Bjarni Felixson (born 27 December 1936), commonly known as Bjarni Fel, is an Icelandic former footballer, sports reporter and commentator.[1][2] Nicknamed The Red Lion due to his red hair,[3] he won six caps for the Iceland national football team between 1962 and 1964. He played for Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur for several seasons,[4] winning the national championship five times and the Icelandic Cup seven times.[5]
Bjarni Felixson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | (1936-12-27) 27 December 1936 (age 85) Reykjavík, Kingdom of Iceland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Icelandic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other names | Bjarni Fel, The Red Lion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Sports reporter, commentator | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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From 1956 to 1968, Bjarni played for Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur. Playing as a defender, he was not known as a great offensive threat and only scored two goals during his career. In a 1997 interview with Morgunblaðið, he stated that after scoring what ended being his last goal, the opposing goalkeeper muttered "I knew I should've retired last season".[5]
Bjarni worked as sports reporter and commentator for RÚV for 42 years[6] and was the prime factor in bringing the English football to the Icelandic audience.[2][7] He was at Hillsborough Stadium as a commentator during the Hillsborough disaster.[8][9][10]
Bjarni's brothers, Hörður and Gunnar, both played with him on KR and the Icelandic national team. In 1963, all three brothers played together for Iceland in two games against England.[5]
In 2008, a sports bar in Reykjavík was named Bjarni Fel Sportsbar in his honour.[11]
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