THERE ARE TWO recent stories that go just a little bit of the way to explaining who exactly Heimir Hallgrímsson is.
After the Republic of Ireland’s June friendlies with Senegal and Luxembourg, the international manager held the usual debrief before returning to his hometown of Vestmannaeyjar on Heimaey island.
It was time to switch off before the intensity of a week like this one, heading into the opening World Cup qualifier at home to Hungary in a sold-out Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.
Hallgrímsson, as we all became aware when he was named as manager in July 2024, is also a qualified dentist.
So, when it was time to relax, he returned to his practice and got back to the kind of work that allows him to totally switch off from football. For some in the FAI he was off the grid completely. “He went dark,” as one source explained.
Hallgrímsson treated patients in his chair in order to decompress, and while some may not have heard from him during July those in his inner circle were already beginning to finalise plans for games and club visits with him ahead of this squad announcement.
When he wanted to – and needed to – Hallgrímsson found solace in isolation at home. Fast forward to the middle of last month, when Hallgrímsson was in the height of his World Cup preparation, and he was asked by a colleague in Abbotstown if he would mind spending some time with a group of around 50 players aged between 14 and 16 who were on site as part of the FAI’s centralised coaching programme.
The person in question hoped the senior boss might take a few minutes to make a speech or presentation during one of the classroom-based sessions. Instead, he was met by an enthused Hallgrímsson who was ready to throw himself into things and take training.
“Let’s go, I have my boots,” came the reply.
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Hallgrímsson not only led the session on the grass for the teenagers, but he also then followed it up by addressing the players together in an auditorium. He spoke to them like adults, some found the humour when he dropped a few expletives to make certain messages clear, and left a lasting an impression on those present that tallied with one of the Icelander’s initial declarations when he got the job.
“I always say, leave your shirt in a better place. Stephen Kenny did a lot of good things, left his shirt in a better place. Even if I stay a week. I believe the same.”
If the next week, and the two months to come in a condensed World Cup qualifying campaign, go as planned then Hallgrímsson will be staying around until next summer’s tournament at the very least.
It would also go down as one of the greatest achievements in Irish sport were he to be the one that inspires qualification for the first time in a quarter of a century.
The impact he’s made on the players under his guidance since his appointment 12 months ago has also been striking.
His clarity of thought tactically and with the messages he hammers home have brought renewed focus and belief. Speak to players and they will tell you that there are two words that ring in their ears on the training pitch and in team meetings.
“Action, reaction.”
He demands players take responsibility on the pitch, making a decision that sets a tone for those teammates around them to follow.
Heimir Hallgrimsson with Nathan Collins (right) after the Luxembourg friendly earlier this summer. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
But it’s also something less tangible that is clearly evident in his personality and demeanour that has led to a connection with a group of players that Hallgrímsson admitted he knew so little about when he took the job that he allowed assistant John O’Shea and fellow coach Paddy McCarthy pick his first squad and drive the tactical approach against England and Greece in the Nations League last September.
He has seen enough and learned enough since to make Nathan Collins his captain. “The levels and consistency he’s been able to show [at Brentford]. And he’s got to without a doubt step up and continue that and hopefully that will be the case because of the quality and composure that he shows, and the calmness he has, and obviously that steely determination to be in such a competitive environment now,” O’Shea said yesterday.
“He’s shown a level of maturity in his performances that he’s just going to have to step up and keep doing it like he has been. And I’m sure that will be the case with Nathan… In terms of their calmness, being controlled, and obviously the work he does in terms of preparing for games, his detailed approach, and obviously being cool and calm. Yeah I can see a few similarities alright,” O’Shea added about the dynamic between manager and captain.
Collins hasn’t always had those emotions fully in check, although he could perhaps forgive himself by now for losing an All Ireland final with Cherry Orchard as a 13-year-old. With the game slipping away, Collins was a kid possessed chasing all over the pitch, eventually becoming overcome and picking up two yellow cards for kicking the ball away.
A little over a decade later the 24-year-old will captain his country at the start of this World Cup qualifying campaign, although in an indication of how he now tries to maintain perspective it was only when his mother visited the team hotel to collect tickets and he was congratulated by a member of FAI staff that she learned her son would wear the armband for the first time in September 2024.
It’s a modesty and singular focus that the Ireland manager can relate to.
There is no front with Hallgrímsson, a genuine nature that has shone through with players. There was a nice moment when he was at Tolka Park for the first leg of Shelbourne’s Uefa Conference League play-off against Linfield.
At half-time, when the rest of the FAI delegation left their seats and headed for refreshments, Hallgrímsson stayed in his seat and checked some of the scores elsewhere in Europe.
When he saw that Troy Parrott had scored his 10th goal of the season for AZ Alkmaar he stood up from his seat and headed for the press area, giddy with a mixture of excitement and pride as he informed those present of the Dubliner’s achievement.
Hallgrímsson is working off much more than vibes, of course, but the general consensus among the squad – to put it as some of us might say – is that he is sound as a pound.
A win on Saturday would be priceless, and it might just mean that Hallgrímsson will have much more on his hands next summer than he did when he returned home this year.
