Misplaced Pages

Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir

Sara Björk in October 2017
Personal information
Full name	Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir
Date of birth	(1990-09-29) 29 September 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth	Iceland
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Al Qadsiah
Number	7
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2008	Haukar	0	(0)
2008–2010	Breiðablik	41	(17)
2011–2016	FC Rosengård	111	(34)
2016–2020	VfL Wolfsburg	68	(12)
2020–2022	Olympique Lyonnais	17	(3)
2022–	Juventus	34
2024	Al Qadsiah
International career
2007	Iceland U17	4	(0)
2007–2008	Iceland U19	13	(4)
2007–2022	Iceland	145	(24)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:21, 19 March 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:12, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir (born 29 September 1990) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi Women's Premier League club Al Qadsiah.

Sara Björk was part of the Iceland women's national football team from 2007 to 2022 and represented her country at the 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2022 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 and 2020. In August 2020, she became the first Icelander to win the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Club career

Sara Björk joined local team Haukar at the age of six and remained until she was 18.

FC Malmö

After three subsequent seasons with Breiðablik, she left Iceland in 2011, to sign a three-year professional contract with Swedish club LdB FC Malmö. She was an immediate success in Sweden, contributing 12 goals as Malmö won the Damallsvenskan title. In August 2013 she announced the extension of her Malmö contract for another two and a half seasons via Twitter.

VfL Wolfsburg

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. Shortly afterwards the transfer to Wolfsburg was made official, ahead of their 2016–17 season. In her four seasons with Wolfsburg, the club won the Frauen-Bundesliga and the German Cup each year.

Olympique Lyonnais

On 1 July 2020, she joined Olympique Lyonnais. On 9 August, she won her first title with the club when it defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the Coupe de France after penalties. 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.

In December 2020, Sara was named the Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year, becoming the first woman to win it twice. In April 2021, she announced that she was pregnant with her first child. She returned to the pitch in March 2022. In May the same year, she confirmed that she would leave Lyon at the end of the season.

Juventus FC

On 1 July 2022, Sara joined Juventus.

Al Qadsiah FC

On 3 August 2024, Sara signed for Saudi Pro League women's side, Al Qadsiah.

International career

Sara Björk was included in Iceland's senior national squad in August 2007, aged 16. 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.

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 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. She played in all three group matches as Iceland were eliminated in the first round.

Women's national team coach Siggi Eyjólfsson selected Sara Björk in the Iceland squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013, 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.

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.

On 13 January 2023, she announced her retirement from the Icelandic national team.

Personal life

Sara Björk is married to fellow footballer Árni Vilhjálmsson; the couple have a son together.

In January of 2023, Sara Björk wrote an article in the Player's Tribune publicizing Lyon's neglect of maternal care for her while she was pregnant and postpartum, including failure to properly pay her.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 11 March 2023

1. Includes Icelandic Cup, Svenska Cupen Damer, DFB-Pokal Frauen, Coupe de France Féminine
2. Includes Icelandic League Cup
3. UEFA Women's Champions League
4. Svenska Supercupen
5. Svenska Supercupen
6. Svenska Supercupen
7. Svenska Supercupen
8. 2019-20 UEFA Women's Champions League was postponed due to ongoing COVID 19 pandemic before being restarted in August 2020. Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir was transferred to Olympique Lyonnais in July 2020.

International

As of match played 12 October 2022

Scores and results list Iceland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gunnarsdóttir goal.

