Gunnarsson: Iceland still have the same hunger

• Aron Gunnarsson has captained Iceland for the past eight years

• He now plays his club football in Qatar with Al Arabi

• Midfielder talks tattoos, wonder goals and World Cup hopes with FIFA.com

Bearded, tattooed and brimming with passion, Aron Gunnarsson is widely seen as the embodiment of Iceland’s national team. He was named captain at 23, and a famous back tattoo – based on the country’s coat of arms – reflects his pride in holding that position. When Iceland beat England to reach the UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-finals, it was Gunnarsson who led the first player-fan rendition of the now-legendary ‘Viking Clap’. But from the moment Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson began moulding a team that would write football history, they had identified this all-action midfielder as the rock on which they would build. “He’s a shining example of what we would like to stand for,” Hallgrimsson said in 2018. “What he stands for as a player… he’s our living identity. He’s a shining example off the pitch of how players should behave and how they should support each other; on the pitch he’s vital for organising the team. He knows the position of every player, and he’s demanding. And on top of that, he’s just a very good football player.” Given this glowing tribute, it should be no surprise that one of the first calls Hallgrimsson made, after leaving Iceland to take charge of Qatari side Al Arabi, was to his former skipper. Gunnarsson, restless and ready for a change, took up the offer that followed. And it was from his new home in Qatar that the 31-year-old spoke to FIFA.com, discussing Iceland’s heartbreaking EURO qualifying failure, their FIFA World Cup™ hopes and life in the country that will host the 2022 finals.

FIFA.com: Aron, be honest: are you missing the weather of a British or Icelandic winter? Aron Gunnarsson: A little bit actually! [laughs] Being Icelandic, I don’t mind a bit of cold! But it’s very nice here right now – about 20 degrees – so perfect weather really, and so much better than when I arrived back in August. That’s the hottest time of the year, and I was gobsmacked. The heat was unbearable at times. We’d train in the evening but even then the humidity was just crazy.

You’ve built your career on being the kind of midfielder who covers every blade of grass. Did you need to become more economical with your movements, especially in those early days? Yeah, there’s no way of getting around that. We all get our GPS stats and it’s clear the amount of running drops in the second half of games here. I would also cramp up towards the end of matches in those early days a lot more than I normally would. So I needed to adapt. But now the weather’s great – perfect for football – and I can play my usual game again.

Scoring goals from your own half isn’t your usual game though. Tell us about that one. That’s definitely true. But I’d seen the keeper off his line a few times before and thought, ‘Next time I get the ball, I’m going to whack it’. Fortunately I hit it nice and straight. Normally I’m like I am in golf, hooking or slicing my shots!

You’d been out to Qatar in 2018 as part of your rehab following a serious knee injury. Was that when the seeds were sown about playing there one day? Absolutely. I came out here with my family, and at that stage it was touch and go whether I’d make the World Cup. There’s a clinic here with magnificent facilities and all the right doctors and physios, and they helped get me back in time. I said to my wife at that stage, ‘I wouldn’t mind living here, you know’. The next year, Heimir took the job with Al Arabi and, soon after that, he picked up the phone to me. I was in the last year of my contract with Cardiff and I knew straight away it was something I wanted to do. I felt like I needed a change after 11 years in the UK, so Heimir really didn’t need to do much to sell the idea to me.

I was reading that you’ve been impressed with, and pleasantly surprised by, the standard of football in Qatar. Definitely. One of the things I’d noticed before coming here was that there were a lot of goals in the league, and it made me think that the standard of defending and the tactical side of the game wouldn’t be what I was used to in Europe. But I think people here have recognised that issue themselves and there’s been a big change over the last couple of years, with more competition in the league and a better standard of play – tactical play especially. That’s very important for view more about FIFA