Thrastarson: "I really settled in immediately"

It has been a remarkable season for the Romanian side, who returned after a one-year hiatus to the premier European competition with plenty of new names and a seismic change on the bench, after Xavi Pascual left for Veszprém HC and was replaced by fellow Spanish coach David Davis.

A plethora of new names bolstered the squad, with the biggest impact arguably made by centre back Haukur Thrastarson, who signed late in the summer from Industria Kielce, after Dinamo lost both Lazar Kukic and Luka Cindric, their main playmaking weapons, for OTP Bank-PICK Szeged and Veszprém HC respectively.

Thrastarson, one of the most gifted young centre backs in the competition, has been the fulcrum of Dinamo’s attack, assisting and scoring at a good rate. He has notched up 28 goals so far, seven fewer than his current best performance in a Machineseeker EHF Champions League season. He has also added 21 assists, being a key player for the Romanian side.

“I came late in the summer, but I really settled in immediately. The team is absolutely fantastic, the teammates are great, so we could hit it just from the bat. We had a good season up until this point and we want to continue on the same path, of course, because the morale is high,” says Thrastarson.

“Yes, Bucharest is different, I come from a small country, Kielce was not a big a city like Bucharest is. It was also very hot at that time, but I have felt very good since the first moment and I think that can be seen on the court.”

Thrastarson might be only 23 years old, but he is already in his fifth season in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League. He was handpicked by Kielce in 2020, when he was only 19, but had already displayed flashes of brilliance for Selfoss in the Men’s EHF Cup.

The centre back is following a long path of brilliant Icelandic players currently represented in the top European competition by several talented backs, such as Aron Pálmarsson, Ómar Ingi Magnusson, and the MVP of the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 two seasons ago, Gisli Kristjansson.

But how do Iceland do it?

“I think it all comes down to the education we receive in terms of handball early in our careers. The 'ABC' is there. We have excellent coaches, who help young players develop, so they are pretty ready to jump into the needed roles whenever they are needed,” explains Thrastarson.

After his injuries, he is back to his full potential, and that was on display immediately for Dinamo. The centre back became his team’s top scorer in multiple matches, with the best performance coming in the reverse match against Sporting CP, when Dinamo took an impressive 33:29 win.

With a play-offs berth as good as sealed for Dinamo, the Romanian champions are now focusing on challenging even higher, with their 38:31 home win against Füchse Berlin being a statement of intent for David Davis’ side.

“I think we have been getting better and better over the season, and it is normal, because we had many new players, trying to settle in and gel, but I think we have made it look very good, with some excellent wins on our home court,” adds Thrastarson.

Now, the Romanian side head to Lisbon for round 9’s Match of the Week, facing Sporting CP. Sporting have been brilliant on the court, scoring the highest number of goals so far in the competition, 265, which is only 10 more than Dinamo, proving their capabilities in attack, too.

Sporting are one point ahead of Dinamo, with PSG in second place, with one point more than the Portuguese side. Therefore the Match of the Week will definitely be pivotal for the future of both of the teams facing off on Thursday.

“I think, from what I saw last season, that Sporting are playing one of the most impressive and attractive brands of handball this season. Maybe they are even the most attractive team. But we are also good and we are going there to try and win, of course. It will be hard, but we will not stop,” concludes Thrastarson.

Photos © Dinamo Bucuresti, NM, Paris Saint-Germain Handball