List of international goals scored by Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	7 March 2008	Municipal Stadium, Lagos, Portugal	Republic of Ireland	3–0	4–1	2008 Algarve Cup
2	28 May 2008	Čika Dača Stadium, Kragujevac, Serbia	Serbia	2–0	4–0	UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying
3	26 June 2008	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Greece	1–0	7–0	UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying
4	4 March 2009	Estádio José Arcanjo, Olhão, Portugal	Norway	1–0	3–1	2009 Algarve Cup
5				2–1
6	17 September 2009	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Estonia	9–0	12–0	2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
7	19 June 2010	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Northern Ireland	1–0	2–0	2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
8	25 August 2010	Rakvere Linnastaadion, Rakvere, Estonia	Estonia	3–0	5–0	2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
9				5–0
10	19 May 2011	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Bulgaria	2–0	6–0	UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying
11	21 June 2012	Lovech Stadium, Lovech, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	2–0	10–0	UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying
12				10–0
13	13 March 2013	Bela Vista Municipal Stadium, Parchal, Portugal	Hungary	1–0	4–1	2013 Algarve Cup
14	1 June 2013	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Scotland	1–2	2–3	Friendly
15	13 September 2014	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Israel	3–0	3–0	2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
16	7 June 2016	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	North Macedonia	4–0	8–0	UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying
17	18 September 2017	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Faroe Islands	4–0	8–0	2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
18	4 March 2019	Bela Vista Municipal Stadium, Parchal, Portugal	Scotland	1–3	1–4	2019 Algarve Cup
19	26 November 2020	NTC Senec, Senec, Slovakia	Slovakia	2–1	3–1	UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying
20				3–1
21	2 September 2022	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Belarus	1–0	6–0	2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
22				2–0

Honours

Rosengård

• Damallsvenskan: 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015
• Svenska Cupen: 2015–16
• Svenska Supercupen: 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016

VfL Wolfsburg

• Bundesliga: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
• DFB-Pokal: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20

Olympique Lyonnais

• Division 1 Féminine: 2021–22
• Coupe de France: 2019–20
• UEFA Women's Champions League: 2019–20, 2021–22

Juventus

• Coppa Italia: 2023

Individual

• Sport Person of the Year in Haukar in 2008
• Icelandic Women's Footballer of the Year: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
• Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year: 2018, 2020

References

1. Valur Páll Eiríksson (29 December 2018). "Sara Björk er íþróttamaður ársins 2018". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2018.
2. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. 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. Víðir Sigurðsson (16 May 2022). "Sara Björk yfirgefur Lyon í sumar". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 May 2022.
14. "WELCOME TO JUVENTUS WOMEN, SARA!". Juventus.com. 24 June 2022.
15. 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.
16. "Tek strætó í skólann". MBL.is (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. 21 August 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
17. "Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir". UEFA.com. UEFA. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
18. Stefánsson, Stefán (24 June 2013). "Familiar squad for Iceland". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
19. "Freyr Alexandersson í viðtali" (in Icelandic). Leiknir.com. 13 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
20. 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.
21. Edda Sif Pálsdóttir (13 January 2023). "Sara Björk hætt með landsliðinu". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 19 March 2023.
22. Etoe, Catherine (26 June 2022). "Euro 2022: Iceland's Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir on being a mother and professional footballer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
23. "What Happened when I Got Pregnant | by Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir". 17 January 2023.
24. "Iceland - S. Gunnarsdóttir - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
25. "Leikmaður - Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir".
26. Source
27. "Leikskýrsla: Írland - Ísland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
28. "Leikskýrsla: Serbía - Ísland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
29. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Grikkland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
30. "Leikskýrsla: Noregur - Ísland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
31. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Eistland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
32. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Norður-Írland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
33. "Leikskýrsla: Eistland - Ísland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
34. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Búlgaría - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
35. "Leikskýrsla: Búlgaría - Ísland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
36. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Ungverjaland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
37. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Skotland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
38. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Ísrael - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
39. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Norður-Makedónía - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
40. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Færeyjar - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
41. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Skotland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
42. "Leikskýrsla: Slóvakía - Ísland - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
43. "Leikskýrsla: Ísland - Belarús - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
44. Smyth, Rob (30 August 2020). "Women's Champions League final: Wolfsburg 1-3 Lyon – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
45. Smyth, Rob; Magee, Will (21 May 2022). "Barcelona 1-3 Lyon: Women's Champions League final 2022 – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 November 2024.

