Kristján Örn Sigurðsson

Kristján Örn Sigurðsson (often spelled Sigurdsson) (born 7 October 1980 in Akureyri) is an Icelandic football (soccer).

Club career

He started his career at his local club ÍF Völsungur Húsavik, and moved to Stoke City F.C. in England as a teenager. Failing to grab a place on the first team, he returned to Iceland to play for Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur. After the 2004 season he moved to SK Brann in Bergen, Norway where he plays as a defender (football). His first season was okay defensively, but he showed clear weaknesses in his passing game and general offensive play from his right back position. Before the 2006 season, Sigurdsson was moved into the central defence, after both Ragnvald Soma and Paul Scharner were sold after the 2005 season.

Sigurdsson showed that he is a supreme centre back with his great speed - he was tested to be the fastest Brann player on 40 metres relay before the 2006 season. He is also considered to have great strength in the air, even though he is shorter than most players who play in his position. Some commentators have compared Sigurdsson's style of play to that of Argentina centre back Roberto Ayala, although both players differ greatly in quality. Sigurdsson and his partner Ólafur Örn Bjarnason started the season excellently and were nicknamed Ørneredet which means Eagle's nest (both players have Örn as their middlename, and Örn/Ørn is the Norway and Icelandic word for eagle).

International career

Sigurðsson made his debut for Iceland national football team in 2003 and has so far collected 24 caps.

Honours

Norway

- Norwegian Premier League: Norwegian Premier League 2007

Iceland

- Landsbankadeild: 2003

Trivia

- He is the brother of Lárus Sigurðsson, who has played with many English clubs.
- Prior to his footballing career, Sigurðsson worked in a kindergarten.
- In the match against Sandefjord at Brann Stadion he broke his nose after 15 minutes, but still finished the game. He said his nose was only a little broken.