Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.05.2008, Qupperneq 10

Saturday May 10, the Icelandic soccer season
kicks off with the first round of play in the men’s
premier league for the ninety-sixth year. The
following Monday, May 12, the ladies start their
season. The Grapevine, being both infested with
soccer fans and highly philanthropic, kindly pro-
vides you with predictions for the summer, greatly
researched in the most scientific ways known to
man. You would be wise to place your bets ac-
cording to this prediction. You’ll be guaranteed to
make some easy money in the coming recession.
Men’s premier league:
Originally formed by the working poor shortly af-
ter the Second World War, Þróttur is a relatively
young club. Their home games are played at the
national stadium in Laugardalur. Last year they
played in the first division, as they have done al-
most every year they’ve been in competition. The
few years they have spent in the premier league
haven’t been fruitful and this year will be no ex-
ception.
Much to anyone’s surprise HK escaped relegation
from the premier league last year, finishing ninth
(in 2007 only one team was relegated in order
to increase the number of teams to 12). Hailing
from neighbouring Kópavogur, their budget is low
and they will hardly repeat last year’s fluke per-
formance.
Grindavík is a small fishing village on the Reyk-
janes peninsula. Their home turf has seats for ev-
ery resident of the town – the people of Grindavík
take sports very seriously. A few years back they
were battling for the top seats, mostly on account
of money funnelled into the club from local fisher-
ies. The spending is less this year and they will do
well to avoid relegation.
In Keflavíkl, soccer has always been the second
sport after basketball. They have still managed to
be crowned champions four times, but that was in
the seventies and the eighties. Their home pitch is
their strongest asset, probably because the local
players are used to the high winds that are con-
stantly blowing, while visiting teams mostly look
befuddled.
Fjölnir is youngest team in the division founded
1988. They hail from suburban heaven in Grafar-
vogur and have never played in the premier divi-
sion before. Last year they reached the final of
the league cup where they lost in a close match
to FH. They will surprise a lot of people this year
by not finishing last.
This year FRAM celebrates their 100th year of ex-
istence this summer. They founded the Icelandic
premier division back in way back when. They’ve
won the title 18 times but the last one came in
1990. They are notorious for firing their managers
every time the team concedes a goal. They will
stay around the middle of the division.
Out of the suburb of Árbær comes the continuous-
ly disappointing Fylkir, who were predicted in the
late nineties to become the Icelandic equivalent
of the Manchester United dynasty, but have mostly
remained in the middle of the division. Their sup-
porters will undoubtedly still cling to the hopes of
the nineties.
A superpower in the women’s division, Breiðab-
lik haven’t done as well in the men’s competition.
With almost the same squad as last year they
should reap similar results.
FH subscribed to the Championship from
2002-2006. This year, FH has a strong team, but not
strong enough to win the title. With a fiercely loyal
fan base in their hometown of Hafnarfjörður, their
fourth place finish might be a disappointment to
many.
The oldest team in the league and the most histor-
ically successful one, with 24 titles in all. Despite
an enormous budget and an all-star squad, the
team was almost relegated last year, much to the
surprise of everyone. They will be in contention
for top billing this year, but still won’t win them
any titles.
Last year’s champions Valur will be playing on a
brand new pitch this year, curiously named the
Vodafone Arena. Historically this is a successful
club with strong Christian YMCA ties, but their
win last year was a bit of a surprise. The team has
not changed much between seasons, and that
complacency simply won’t be enough.
ÍA hails from the small town Akranes and has a
long history of soccer. They’ve won the title 18
times, with all championships coming after 1950.
Their coach this year is the mercurial Guðjón
Þórðarson, who has managed several English
clubs. He drives his men hard, harder than most,
and will reap a title this year, with a young and
mostly local squad.
Women’s premier league
These four teams will battle amongst themselves,
avoiding the two relegation places and hoping not
to lose games in double digits to the more skilful
teams. The Þór/KA team comes from Akureyri
and will probably be the least successful of these
four, although it is hard to tell one poor team from
another.
Ambitious newcomers who won’t win the top
teams, but might score a draw now and then.
Their strong home pitch will secure their place in
the division. The same laws of physics apply when
it comes to the Keflavík pitch as in the men’s divi-
sion: the wind will put the visiting team off.
This is the only team in the premier division who
plays on artificial turf. Historically they’ve been
among the top teams, claiming an upset victory
from time to time.
The superpower of Icelandic women’s soccer.
They’ve won the title 15 times, which is amazing
considering the premier league started in 1972.
This year they will battle the other two titans of
the league but ultimately fall short.
This year will be a close race between KR and
Valur to the championship, much as it has been
for the last few years. This year around KR will fin-
ish second
In the last four years, Valur has won three titles.
The national team is mostly made up of their play-
ers, with wunderkid Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir
heading the attack – a player who could hold her
own in any division. They will repeat as champi-
ons this year.
By Páll Hilmarsson
Soccer Mania
This year we should
witness a mixed bag of
goodies from Fylkir. But
their supporters will
undoubtedly still cling to
the hopes of the nineties.
10 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 05 2008 | Article
12. relegated
10.-7.
4.
1.
2.
1.
4.
2.
4.
5.
3.
6.
6.
7.
8.
9.
5.
10.
11. relegated