, Kristjana B. (22 November 2019). ""Þetta sveið svo ógurlega"" (in Icelandic). Fréttablaðið. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir". UEFA.com. UEFA. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  17. ^ Stefánsson, Stefán (24 June 2013). "Familiar squad for Iceland". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  18. ^ "Freyr Alexandersson í viðtali" (in Icelandic). Leiknir.com. 13 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  19. ^ Ýr Eggertsdóttir, Ástrós (30 August 2018). "Sara Björk er hundrað prósent tilbúin: "Skiptir engu máli hvað var, það snýst allt um laugardaginn"" (in Icelandic). Vísir.is. Retrieved 30 December 2018.

External links[]

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