Ex-Celtic target Alfred Finnbogason admits Hutchison Vale were big influence on his career after helping Iceland draw with Argentina
The Augsburg striker stunned Lionel Messi and his Argentina team-mates by scoring the equaliser in their World Cup clash to earn his country a priceless point
FROM Saughton Park to Spartak Stadium.
Alfred Finnbogason’s life story has been a footballing fairytale.
In Russia, the ex-Hutchison Vale Boys’ Club kid and ex-Celtic target wrote yet another happy ending for the Cinderellas of Iceland.
Finnbogason stunned Lionel Messi and Argentina with the goal that earned the Viking Warriors a priceless point and sent 5,000 face-painted fans wild.
Now the striker, who plays for German Bundesliga outfit Augsburg, is a household name around the world after tapping in to equalise Sergio Aguero’s opener.
Finnbogason will always be thankful for the grounding he had.
He said of his early days: “I remember we had a really good team. We were under-nines, but we played under 10s and we won every game.
“It was a fantastic time in my life, a big influence on me. It meant that, in future, when I went abroad, I was able to stand on my own two feet.
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“The earlier you do that, the better prepared you are.
“And to have been in Scotland, where it is all about football . . . that was only good for me.”
Finnbogason shared the limelight on Iceland’s big day with keeper Hannes Halldorsson, who psyched out megastar Messi to save his 64th minute penalty.
Halldorsson was sure Messi would fire to his right if they faced each other from 12 yards — and when the moment came, he was bang on, diving to parry and spark wild celebrations.
The 34-year-old journeyman also made a string of other crucial stops as the smallest nation ever to make the finals won hearts around the globe.
He said: “I did a bit of homework on Messi’s penalties because it was a situation that you knew could come up.
“Something told me he’d go to my right, I had a good feeling about it, so I’m really happy to have got it correct.
“Like I say, I’ve watched a lot of his penalties, but also did some research into how I have been behaving when facing my last few.
“Every details helps and today it paid off.
“For me as a goalkeeper, to play for Iceland in our first game in the World Cup and then face the greatest player in the world for a penalty is a huge thing.
“To then save the penalty is a dream come true. Bigger still, it got us a point and opened up our group — and that was always our aim here.
“We learned at the Euros how important it is to get a point on the board right away.”
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Halldorsson and his mates milked the roars of 5,000 Viking fans afterwards — and then laughed off suggestions that they had celebrated as if they had WON the game.
He said: “Well, Ronaldo celebrated a draw the other night like he’d won it, so if it’s good enough for him . . .”
Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli sighed: “In a match as tight as this, when you get a penalty and Messi is taking it, you really think it’s your chance to win.
“But the miss is a statistic, it’s already in the past.
“Iceland were very defensive, they plugged every possible space, but we did everything we could to win. We will be better down the line.”