Bjarni Óskar Þorsteinsson (born 31 August 1976) is a retired Icelandic

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender. He won 10 caps for the

Iceland national football team The Iceland national football team (in ) represents Iceland in men's international football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland, and have been a FIFA member since 1947 and an UEFA member since 1957. The team's nickn ...

between 2000 and 2003. Bjarni began his playing career with KR in 1996, and went on to make 76 league appearances for the club. In 1999, he spent one month on loan at German side

KFC Uerdingen 05 KFC Uerdingen 05 is a German football club in the Uerdingen district of the city of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The former Bundesliga side enjoyed its greatest successes in the 1980s but now plays in the fifth-level Oberliga. History The ...

, where he played twice. Bjarni signed for Norwegian

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

club

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a professional football club based in Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club was originally known as International and changed its name to ...

in 2001, but did not make a competitive appearance during his first season. He went on to play 43 league matches for the side, scoring once, before returning to KR for the 2004 campaign. Over the following three seasons Bjarni played 22 Úrvalsdeild matches for KR, before joining

3. deild 3. deild menn is the fourth tier of football in the Faroe Islands. The majority of teams participating in the league are C or D sides of other Faroese clubs. At the end of the season two teams are promoted to 2. deild. There is no relegation from ...

side

Grótta Grótta () is a tied island at the extreme end of Seltjarnarnes in the Capital Region of Iceland. During high tide the tombolo is completely submerged, turning Grótta into an island. The island is accessible by foot during low tide, giving peo ...

in 2007. He spent one season with the fourth-tier club, during which time he scored once in 13 league games, before returning to the Úrvalsdeild with

Þróttur Reykjavík Þróttur may refer to: * Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur, also referred to as Þróttur Reykjavík or Throttur, is a sports club from Reykjavík in Iceland. The club runs a association football, football department ...

. However, he failed to break into the Þróttur side and made only one cup appearance for the club. Bjarni subsequently signed for 3. deild outfit

Einherji Ungmennafélagið Einherji is an Icelandic sports club, based in Vopnafjörður, Iceland. The club is named after the einherjar, figures from Norse Mythology. History The club was founded in Vopnafjörður on December 1, 1929, as Íþróttaf ...

for the 2009 season, and went on to score 5 goals in 22 league matches for the side before retiring the following year. Bjarni made his debut for the Iceland under-19 side at the age of 18, playing at left-back in the 1–2 defeat to

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

on 21 September 1994. He went on to play 10 matches for the U19 team. During the 1997 season, Bjarni was selected to represent the Iceland under-21 side on three occasions, including a 1–0 win against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 5 September. He won his first senior international cap on 31 January 2000, coming on as a substitute for

Indriði Sigurðsson Indriði Sigurðsson (born 12 October 1981) is an Icelandic former football defender. He last played for the Icelandic club KR Reykjavik. Club career He started his career in KR Reykjavik, and went to Norway to play for Lillestrøm SK in 2000 ...

in the goalless draw with

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

at the

La Manga Stadium La Manga Club Football Stadium is a stadium in La Manga Club, south of La Manga, Spain. It was a resort stadium and was used to friendly matches and as a resting and training place for the Spain national football team The Spain national foo ...

in Spain. Bjarni won a total of 10 caps for Iceland, including three appearances in the qualifying tournament for the

2004 UEFA European Championship The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

. He played his final international match on 20 November 2003 in the 0–0 friendly draw with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

References