Heimir Hallgrimsson, the former coach of the Iceland national football team, who, along with co-coach Lars Lagerback, masterminded the tiny nation’s stellar run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Championship in 2016 — including a shock 2-1 win over England in the last-16 stage — sure knows a thing or two about unlocking a country’s football potential.
And the struggling Indian football system, which seems to have kicked itself in the teeth with poor results and shoddy management, could well learn some valuable lessons from this successful dentist-turned-football-coach. Currently, the global ambassador and football mentor of Sports For Life, a grassroots sports development initiative in India, Hallgrimsson offered some golden words of advice that could spark a similar rise in India’s footballing landscape.
Education of coaches
“One of the reasons for Iceland’s success is that we have invested a lot in coaching education. For example, if you send an eight-year-old for football training in Iceland, irrespective of whether you live in a small village or a big city there’s a 90 per cent chance that the place will have a UEFA A or B licensed coach to train youngsters,” Hallgrimsson, 58, who also coached Iceland, a country of less than four lakh inhabitants, at their maiden FIFA World Cup campaign in 2018, told mid-day at a city hotel on Friday.
His team eked out a famous 1-1 win against the mighty Argentina at the 2018 quadrennial showpiece in Russia. Hallgrimsson stressed on bringing the same model to India via SFL. Some of his key duties include designing modules to train Indian coaches to be on par with their European counterparts at the grassroot level. “Just imagine if we have the same number of high-quality coaches available throughout India, how fast football will develop in the country,” added Hallgrimsson, who currently manages the Republic of Ireland national team.
The reason behind focussing on grassroot development is simple. “Up to the age of 12, kids are like sponges, you can teach them a lot of technique. After puberty it’s difficult to fine-tune motor skills. After that age, they will learn more about the tactical, physical, and mental side of the game,” explained Hallgrimsson.
Difference in Iceland & India
Hallgrimsson had a very important warning though when it comes to teaching the game to youngsters. He noticed a stark difference between Iceland and India’s footballing landscape is that youngsters in the sub-continent are put under a lot of pressure to win matches. “We [Iceland] focus on individual improvement, whereas here [India] the focus is on winning games, come what may, at youth level. That is the big difference. It should not about winning a match when you are just 10 years old.
It should be about growing into becoming a good player when you are 17. This time should be utilised to improve the young players and help them acquire all the skills they need to succeed at this game. Winning matches at such a young age is not going to make you a good footballer. That’s a mindset we need to change,” concluded Hallgrimsson, whose international focus will soon turns towards the upcoming FIFA World Cup Play-off tie against Czechia on March 26. If Ireland win, they face either Denmark or North Macedonia for a place in this prestigious event to be held in USA, Canada, and Mexico (June 11 to July 19).
Heimir’s Highs
>> Along with co-coach Lars Lagerback, he helped Iceland qualify for the UEFA European Championship 2016 — the country’s first-ever major tournament
>> In their first match at the Euros, Iceland held Portugal to a 1-1 draw. Portugal went on to win the tournament, highlighting Iceland’s ability
>> Tiny Iceland stunned football powerhouses England 2-1 in the Round-of-16
>> Hallgrimsson, now the sole coach of Iceland with Lagerback moving on, helped them qualify for their maiden FIFA World Cup, becoming the smallest nation by population (3.35 lakh) to qualify for the mega event. Curacao (population of 1.56 lakh) recently broke that record for the upcoming World Cup
>> Iceland held Lionel Messi’s mighty Argentina to a 1-1 draw in the league phase of the 2018 World Cup
