Iceland dentist backs his Cod Squad to nibble at the English
ADENTIST by trade and here as the joint-manager of a remarkable Iceland team that meets England tonight, it also turns out Heimir Hallgrimsson is a master of the soundbite.
He delivered some stirring words for his players as well as the smallest nation to ever qualify for a major tournament, describing his side as ‘Iceland’s army’ and declaring a victory against Roy Hodgson’s side a potentially ‘life-changing’ moment for all of them.
No wonder Iceland want him to take sole charge at the end of the tournament, the hope of his employers being that he proves so successful he need never return to the dental practice he continues to own.
Such dual professional roles are not uncommon in Icelandic football. Towards the end of his career Lee Sharpe had a spell playing for Grindavik and he would wait for his teammates to come off their fishing boats before joining them for training. Iceland’s goalkeeper here, Hannes Halldorsson, only turned professional three years ago, having established himself as a successful film director who provided the video for Iceland’s Eurovision Song Contest entry in 2012.
Yesterday the Icelandic party that attended their prematch press conference at the Allianz Riviera Arena in Nice were keen to play down their amateur roots. ‘All these players have come through the professional ranks from youth team age,’ insisted their head of communications.
But these are not typical European Championship opponents and they should not be underestimated either, given the fact that they have not yet been beaten in their brief Euro history and they have been punching above their weight.
Yesterday Hallgrimsson was reminded about the Cod Wars with the UK which seemed to stir his patriotic juices.
‘This was the only time Iceland went to war,’ he said. ‘We are too small to have an army, we lack manpower, so we would be easily beaten in a war. These guys, these players, are the Icelandic army. That’s why everyone is supporting them.’ The absence of any real pressure also makes them dangerous. You can sense the tension in the England camp. With Iceland, however, it is relaxed. The first mention of Brexit yesterday and Hodgson forbid Wayne Rooney from answering the question. A question to the Icelandics about their presidential election and they seemed less offended.
‘Yes I voted,’ said captain Aron Gunnarsson. ‘I’m not going to tell you who I voted for, but it looks good.’
They seem more than happy to be contesting a last-16 game. ‘We’ve said previously that this is a win-win game,’ said Hallgrimsson. ‘The players already won the hearts of all Icelandic people for their performances.
‘With a good performance against England, they’ll always be winners. On the other hand, if we beat England their lives will change forever. Icelandic football will go up in reputation and the way we approach football will be different. It’ll all look different for us.
‘If you want the best out of life, you have to be ready when the chance is there for you. There aren’t bigger chances than this. Whichever way this goes, these players are winners already.’
For England the situation is more uncomfortable. They should be confident they can win this game and so secure a quarter-final encounter with France but the slim possibility of defeat is the stuff of nightmares. It would not just be another premature exit from a major tournament for Hodgson’s England. It would mean unemployment for the manager and the stigma of being responsible for England’s nadir; the worst result in their history.