Heimir Hallgrímsson has made quite the impression in his six months or so as Ireland head coach.
The Icelandic coach was an out of the blue choice as Stephen Kenny's replacement when he was unveiled in early July last year. His name had not been thrown into the mix by fans or pundits with the fervour as the likes of Lee Carsley, Damien Duff, or even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the search went on.
However, in his native Iceland, Hallgrímsson is an utter sporting hero, and for good reason. Alongside Swede Lars Lagerback, Hallgrímsson led Iceland on their famed run to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals, and was the sole man in charge when they reached the World Cup for the first time two years later.
Hallgrímsson is adored by Icelandic football fans. So much, in fact, that a group of fans from his native Vestmannaeyjar made the journey to last Sunday's Nations League playoff victory for Hallgrímsson's Ireland over Bulgaria in Dublin.
We tracked down Baldur Haraldsson, one of the group who travelled to Dublin and the person behind the twitter account @graeni_herinn, to hear about his first experience of an Irish game and to hear more about the love for Heimir from Icelandic football fans.
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
Ole, ole, ole
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪#graeniherinn#theboysingreen pic.twitter.com/qKAEbbBr74— Stuðningsmannaklúbbur Írlands á Íslandi🇮🇪⚽️ (@graeni_herinn) March 23, 2025
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The Icelandic football fans following Heimir Hallgrímsson to Ireland
Can you tell us a bit about the group that travelled to Dublin for the Bulgaria game?
We are a group of 14 guys who all grew up on a island of 4,000 people off the south coast of Iceland, Vestmannaeyjar, the island Heimir was also born and raised on.
We are 28-30 year olds who were all coached by Heimir in football in our youth.
Why did you all decide to come to the Ireland v Bulgaria match?
We've been on our way to a match for a while and it finally happened.
Heimir's son Hallgrímur is in the group, and his birthday was on the Friday before the game, so we decided to celebrate his birth and come to the match.
What was your experience at the game like? How did you find the atmosphere at the game?
Before the game the players and coaching staff were well received and obviously were the better team the entire game. It was frustrating for the fans to concede a goal from Bulgaria's first attack so the atmosphere was tense at that point.
I think after Evan [Ferguson] scored the goal to get the game to 1-1, there was a big boost in confidence from the players and the crowd.
How did you enjoy Dublin?
We enjoyed Dublin a lot; we went to a few good places like The Church, the Guinness Storehouse, Temple Bar and visited some other great restaurants during our stay. The nightlife was great.
Do you have any interesting or funny stories from your time in Ireland?
Oh, a lot of things happened in Ireland —but after consulting with our lawyer, we’ve been advised not to talk about them.
Can you tell us a bit about your view of Heimir?
Heimir is great and despite his great success story over the last 10-15 years he always stays connected to his hometown and helps out at our club ÍBV from Vestmannaeyjar, whenever he can.
His success does not come as a surprise to anyone because pretty early in his coaching career people could see he was destined for big things.
23 March 2025; Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson and assistant head coach John O'Shea, left, before the UEFA Nations League B/C Play-off 2nd Leg match between Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
What do you think Ireland fans can expect from Heimir?
Heimir usually gets a really good connection towards the fans at the club or country he is managing.
In Iceland he transformed the believe people had in the national team and brought the fans closer to the team which made people want the team to do good.
Ireland fans can also expect a compact team that is difficult to break down with a direct approach to attacking when the ball is won.
What are your thoughts on the tactical setup he has used so far with Ireland?
Heimir has tried a few different ways of setting up the team, trying to go with a back 3 and also to his trusted 4-4-2 from his Iceland days.
I think he can work with the talent he has in the Ireland team to make a competitive team that will give anyone a game and maybe surprise a few along the way.
Do you think Heimir’s football will be successful for Ireland?
I think if Heimir is given the time needed he can make this Ireland team successful, he has shown where he is that he can make success happen where it is not always expected.
He was managing the Icelandic team that got through to the Euros in 2016 and surprised everyone and he was the manager when Iceland were the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup in 2018, topping a group with Croatia who went on to finish runner-up at the World Cup.
I hear you met Heimir after the game - how was that experience? How did it come about?
It was a nice surprise when Heimir showed up and met with us after the game, I think he was happy to see a few familiar faces and also very happy to get the win against Bulgaria. It came as a surprise to us but made us very happy.
What is the general view of Heimir among Icelandic football fans?
Heimir is a national hero in Iceland for what he did for the national team in his tenure there, first as a assistant coach, then as a joint-manager with Lars Lagerback and then as the manager.
The Icelandic team has really struggled after he left and have been looking for the right man to take the team close to the heights reached while Heimir was the manager.
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