Heimir Hallgrímsson, a native of Heimaey in the Vestmann Islands near Iceland’s southern coast, was compelled to leave his hometown with his family at the tender age of five due to a volcanic eruption in 1973. This natural disaster resulted in the evacuation of the island’s 5,000 residents for at least half a year.
After their brief relocation to mainland Iceland, Hallgrímsson’s family returned to Heimaey. It is here that he picked up and perfected his football skills with local team IBV, serving the first team from 1986 to 1996, including full-time seasons in the premier league for five of those years.
A notable event in 1993 saw him take a year-long sabbatical from his hometown club to lead the Egilsstadir-based Höttur to victory in the fourth division championship. Simultaneously, the then 26-year-old led the club’s women’s team to ascend to the premier league as their coach.
Come 1999, Hallgrímsson seized the reins of IBV’s women’s team until 2004, leading them to a convincing victory in the Icelandic cup, their maiden significant title. He briefly took charge of IBV’s men’s team in 2002, before returning in 2006 and crafting a successful tenure till 2011, wherein he bagged the first division title in 2008 and secured a third-place finish in the premier league in 2010 and 2011.
Hallgrímsson’s journey with the Icelandic national team commenced in December 2011, assuming the role of assistant coach to Lars Lagerbäck of Sweden in the Icelandic men’s national team; marking the onset of a golden era in Iceland’s football history. The twosome breathed new life into the national team, elevating it from the sixth and bottom-most rank in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying group, to an astonishing second place finish. Despite their impressive performance, they narrowly missed qualification to the World Cup in Brazil, following a pulsating playoff against the formidable Croatian team.
Hallgrímsson’s football coaching career took a positive turn in 2014 when he and Lagerbäck shared the coaching responsibilities for the Icelandic team for the following two years.
Iceland’s unprecedented feat of qualifying for the 2016 Euros in France took the footballing world by storm. The small Nordic nation achieved a top-eight rating, after notable performances against Portugal, the champions-to-be, Hungary, and a resounding victory over England. The inspirational run was only halted in the quarter-final stage by France. Following the commendable success in France, Hallgrímsson took up the baton as the team’s sole coach, after Lagerbäck’s departure.
Contrary to those who questioned his capability in a solo role, Hallgrímsson’s tenure saw Iceland stun onlookers by topping their qualifying group for the World Cup 2018, a group that included football heavyweights like Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey. Iceland’s commanding victory in this group, winning seven of their ten matches, remains their most acclaimed international football exploit.
It’s a formidable achievement leading Iceland, a country of merely 370,000 inhabitants, to the World Cup finals. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Iceland drew 1-1 with Argentina in their opening game, a match that saw goalkeeper Hannes Halldórsson heroically defend Lionel Messi’s penalty. Subsequent losses to Nigeria and Croatia ended their thrilling World Cup journey.
Post the Russian World Cup, Hallgrímsson left his national coaching duties, expressing his wish to manage a club team. He took up the role of head coach for Qatari team Al-Arabi in December 2018, concluding his term in summer 2021.
Come September 2022, he assumed the leadership of the Jamaican national team, a stint that would run till 2026. Despite some initial successes, Hallgrímsson stepped down after a disappointing Copa America performance where Jamaica lost all their matches.
Undeniably, he occupies a special place in Icelandic hearts as the nation’s most accomplished coach. With his charisma, integrity, and passion for the game from the grassroots to the elite level, Hallgrímsson is endeared across the footballing world. His unmatched ambition, combined with a profound work ethic that had been integrated into the Icelandic team, created an incredibly effective side that could adapt to the football approach best suited to their players.
It’s well-known that apart from managing football squads worldwide, Hallgrímsson also practices dentistry at his clinic in Heimaey. However, he detests when enquires about his dentistry practice are raised during media interactions. Víðir Sigurðsson, a sport’s column editor at Morgunblaðið, an Icelandic newspaper, attests to this.