The protagonist of the summer is not Kylian Mbappé. Not in the Champions League. Neither have any of the teams that have been touring the US or any enclave thousands of kilometers away. The most successful player so far in the short 2023-24 season is Árni Frederiksbergexecutive director of Skirt bridge Heilsolaa food import company from the Faroe Islands, which for the first time will have a team in the group stage of a European competition.
Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag, popularly known as KÍ, has ensured, at least, to be in the Conference League (the third in importance). Although he seems willing to enter the Champions League. They began by eliminating Ferencvaros, the Hungarian champion, then they attacked Hacken, the first in the Swedish league; and next on his list of victims is the Norwegian Mold.
Faroe Islands is one big party
For now, the heroes of a nation of less than 53,000 inhabitants they have won the first round 2-1. If they pass this round (they play the return this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.), they will only have the final left to access the group stage of the Champions League. If they lose, they will go to the Europa League. Whatever happens, euphoria has broken out in the archipelago. The fault lies with the Viking army led by Frederiksberg, the top scorer in the European Cup with six goals.
“The country has plunged into a collective celebration. Even the rest of the teams have dedicated space on social networks to congratulate KÍ for their feat. The support for the players is felt throughout the country,” he says. Pedro Taranconthe first Spaniard to debut in the Faroe Islands, where he landed on January 10, 2016. The nation that welcomes him is abuzz and has united under the Klaksvíka flag.
So much so, that in the photo of Frederiksberg that has gone viral, the ultra who supports him like crazy from behind is the mayor of Klaksvík. And outside the country, more of the same. Lovers of ‘infra-soccer’, a religion of clubs that is difficult to follow, have celebrated the club’s triumph in style. A ‘fans’ account has even been founded in Spanish.
Good morning!
Hangover of an incredible night at Torsvollur!
I see many people sharing this picture of Árni Frederiksberg.Funny fact,the major of the city,is the man behind yelling ????????
The Mayor of Klaksvík is that he comes out behind screaming like crazy ????????????⚽️???????? pic.twitter.com/d1uPPVkBxN
— Peter Tarancon Anthony “Ito” (@Itopere) August 9, 2023
His ‘community manager’ could well be ‘Ito’, as those closest to him know him. He is the ‘Spaniolar’ (“the Spanish”) of the Faroe Islands, something that a Che fan who suffers in the distance with pride wears his Valencia. Like so many ‘operators’ in football, he decided to turn his life around after suffering a serious knee injury. After touring soccer in his land, he went to Malta, the Maldives and finally Faroe, where he met Júlia, with whom he has two daughters.
More sheep than people and little sunlight
Tarancón would not change any of the experiences he has accumulated. The biggest in the football field have been in a land with little sunlight and where more than 70,000 sheep live. That is, there are more beings bleating than talking. Klaksvík, which means bay-cliff, has just 4,774 inhabitants, including the ‘giant-killers’ of the Champions League.
“It is the second largest city in the country and it has different companies -among them, the great distillery of the country-. Being a small country, the most important factories are spread out”, describes Ito, who already knows what it is to raise trophies in a land that is absolutely crazy with the feat of the KÍ. The champion had to play against Molde in Tórshavn, the capital, because his stadium was too small.
The team acts as the locomotive of the national football of the Faroe Islands. “The current project started three or four years ago. They had never gone this far, but the formula for success has been to mix youth and experience, as well as players from the Faroe Islands and foreigners with higher profiles who come from Denmark, Sweden or Norway”, explains the Spanish footballer. Tarancón has faced the protagonists of one of the most valuable pages in the country’s history on countless occasions.
Soccer rules, but handball wins
Because soccer “is on the first step in terms of popularity, but it is not the most successful: it is handball.” In this last discipline, the Faroese team will debut in 2024 in its first major competition: the European 2024 that is held in Germany. It will become the nation with the smallest population to compete in a European championship. The performances of the lower categories are in line and in recent tournaments they have touched the fight for medals.
In the FIFA ranking, Faroe Islands is ranked 129, which is their historical average, but in 2016 they reached 74th place. Although it has played matches since 1930, it was not until 1988 that the team was recognized by FIFA and UEFA. In recent times, the team led by the Swede Hakan Ericson has achieved notable results such as a 2-1 win against Turkey. On the same path, the sub-21, which came to tie against France from Camavinga.
At the Olympic level, the athletes depend on the Kingdom of Denmark, a country with which the Faroe Islands maintain an autonomous region relationship, although there have been several times in which the Faroese government has raised the possibility of competing independently. What is non-negotiable is the commitment to sport in the archipelago.
Frederiksberg, the hard-working goalscorer and millionaire family
“The federation holds courses for coaches almost once a month and they bring technicians from other countries to teach different methodologies. They are investing a lot, together with the clubs, in the formative aspect”, explains Pedro Tarancón, who has played for Skala AB, B68 or ÍF, different clubs that have allowed him to get to know teams like Klaksvíkar in detail, who are making history in the previous phase of the Champions League.
“The selection is still in a growth phase. It is a mixture of experience and youth, although there is still a lack of that footballer who will push an entire country towards a final phase”, analyzes Tarancón. But these days, the national ‘frontman’ has been Árni Frederiksberg, KÍ striker who has scored several excellent goals. The Spanish player says that “a millionaire family is coming, however, he is a hard worker when it comes to football.”
For Tarancón, the man of fashion in the Faroe Islands, “everything has been cured with his talent and dedication. In 2016, when I arrived, he was young and already stood out at the NSI. He won the Faroe Cup and went to the B36. He won her again until he went to the Kí. He is an intelligent boy, as well as a good footballer”. If you want proof of his commitment, you will find it in the photos of the goal celebrations against Molde where he appears with a large gash on his head. He lasts inside and out.
El Molde, next ‘victim’ on the list
A story like that of these ‘outsiders’ needed such a leader. “There is an anecdote that circulates out there… They assure that Frederiksberg did not want to go to a call with the national team because he wanted to spend time with his family. In fact, he is not a fixture, although after this summer, with the Champions League that he is doing, he will become one, ”says Tarancón.
Next to the top scorer, a list of players who combine their performances on the field with jobs of all kinds. The usual among teams that do not usually reach such advanced rounds of the competition. But in a limiting time of closed league aspirations and endless repetition of matches between big teams, KÍ has broken the rules.
And the best is yet to come, despite the few resources and the eternal flight of talent to other competitions. Now no one laughs at Mikkjal Thomassen, the coach who, upon signing for Klaksvik in 2015, said that they would be the first club from the Faroe Islands to reach a group stage in European competition. Now, the ultimate responsibility is in the notebook Magne HosethNorwegian coach and top scorer in the history of the Mold that the KÍ wants to send to Helheim (hell in Nordic mythology).
2023-08-14 17:00:30
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