Hannes Sigurðsson

Hannes Þorsteinn Sigurðsson (born April 10, 1983 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic football (soccer) player who, as of March 2008, plays for GIF Sundsvall in the Sweden Allsvenskan. A powerful 189 cm, 90 kg striker, he has played 10 games and scored one goal for the Iceland national football team.

Biography

Sigurðsson started his professional career with Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar in 2001, scoring one goal in eleven matches. He moved to Norway to play for Viking FK in 2002, and although he came on as a substitute to score twice on his debut, he spent the best part of his first three seasons in Norway on the substitutes' bench. While he played in 55 matches during these three years, he only started in six of these. However, Sigurðsson emerged as a supersub, racking up twelve goals to make him the most efficient player in the Norwegian Premier League with one goal every 72 minutes in 2002 and 2003. He emerged as a regular starter in 2005, when he also got his Iceland national football team debut against Italy national football team in March.

In July 2005 he signed for the English club Stoke City F.C on a Bosman transfer, and he joined his new club in October 2005. He scored one goal in twenty-nine matches in his first season. On August 30, 2006 Sigurðsson signed a deal with Danish Superliga runners-up Brøndby IF, after he was deemed surplus to requirements by Stoke manager Tony Pulis. He was a first-team regular throughout the autumn season, though injuries caused him to miss several games. He fell out of favour when manager René Meulensteen was replaced by Tom Køhlert ahead of the spring season, and looked to leave Brøndby. Sigurðsson was asked to find a new club and had to train with the junior team.

Sigurðsson returned to his old side Viking in February 2007, but his registration for the Norwegian club was delayed by the FIFA ruling that a player may only represent two clubs during one year. After a lengthy appeals process, where the case of Javier Mascherano's transfer from West Ham United F.C to Liverpool F.C was frequently cited, Sigurðsson was finally cleared to play for Viking on March 30, 2007 - one day before the closure of the Norwegian transfer window.

In March 2008, Sigurðsson signed for Swedish club GIF Sundsvall, becoming the club's most expensive signing to date.