Viktor Hallgrímsson looking forward to an exciting return

Both sides are on eight points after five rounds in the competition, both with just one defeat so far — against defending champions SC Magdeburg with a one-goal difference — and both have the ambition to go all the way to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026 in Cologne. 

Two players will be in the spotlight on Thursday: on the one hand, three-time EHF Champions League winner Melvyn Richardson, who after four seasons, moved from Barcelona to Plock this summer and is currently the second-best scorer of the competition with 42 goals. On the other hand, Viktor Hallgrímsson — the Icelandic goalkeeper took the opposite direction and replaced Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas at Barça after playing one year for Wisla.

Looking back at the time in Plock

For the 25-year-old shot-stopper, Barça is the fifth club in the fifth country in nine years, after starting at Fram in Iceland, then moving to GOG in Denmark, Nantes in France and Plock in Poland. “It was not my plan to play for so many clubs within nine years, but for sure, as an Icelander, you have to move to improve and to find the perfect club abroad.” 

The year in Plock was “a very good one”, says Hallgrímsson: “The club really helped after a tough time in Nantes, I am really grateful that I got this opportunity. And mainly winning the Polish championship was a great moment for me and a really important moment for the club.”

Still, Hallgrímsson has some good contacts at his former club, with teammates and fans: “It is good to see the arena, the team and the fans again, it will be really exciting for me. Some Wisla fans already texted me that they are looking forward to seeing me again. This is a good feeling for me.”

Taking into consideration Plock’s new signing for the 2025/26 season, the Icelander expected Wisla to be as strong as they are now: “Their results are no surprise for me. Melvyn Richardson is an exceptional playmaker, Sergei Kosorotov, who returned from Veszprém, is a great shooter and Torbjørn Bergerud is an experienced goalkeeper. Previously, Plock were famous for their defence, and now they have added more great options in attack — and they have a great coach.”

Therefore, Hallgrímsson expects a very balanced match: “Barça have a strong team with experienced players, but I know from playing there that it is hard to beat Plock on their court, as their fans give an extra boost.”

In their domestic leagues, both sides top the standings — Barça with five wins in five matches, Plock with seven wins in seven matches, including the 32:27 away victory at their old enemies from Kielce last weekend.

In the previous season, with Hallgrímsson between the posts, Plock won the league finals against Kielce — the second national championship for the Icelander after the Danish trophy in 2022 with GOG. That team included some super-talents, who turned into world stars, such as Mathias Gidsel, Simon Pytlick, Lukas Jørgensen, Emil Madsen or Oscar Bergendahl, coached by Nicolej Krickau.

“Winning that trophy in Denmark was even more important for me, as I was part of this project from the beginning, and beating Aalborg in the finals was even a sweeter taste than beating Kielce with Plock.”

The Barça experience for a newcomer 

Now, Hallgrímsson opened a new chapter — and is very satisfied with his start at Barcelona: “We played many matches, including winning the Club World Championship, so we were a bit fatigued in the last two games, mainly in the national league against Granollers. But now, we have had two days off, and we are ready for the Match of the Week.”

In terms of training, nothing changed that much compared to the previous clubs, but the whole organisation and surroundings at a club like Barça are different for Hallgrímsson: “The whole city is a fan of the club, the club is absolutely professional in all departments. The education for young players in all sports is extraordinary, and everybody lives for the Barça motto “more than a club”.”

And, of course, something else is special for Hallgrímsson — sharing the position with Emil Nielsen, maybe the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment. “I really like Emil, as a player and even more as a person, he is such a nice guy. We speak Danish and we spend a lot of time off the court. Of course, I can learn a lot from him and our goalkeeper coach Tomas Svensson — we are really a great team. Right now, Emil and I share a lot of time between the posts, but I know that for the more important matches, Emil is the one.”

Passion beyond handball

And there is one major point beyond handball: all people from Iceland are big football fans, mainly for the Premier League clubs in England, and so is Hallgrímsson. But did he change to become a fan of FC Barcelona?

He laughs: “Truly, I was a big Barcelona fan before, when Icelander Eiður Guðjohnsen was playing for them. But as my father is a huge FC Liverpool supporter, my heart also beats for them. So, I have two clubs to support.”

What if Liverpool and Barcelona face each other in the UEFA Champions League final in May 2026? “Then I would definitely try everything to get a ticket and travel to the final in Budapest.”

Photos © FCB (main), Orlen Wisla Plock, Victor Salgado (in-text)