ICELANDIC footie boss Heimir Hallgrímsson will set up home with his wife Iris in Ireland as he prepares to throw himself into Irish culture.
But our shock new gaffer admits the two countries are very similar, adding: “When you have a pint you like to sing like us.”
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On Wednesday, the FAI revealed that he would take over as manager of the men’s international football team — 231 days after Stephen Kenny vacated the role.
And he was today officially unveiled at a press conference at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium after the unexpected announcement.
Asked what he knows about Ireland and its people, qualified dentist Heimir told The Irish Sun: “It’s a very beautiful country. It’s similar to Iceland, happy people, proud people, hard-working people.
“When you have a pint you like to sing like us. I think there is a lot of similarities between the two nations that’s why when we come here we feel at home because we connect to the culture, to the personalities of Irish people.
“They are really welcoming, I must say that. Whenever we’ve been here, it’s really a welcoming nation.”
Heimir, 57, looked relaxed as he spoke to members of the media today, shaking hands and asking each person their name.
He will move to Ireland with wife Iris after agreeing to take the €650,000-a-year job. It follows his resignation the Jamaica national team’s manager following their elimination from the Copa America.
Heimir has been staying in an apartment in Dublin for the past few days before he starts hunting for a permanent base in Ireland.
It’s believed he could settle in Malahide for the duration of his contract, which runs up to the end of the 2026 World Cup campaign.
And asked if he’d like to be in charge when Ireland co-host the 2028 Euros along with the UK, he said: “I hope I do well and we can have that discussion in the future.
“For now I just want to focus on the present and the job in front of me — getting the teams prepared over the next few months. And if we do well, then great.”
He took in Shelbourne’s Europa League clash against Gibraltar side St Joseph’s at Tolka Park in Drumcondra, Dublin on Thursday evening.
Short return to Iceland
And Heimir is expected to be in Dalymount Park, in Phibsoro, on Friday night as Bohemians take on Sligo Rovers in the Premier Division.
He will also take in the Ireland v France women’s match at Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork on Tuesday before returning to Iceland to tie up some loose ends before moving here permanently with Iris.
Heimir added: “We want to stay on the island, just to get to know the culture, the people, especially the football culture and the league.
“Even though it’s a short distance to Iceland, a two-hour flight, doing the job it would be better and more helpful to be here and know the people.”
‘Unique relationship’
Heimir also spoke about the “unique relationship” he had with Icelandic fans, regularly meeting them in a pub before games to discuss tactics and team selection, which never leaked out.
He added that he’s not sure he’ll manage to repeat that in Ireland but he hopes he’ll be able to strike up a bond with the Green Army.
He explained: “It’s different when you have 300 or 400 people or 23,000 season ticket holders so who should we meet, I don’t know.
“I’ve always had a good relationship with the fans. They’re really special in Iceland because we started something when nobody was attending the games.
‘It just grew’
“We were playing the Faroe Islands and I said to the guys that we should renew this old fan club. I think there was seven people at the first meeting.
“I came with the team meeting with the players, showed them the opponents and how we were going to play and slowly it just grew and grew and grew.
“It ended up a few hundred people crowded in a pub but the best thing about it is there was only one rule, that nothing leaked out or nothing on social media.
“You can imagine in the world today having maybe 600 or 700 people in a pub drinking beer and you’re talking about how you’re going to play the game and nothing leaked out on social media.
Appointed after 10-month search
“That is a unique relationship. Hopefully we can do something here, maybe not this, I don’t think it can be repeated but hopefully we can work and communicate with the fans here.”
Heimir was appointed after an exhaustive 10-month search.
Former Ireland international defender John O’Shea had taken interim charge of the national team for recent friendlies.
And the new boss revealed he spoke to the Waterford man in a Zoom call today and offered him the job of his number two.
Assistant job offer
He said: “I asked him to meet me for a coffee and I would love to have him as an assistant but that is up to him.
“I told John that I would really like him to be part of this journey. In the context of continuity, if he is on board, we will progress faster in what we want to achieve. Same for the rest of the staff, to tap into the culture.
“The challenge is of course getting to know everything and everyone and getting to know their names, and you know what they can bring to the national team etc, so that is going to be a tough time for me as a coach. I’m relying on past coaches, John O’Shea and more to assist.
“There hasn’t been much time to think about that, I talked to the guys on the board, they all praised the current staff.
No staff demands
“Talking about continuity, to have the same staff. I talked to Seamus Coleman this morning, he praised the staff a lot, the same with John O’Shea.
“I don’t come with demands to have staff with me here, I think culture-wise it would be good to have Irish staff continuing so I am flexible, adjustable and I am in an environment where people around me know more about things than I do. Hopefully it will work out as smoothly as possible.”
Hallgrímsson, 57, hails from Heimaey on Vestmannaeyjar, also known as the Westman Islands, off the southern coast of Iceland. It is home to eight million puffins, 80 volcanos and just over 4,000 people.
A club footballer at Íthróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja (ÍBV), where he made just over 100 appearances in 10 years, his main income came from his dental practice.
‘I’m proud of being a dentist’
He said: “That is, in Iceland, probably my main job, and has been. For a coach it sounds strange, I know. When I was doing my pro licence in England, they said, ‘Don’t tell anyone you’re a dentist!’ But I never think that education can do you any harm. I’m proud of being a dentist.”
Throughout his playing career, he also served as the dentist for his home village and only gave up dentistry after becoming the sole Iceland manager in 2016.
Having proved a success with the ÍBV women’s team he took the men’s side into the Europa League qualifiers where they lost 2-1 over two legs to St Patrick’s Athletic in July 2011.
In between coaching Iceland and Jamaica, Hallgrímsson spent two years in Qatar with Al-Arab, a period that yielded more defeats (25) than wins (22).
Goals conceded
On his watch, the Doha club also conceded more goals (93) than they scored (88).
He has two sons who are both qualified sport scientists and work for Icelandic club team Valur.
In the summer of 2016, Heimir cared for a player who had a tooth knocked out at a local women’s game he was attending, going on the pitch while the player was knocked unconscious and putting the tooth back in place.
He then personally made the necessary tooth repair at a nearby dental office.
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