External links

• Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir at the Football Association of Iceland (in Icelandic)
• Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
• Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir at Soccerway

Iceland squads

v t e Iceland squad – UEFA Women's Euro 2009 1 Helgadóttir 2 Guðr. Gunnarsdóttir 3 Ó. Viðarsdóttir 4 Garðarsdóttir 5 Árnadóttir 6 Magnúsdóttir 7 Stefánsdóttir 8 Jónsdóttir (c) 9 M. Viðarsdóttir 10 Lárusdóttir 11 S. Gunnarsdóttir 12 Óðinsdóttir 13 Guðb. Gunnarsdóttir 14 E. Sigurðardóttir 15 Ómarsdóttir 16 Logadóttir 17 Arnardóttir 18 Hönnudóttir 19 Atladóttir 20 Friðriksdóttir 21 Bjarnadóttir 22 S. Sigurðardóttir Coach: Eyjólfsson v t e Iceland squad – UEFA Women's Euro 2013 1 Helgadóttir 2 Atladóttir 3 Ó. Viðarsdóttir 4 Viggósdóttir 5 Gísladóttir 6 Magnúsdóttir 7 S.B. Gunnarsdóttir 8 K. Jónsdóttir (c) 9 M. Viðarsdóttir 10 Lárusdóttir 11 Ómarsdóttir 12 Sigurðardóttir 13 G. Gunnarsdóttir 14 Brynjarsdóttir 15 Kristjánsdóttir 16 Þorsteinsdóttir 17 E. Viðarsdóttir 18 Óðinsdóttir 19 Friðriksdóttir 20 Þ. Jónsdóttir 21 S.A. Gunnarsdóttir 22 Hönnudóttir 23 Jensen Coach: Eyjólfsson v t e Iceland squad – UEFA Women's Euro 2017 1 G. Gunnarsdóttir 2 Atladóttir 3 I. Sigurðardóttir 4 Viggósdóttir 5 Jónsdóttir 6 Magnúsdóttir 7 S. Gunnarsdóttir (c) 8 Garðarsdóttir 9 Ásbjörnsdóttir 10 Brynjarsdóttir 11 Gísladóttir 12 S. Sigurðardóttir 13 Þráinsdóttir 14 M. Sigurðardóttir 15 Jensen 16 Þorsteinsdóttir 17 Albertsdóttir 18 Jessen 19 Kristjánsdóttir 20 Þorvaldsdóttir 21 Ásgrímsdóttir 22 Hönnudóttir 23 Friðriksdóttir Coach: Alexandersson v t e Iceland squad – UEFA Women's Euro 2022 1 S. Sigurðardóttir 2 Atladóttir 3 Viðarsdóttir 4 Viggósdóttir 5 G. Jónsdóttir 6 I. Sigurðardóttir 7 S. Gunnarsdóttir (c) 8 Vilhjálmsdóttir 9 Þorvaldsdóttir 10 Brynjarsdóttir 11 Gísladóttir 12 Ívarsdóttir / Í. Gunnarsdóttir  13 Scheving 14 Magnúsdóttir 15 Jóhannsdóttir 16 Jensen 17 Albertsdóttir 18 Arnardóttir 19 Gunnlaugsdóttir 20 Árnadóttir 21 Guðmundsdóttir 22 Andradóttir 23 S. Jónsdóttir Coach: Halldórsson Í. Gunnarsdóttir replaced Ívarsdóttir after Iceland's first match.

• 1990 births
• Living people
• Icelandic women's footballers
• Iceland women's international footballers
• Breiðablik men's football players
• FC Rosengård players
• Damallsvenskan players
• Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden
• Expatriate women's footballers in Germany
• Icelandic expatriate women's footballers
• Icelandic expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
• Icelandic expatriate sportspeople in Germany
• VfL Wolfsburg (women) players
• Women's association football midfielders
• FIFA Women's Century Club
• Expatriate women's footballers in France
• Juventus FC (women) players
• Serie A (women's football) players
• Expatriate women's footballers in Italy
• Icelandic expatriate sportspeople in Italy
• UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players
• UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players
• Saudi Women's Premier League players
• Al Qadsiah FC (women) players
• UEFA Women's Champions League–winning players