Hallgrímsson to meet his youth idol Pálmarsson in MOTW

Still only 24, Viktor Hallgrímsson can already reflect on a rich career. The Icelandic goalkeeper is playing for third top club in three different countries after leaving his home club Fram Reykjavik in 2019.

After three years at GOG in Denmark, where he played together with world stars such as Mathias Gidsel or Simon Pytlick, Hallgrímsson moved to HBC Nantes in France to succeed Emil Nielsen, who had joined Barça.

And in the summer of 2024, he arrived at Polish champions Orlen Wisla Plock, and is currently playing his third season in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League.

“I really like it in Poland, it is much more chilled than in France, a little bit like Iceland,” says the 2.02-metre-tall goalkeeper, who was part of the All-star Team of the Men’s EHF EURO 2022, when Iceland finished sixth.

Compared to the strong and balanced French league, the domestic competition in Poland is mainly about the duels with Industria Kielce. Plock have already beaten them twice this season: in the Super Cup and their first league encounter.

In the EHF Champions League, though, the season start has not gone according to Plock’s wishes, raking only seventh in group A after one win and six defeats.

“Of course, our expectations were different than the outcome, but unfortunately we lost many matches extremely closely,” says Hallgrímsson, who shares playing time in the EHF Champions League with Mirko Allilovic, while talent Marcel Jastrzebski gets more playing time in the Polish league.

“Playing and training with Mirko is really cool. He has such a huge experience and he is a big inspiration for me for me,” Hallgrímsson says. “All three of us are good friends, but of course, only one can play at the same time and it is hard to sit on the bench.”

Hallgrímsson praises the “great job” by Wisla’s goalkeeper coach Marcin Wichary, the former No. 1 of the Polish national team.

With 11 different nationalities represented in the squad and a Spanish head coach, the main language at Plock is English. Though, Hallgrímsson is learning Polish.

“I am having Polish classes at the moment, but this language is really hard to learn. Having the opportunity to speak English is really nice for the foreign players,” Hallgrímsson says.

Before the MOTW of round 8 against Veszprém on Thursday (live on EHFTV at 18:45 CET), Plock have only managed to beat HC Eurofarm Pelister — 26:18 in round 5.

Several times, the Polish champions lost by one or two goals, like against Dinamo Bucuresti, Paris Saint-Germain Handball, or Füchse Berlin.

Also, the first duel with Veszprém in round 7, which Plock lost 27:24, was only decided in the last three minutes.

“We were missing the big moments in those matches. In clutch time, we were always close,” Hallgrímsson says. “It proved that it is hard for every team to beat us. But still, we keep on believing in our system.”

Despite six defeats, Plock still has the best defence of all 16 teams, conceding only 184 goals.

“This stat means a lot for us. Our coach Xavier Sabate puts a huge focus on the defence – and this part really works well. But unfortunately, we score too less goals. Maybe we should play a bit faster. But we were and are also unlucky with some injuries of key players.”

Having netted 177 times, only Pelister (166) have fewer goals on their account among all 16 group phase teams. Still, everything is possible for Plock, says Hallgrímsson.

“The sky is the limit. In the knockout stage, Wisla will be tough opponent. Xavier exactly knows how to prepare on two matches against the same opponent within two weeks, this is our great chance,” says the goalkeeper, who was with Nantes when the French side lost in the 2022/23 play-offs against Sabate’s Plock.

But all eyes are first on the MOTW against Veszprém — a special duel among Icelanders, since Aron Pálmarsson has returned to the Hungarian side a few weeks ago.

“Of course, this was also a surprise for me, but it is great for the whole handball world. Aron knows coach Xavi Pascual very well, he knows the club and he still is a great player,” Hallgrímsson says about the veteran centre back. “Definitely, he was my big idol when I started playing handball, he is a legend.”

photos 2024 © Jerzy Stankowski (Orlen Wisla Plock); Foto Laechler (Füchse Berlin)