Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.06.2018, Blaðsíða 25

25The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2018
“Finding the drive to
give 100% every time
comes naturally to me.
It’s the only way I know
how to play. And when
I represent my country,
that motivation reaches
new heights.”
“I can only
imagine what it
feels like for the
younger kids to
watch us playing
for their country
in Russia.”
celebrations were televised around
the world—for Iceland supporters,
even thinking about it is enough to get
goosebumps.
For Aron, it was a defining moment.
“It was incredible,” he remembers.
“The way we worked as a team in that
game and the way our strategy worked
perfectly. Every single one of us was
up for that game. The English Premier
League is a big thing in Iceland, and we
loved the challenge of testing ourselves
against these players. Beating them
and giving a performance like we did
was a dream, and I will never forget
it. The moments after the game were
just pure happiness. I think we reached
the maximum happiness any person
can reach, and to be able to share that
moment with our terrific fans and to
know that pretty much every single
Icelander was celebrating back home
made it all the more incredible. That
was one of the best days of my life.”
Fighting fit
At club level Aron plays for Cardiff City
where, despite a few periods of injury,
he has become a firm fan favourite. He
was voted player of the season for the
2016/17 season, and his rugged perfor-
mances helped fire Cardiff back into
the Premier League in 2018.
His contract with Cardiff expires
this summer, but with a new deal on
the table, Aron is yet to sign. “I got
injured at a very bad time, and I have
been solely focussing on getting fit for
the World Cup,” he says. “I’ve hardly
given it thought what happens after
that to tell you the truth, but that said,
I‘d be happy to be a Cardiff City player
when the new season starts. A lot will
happen in the next weeks, and I’m at
ease regarding this matter. I’ll start
thinking about it once the World Cup
adventure is done.”
That late-season injury initially
put Aron’s World Cup participation in
doubt. After an operation on his knee,
he went to a state-of-the-art recu-
peration facility in Qatar to get back
on track, and now looks set to play in
the all-important first match against
Argentina.
“I'm feeling good,” says Aron. “I'm
training well and I'm doing all the
things the other players are doing
during the training sessions. I'm of
course not rushing into anything but
I feel good and I'm confident that I´ll
be ready against Argentina. The trip
to Qatar was great—not only for me
to get the best possible treatment, but
also for my wife and son to spend qual-
ity time together in the sun, and charge
the batteries before the battles ahead.
I am very grateful for what I have, and
without them I'm not sure I would have
made it through this process.”
Viking spirit
This kind of determination has been
widely described as “Viking Spirit.” The
term has proven divisive, as despite
often being cast as adventurous heroes
in popular culture, the Vikings were an
aggressive and unrepentantly violent
invasive force who, for a while, terro-
rised much of the northern hemi-
sphere.
But the comparison does still carry
some significance. For Heimir, it’s
about determination in adversity. “The
only way we will win games is to be
harder working and more disciplined
than our opponents, and have more
fighting spirit than the others,” he says.
“If you can correlate that to Vikings,
that’s even better: everybody knows
what they stood for. They went in few
numbers to invade countries, and did
it. They were barbaric, of course—but
we like to think we can do the same, in
a fair play manner.”
Aron, too, sees some value in the
comparison. “There has been a bit of
controversy about what Viking spirit
actually is because, to be fair, the actual
Vikings weren’t really honest and
trustworthy men, were they?” he says.
“They were a bunch of thugs who did
things none of us should be proud of.”
“What we call Viking spirit is the
spirit of Nordic people giving their
all to survive in hard conditions,” he
continues. “If the true Viking spirit is
to explore new territories, settle down,
raise children and build a life, then
there is definitely an inspiration there.
We’re a team of motivated footballers
who are passionate about what we are
doing, and we don’t take anything for
granted. We know we have to work
hard and give it everything we’ve got—
and we’re absolutely up for doing that.
That’s the Viking spirit we’d like to be
recognised for.”
New heights
After their recent run, the Iceland team
are amongst the most talked-about
presences at the World Cup. But despite
any hype, the team remain focused and
grounded. Whether they progress from
their group or not, being at the tourna-
ment is a victory in itself—and when
Aron and his teammates take their
Viking spirit onto the field, there’s a
feeling that anything is possible.
“There are many things that moti-
vate me,” he finishes. “The love for club,
country and everyone and anyone who
has ever been there for me is at the top
of my mind whenever I enter the pitch.
I also just love the sport, the competi-
tion and everything connected with
that. Finding the drive to give 100%
every time comes naturally to me. It’s
the only way I know how to play. And
when I represent my country, that
motivation reaches new heights.”
Gylfi Sigurðsson:
Teamwork, Viking
Spirit, And Iceland’s
First World Cup
Words: John Rogers
Photos: Art Bicnick
Before Iceland boarded the long-
ship to Russia, we went deep into the
lava fields outside of Reykjavík to the
horde’s secret battle camp. They were
practising manoeuvres and shield
walls, running through spiky lava, and
wrestling mad horses in preparation
for the World Cup. Some players took a
few moments now and then to come to
the sidelines, chug a bottle of Einstök,
and chat. Here’s what star attacker Gylfi
Sigurðsson had to say about Iceland’s
chances at the FIFA World Cup 2018.
What’s Iceland’s game plan for the
coming matches?
“We have to work hard for each other to
make sure we get results. We know a lot
of the other teams are better than us
technically, so we have to make up for it
by working hard and working together.
Playing for my country is something
I’m very proud of, and working hard
for the team is something we all have
to do.”
What will Iceland bring to the table?
“Other teams will find it very hard to
deal with us and the way we play, and
it’ll be hard to break us down. We’re
very organised, we’re very aware of
what we’re doing, we have good play-
ers who can score goals. I wouldn’t say
we’re direct, but we know what we’re
doing, and we don’t waste any time
doing it.”
How do you feel about the Viking
moniker that’s been making the
rounds?
“It’s not something we’re looking for,
but obviously it is nice. A long time
ago, most of us probably were Vikings.
It sums up how we play pretty well.”
And how about Aron?
“He’s a proper Viking. I’m the complete
opposite. Look at me!”
What does being at the World
Cup mean for Iceland, and for you
personally?
“It’s fantastic, as soon as I got to Iceland
and I could see how excited everyone
is. For the younger kids, having their
own country playing in the World Cup
is special. It’s something I never expe-
rienced when I was young, but now
I’ll be playing in a World Cup—I can
only imagine what it feels like for the
younger kids to watch us playing for
their country in Russia.”
What do you think Iceland has that
other teams perhaps lack?
“We’ve played together for so long, we
know each other really well. Maybe not
having as big a pool of players worked
to our advantage, because we played
together for so long. A lot of these guys
are best friends, and that’s a big advan-
tage to us.”