Reykjavík Grapevine - 31.07.2015, Blaðsíða 21

A r r i v i n g
through the rush-hour traffic, we
miraculously found a parking space
right by the entrance. My friend
reached into his pocket as we passed
the ticket gate, passing me a red
Valur scarf: “We’ll have no objective
reporting here,” he said, wearing
a mock-serious expression. Valur,
it turns out, have yet to beat KR at
home since they moved into this sta-
dium eight years ago, and their fans
are quietly hoping that tonight could
be the night.
As we found seats in the packed
Valur side, we noticed the
owners of a house overlooking the
ground come onto their roof to see
the game. Small kids lined the bar-
riers, watching the players warm
up as a small northbound passenger
plane took off in the background. Be-
fore long, the whistle rang out, and
we were underway. After just ten
seconds, a KR player f lew in with
a crunching tackle, the Valur fans
roaring with indignation as the med-
ical team rushed out onto the field.
The tone of the match had been set.
Six minutes later, the first open-
ing came, with three red players
breaking through and
racing towards goal. The black and
white KR defenders piled in like
guided missiles; seeing a stray chal-
lenge somewhere in the meleé, the
referee pointed to the spot, award-
ing a penalty amidst deafening roars
from both sets of fans. Danish strik-
er Pedersen coolly slotted the ball
home, and ran to the joyful, scream-
ing fans to celebrate.
The crowd drummed and chant-
ed, clapping their hands and singing
to keep warm. Valur kept KR on their
back foot for most of the game, de-
spite heavy KR tackles f lying in thick
and fast. After one such challenge,
the referee took out his foam spray to
mark the pitch, stooping down to the
playing surface—but the wind was
so strong it blew away the marking
spray before it could reach the grass.
Valur rif led home two more in the
second half, the final goal coming
after a rowdy confrontation between
the two teams. As the final whistle
rang out, the celebrations were loud:
the jinx had been broken. Valur had
finally scored a win against KR in
their new stadium.
The Coach
Returning to the ground a few weeks
later, I find assistant coach and
club legend Sigurbjörn Örn “Bjossi”
Hreiðarsson still buzzing from the
victory. “KR are our main rivals,”
he smiles. “It’s like Liverpool-Ever-
ton in the English Premier League.
They’re based just a kilometre or two
from here, and we’re two of the old-
est clubs — matches between these
two teams are always big, so it’s
very good to win them. It was good
to finally beat them in this stadium,
and to take three points away from
them.”
Bjossi was born in Reykjavík, and
started playing in Valur’s first team
aged just 16, after a stint in the north.
“I played here for twenty years in
the first team,” he recalls. “It’s the
most games anyone has played in the
history of the club. I played my last
game here in 2011, and then got into
coaching.”
Most of Bjossi’s time is spent on
the pitch working with the players,
or helping analyse future opponents
and improve performance. “In a
typical week, we play on Sundays,”
he explains, “then we come here on
Monday, and the players who were in
the match take it easy and talk about
the game. The other players do a full
practice — I’m normally with them.
Tuesdays we take off, then training
on Wednesday or Thursday. Then we
On a recent grey and dr
izzly summer evening, t
he streets of downtown
were oddly emp-
ty. But other than the u
nseasonal weather, ther
e was perhaps another
factor in the qui-
etness. Just outside of t
he downtown area, by
the domestic airport, o
ver 1000 Iceland-
ers—mostly from 101 or
the neighbouring areas
—were descending on a
small, windswept
sports stadium. The oc
casion was a clash betw
een Reykjavík football
rivals Valur and
KR, two of Reykjavík’s
oldest clubs, who’ve bee
n local competitors for
over 100 years.
Football On
Icelan
dic foo
tball c
omes
of age
Words
by Joh
n Roge
rs Ph
otos b
y Bald
ur Kri
stjáns
& Art
Bicnick
The E
dge O
f
The W
orld
21The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 11 — 2015