Shels Progress In Europe & FAI Idea Could Be Of Benefit To Them

It has been a pretty busy weekend all in for League of Ireland fans. The dust is now settling on all the media commentary following the appointment of 57 year old Icelandic manager Heimir Hallgrimsson as head coach of the Irish national side, and we had a glut of Irish FAI Cup action to lap up.

Damien Duffs Shelbourne side will have taken many of the headlines, as after securing a 2-1 victory in the first leg, they took a 1-1 draw in their trip to St Joseph’s to book their place in the next round, and earlier in the week, the football betting odds on Shamrock Rovers tasting success at Tallaght Stadium against Vikingur R in their Champions League encounter would have been high. They took the win, but saw themselves defeated by Bohemians in the cup.

The usually controversial Duff arrived with his side in Gibraltar looking to capitalise on their advantage, and with them doing just that he hailed the game as being an ‘absolutely incredible night’ for the Drumcondra club after Sam Bone had restored parity in the 34th minute of the first half. Both sides were reduced to ten men in stoppage time, but they held out to set up a tie with 13 time Swiss champions, FC Zurich, with the Shels banking an all important 550,000 Euros for their progress so far.

Defender Sean Gannon will be out of contention, after his red card, for the first leg of the next round which will take place next week out in Switzerland. Duff was on good form following the melee between both teams late on in the game, stating it was a ‘dramatic’ end, and that he had already spoken to the players to insist that given the heat, and the pitch dryness, this was never going to be about pretty football, it was about digging in and basically preparing for a ‘war’ and they ultimately came out on top with a ‘little bit of ‘luck of the Irish’ working in their favour at times – particularly during the first half period.

Returning to the appointment of Hallgrimsson for a moment, former gaffer Stephen Kenny broke his silence on Friday to wish his replacement ‘every success’ in the job, but he also revealed that whilst he was still in post, that the Football Association of Ireland had already been in talks with a number of domestic clubs over arranging a friendly that would serve as a potential development boost for some. Transfers, says Simon Dymond from bestbettingsitesireland.ie, can significantly alter a team’s dynamics. A new signing can bring fresh energy, skill, and strategic advantages, while the departure of a key player can leave a void that is hard to fill. Player development is also massive on that point and the FAI have long held that standpoint.

A previous meeting for domestic based players had been set for Lansdowne Road with English Premier League side Manchester United, but that had fallen through owing to scheduling issues, the St Patrick’s Athletic boss explained, and with Hallgrimsson himself talking about the idea of international friendlies for domestic players during the League of Ireland off season, it seems the over all idea is still being batted around behind closed doors.

The idea centres around a mix between a League of Ireland selection and a national league selection to give them a new experience, and there would certainly be teams out there who felt some of their players could significantly benefit from this sort of arrangements. From a European competition point of view, the benefits could be even greater when it came to differing styles, approaches and skillsets.

It will be interesting to see what manager Heimir Hallgrimsson can achieve. The manager himself has arrived in Ireland with a stellar resume. He started playing football in the Icelandic Multi District league in 1986, playing for Vestmannaeyjar in this lesser known league for most of his playing career. In fact, he was more famous for being a qualified dentist who once repaired a players tooth on the field, than for his career on the pitch. 

His managing career began with the women's team at the club, working part time as he ran his orthodontist firm. He got the club to the top of the league, and was then hired as assistant coach for the men's team. His performance here got him announced as the head coach for the Icelandic team in 2011. His first major achievement was getting the team to the playoff stage for qualification for the 2014 World Cup. His first major tournament came at Euro 2016, and it was here he really made his mark. 

In the group stages they had 1-1 draws with Portugal and Hungary. A 2-1 win over Austria saw them advance from the group. They then beat England in a 2-1 win during the round of 16, which saw them move to the quarter finals where they were beat by France. They then went on to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. 

Despite a short stint at Al-Arabi in Qatar, his only other job has been as head coach for Jamaica. This was less then impressive, shown by their performance at the Copa America. Thus, it will be a real test for Hallgrimsson who needs to show he can function as a coach outside of his home country of Iceland.