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Heimir Hallgrímsson has built connection and trust with players as World Cup belief grows
THERE ARE TWO recent stories that go just a little bit of the way to explaining who exactly Heimir Hallgrímsson is.
After the Republic of Ireland’s June friendlies with Senegal and Luxembourg, the international manager held the usual debrief before returning to his hometown of Vestmannaeyjar on Heimaey island.
It was time to switch off before the intensity of a week like this one, heading into the opening World Cup qualifier at home to Hungary in a sold-out Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.
Hallgrímsson, as we all became aware when he was named as manager in July 2024, is also a qualified dentist.
So, when it was time to relax, he returned to his practice and got back to the kind of work that allows him to totally switch off from football. For some in the FAI he was off the grid completely. “He went dark,” as one source explained.
Hallgrímsson treated patients in his chair in order to decompress, and while some may not have heard from him during July those in his inner circle were already beginning to finalise plans for games and club visits with him ahead of this squad announcement.
When he wanted to – and needed to – Hallgrímsson found solace in isolation at home. Fast forward to the middle of last month, when Hallgrímsson was in the height of his World Cup preparation, and he was asked by a colleague in Abbotstown if he would mind spending some time with a group of around 50 players aged between 14 and 16 who were on site as part of the FAI’s centralised coaching programme.
The person in question hoped the senior boss might take a few minutes to make a speech or presentation during one of the classroom-based sessions. Instead, he was met by an enthused Hallgrímsson who was ready to throw himself into things and take training.
“Let’s go, I have my boots,” came the reply.
Hallgrímsson not only led the session on the grass for the teenagers, but he also then followed it up by addressing the players together in an auditorium. He spoke to them like adults, some found the humour when he dropped a few expletives to make certain messages clear, and left a lasting an impression on those present that tallied with one of the Icelander’s initial declarations when he got the job.
“I always say, leave your shirt in a better place. Stephen Kenny did a lot of good things, left his shirt in a better place. Even if I stay a week. I believe the same.”
If the next week, and the two months to come in a condensed World Cup qualifying campaign, go as planned then Hallgrímsson will be staying around until next summer’s tournament at the very least.
It would also go down as one of the greatest achievements in Irish sport were he to be the one that inspires qualification for the first time in a quarter of a century.
The impact he’s made on the players under his guidance since his appointment 12 months ago has also been striking.
His clarity of thought tactically and with the messages he hammers home have brought renewed focus and belief. Speak to players and they will tell you that there are two words that ring in their ears on the training pitch and in team meetings.
“Action, reaction.”
He demands players take responsibility on the pitch, making a decision that sets a tone for those teammates around them to follow.
But it’s also something less tangible that is clearly evident in his personality and demeanour that has led to a connection with a group of players that Hallgrímsson admitted he knew so little about when he took the job that he allowed assistant John O’Shea and fellow coach Paddy McCarthy pick his first squad and drive the tactical approach against England and Greece in the Nations League last September.
He has seen enough and learned enough since to make Nathan Collins his captain. “The levels and consistency he’s been able to show [at Brentford]. And he’s got to without a doubt step up and continue that and hopefully that will be the case because of the quality and composure that he shows, and the calmness he has, and obviously that steely determination to be in such a competitive environment now,” O’Shea said yesterday.
“He’s shown a level of maturity in his performances that he’s just going to have to step up and keep doing it like he has been. And I’m sure that will be the case with Nathan… In terms of their calmness, being controlled, and obviously the work he does in terms of preparing for games, his detailed approach, and obviously being cool and calm. Yeah I can see a few similarities alright,” O’Shea added about the dynamic between manager and captain.
Collins hasn’t always had those emotions fully in check, although he could perhaps forgive himself by now for losing an All Ireland final with Cherry Orchard as a 13-year-old. With the game slipping away, Collins was a kid possessed chasing all over the pitch, eventually becoming overcome and picking up two yellow cards for kicking the ball away.
A little over a decade later the 24-year-old will captain his country at the start of this World Cup qualifying campaign, although in an indication of how he now tries to maintain perspective it was only when his mother visited the team hotel to collect tickets and he was congratulated by a member of FAI staff that she learned her son would wear the armband for the first time in September 2024.
It’s a modesty and singular focus that the Ireland manager can relate to.
There is no front with Hallgrímsson, a genuine nature that has shone through with players. There was a nice moment when he was at Tolka Park for the first leg of Shelbourne’s Uefa Conference League play-off against Linfield.
At half-time, when the rest of the FAI delegation left their seats and headed for refreshments, Hallgrímsson stayed in his seat and checked some of the scores elsewhere in Europe.
When he saw that Troy Parrott had scored his 10th goal of the season for AZ Alkmaar he stood up from his seat and headed for the press area, giddy with a mixture of excitement and pride as he informed those present of the Dubliner’s achievement.
Hallgrímsson is working off much more than vibes, of course, but the general consensus among the squad – to put it as some of us might say – is that he is sound as a pound.
A win on Saturday would be priceless, and it might just mean that Hallgrímsson will have much more on his hands next summer than he did when he returned home this year.
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2026 world cup qualifiers Big match build-up FAI Heimir Hallgrímsson Nathan Collins Republic Of Ireland Soccer