Over the past few years, Iceland has enjoyed unprecedented success in the major handball championships – runners up in the 2008 Olympics and bronze medal winners in the 2009 European Championships says it all and the disappointment of only reaching sixth place in the World Photo courtesy of HSÍ
Championships last year also attests to the success the Icelandic handball fans have become used to.
Therefore, the expectations were fairly high when the Icelandic men’s team embarked on a journey to the Balkans, Serbia to be precise, for the 2012 European Handball Championships. Only fairly high as the expectations had been slightly dented when Snorri Steinn Guðjónsson, one of the pillars of the team over the past ears, decided to prioritize his wife and their newborn child over the tournament and also when it became clear that team captain, and handball superstar, Ólafur I. Stefánsson would not recover from his long-term injury in time for the championships. Widely regarded as one of the best players in history, grand old man Stefánsson – he’ll turn 39 in the summer – is still the most important player in the team. Instead of Guðjónsson and Stefánsson, the team will have to rely on Alexander Peterson (Stefánsson’s under-study since 2005) and 21-year old starlet Aron Pálmarsson, both of whom are world class players in their own right.
Yet, Strákarnir okkar (e. Our boys) as the team is usually referred to in Iceland gave a disappointing performance in the first group stage. In fact, the team only barely, and undeservedly, managed to avoid elimination in a round robin group competition against Croatia, Slovenia and Norway. Especially the match against Slovenia will be remembered as one of the worst performances this team has ever given. Since advancing to the main round, Iceland has beaten Hungary and lost to Spain. One game remains in the main round against France, the reigning Olympic, World and European Champions but as a result of the lost game against Spain, Iceland has no possibility of advancing to the semi-finals.
During the heyday of the current Icelandic squad, France was the only team that could beat Strákarnir okkar. A win against the French team is therefore the best way to finish the 2012 European Championships with the flag aloft.
