We love nothing than when an underdog story comes about during the World Cup, and Iceland's Birkir Mar Saevarsson is responsible for our new favourite.
Fans heard a whole lot about Iceland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson being a dentist two years back in Euro 2016 and he gave a priceless opening to his press conference a couple of days back.
But it feels like we need to shed a bit more light on Saevarsson, who works a normal job in a salt-packing factory in capital Reykjavik alongside playing for semi-professional club Valur in his native country.
Asked by AP why he does such a job when he's a 33-year old international footballer, he said:
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"I can't sit down all day and do nothing. It's boring and you just get lazy. I didn't want to get lazy before the World Cup."
Though he is the most capped player for his country, and he played every minute as Iceland reached the Euro 2016 quarter finals, he had to ask for permission in order to represent the Vikings in their World Cup debut after being called up to the squad.
His experience in Russia today will have been a tad different from his usual 9-5 duties, as he and his colleagues produced a sensational defensive performance to thwart Lionel Messi and co. and claim their first World Cup point at the first time of asking.
They deserved their point just for their sheer drive and work ethic alone, nullifying Messi in the same way they did with fellow five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo two years ago in their opening Euro 2016 game.
Topics: Football News, Football, World Cup, Iceland
