Hallgrimsson guarantees success
Icelandic journalist Thorkell Gunnar Sigurbjornsson has backed new Reggae Boyz Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson to take the country back to the Fifa World cup and believes the former Iceland national team coach was seduced by the challenge of coaching the troubled Jamaican programme to success.
Hallgrimsson, famous for qualifying Iceland for the 2018
Fifa World Cup and a run to the quarter-finals of the 2016 UEFA European Championships, was officially introduced by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) on Friday as the country’s new head coach.
The 55-year-old Icelander signed a four-year deal with the JFF and has made it clear that his ambition is to take Jamaica back to the Fifa World Cup and help to develop the country’s technical capacity through coaching education and other intervention.
Sigurbjornsson, a sports reporter, commentator, and TV host with the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, credited Hallgrimsson for his ability to communicate with and get the best out of his players and believes that once he gets the necessary support the team will begin to show marked improvements in the coming months before going on to win its first match at the 2026 World Cup.
“I am actually not surprised at all [that Hallgrimsson has decided to coach Jamaica]. He likes adventures and challenges, but he is good at building a team. He is very invested in everything that he does in football and I am pretty sure that if everybody in Jamaica is ready for what he is planning, your team can be better in one year, good after two years, and in four years playing in the Fifa World Cup again and winning at least one match in the World Cup,” Sigurbjornsson told the Jamaica Observer.
He highlighted the coach’s relationship with his players, his tactical strengths, and his ability to communicate his ideas as key components to his success.
“Heimir Hallgrimsson is very popular here in Iceland after his time with the Icelandic national team. He, of course, is the only national coach to take Iceland to the World Cup. He was also co-coach with Lars Lagerback when Iceland went to their only European Championships, but after the Euros in France, when Lagerback stepped down, Heimir showed everybody what he was capable of doing by reaching the World Cup, even without going to a playoffs,” said Sigurbjornsson.
“He is a very friendly man and when he and Lagerback took over with the Icelandic team in 2011, they started to build a framework for everything. The training culture got much better, the video analysis and also the relationship with the media started very good. In his press meetings, when he announced a new squad, he always had a Powerpoint slideshow with a lot of information about the squad, the teams we were facing next, and videos with their tactics just to show us what to expect.”
Sigurbjornsson highlighted Hallgrimsson’s tactical approach and says he expects the team to become more organised and disciplined under his guidance.
“The players talk about him with great respect, but also that he was always ready to listen to them. So I think in the next month you will see better framework and better culture around your national team in Jamaica. He has good discipline but is also good at resolving problems or at least he tries to,” Sigurbjornsson shared.
“I am not sure what tactic he will play with Jamaica, but in Iceland the focus was on playing good and well-organised defence with fast counter-attacks and also a focus on set pieces. Teamwork is the key.”
Hallgrimsson’s first assignment for Jamaica will be a friendly international against Argentina at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on September 27.