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Leicester to Iceland: Don’t start dreaming
PARIS: Both the English city of Leicester and the island nation of Iceland have populations of 330,000; both have shaken the established order in European football.
PARIS: Both the English city of Leicester and the island nation of Iceland have populations of 330,000; both have shaken the established order in European football.
A member of Leicester City’s backroom staff has advice for Iceland’s national team as it heads for a quarterfinal at the European Championship against host France: Forget about us.
“Don’t start dreaming, because as soon as you do that, you are thinking about the consequences of the result,” Leicester performance psychologist Ken Way told The Associated Press.
Leicester won the Premier League last season against the odds - one of the most improbable triumphs in English soccer history.
“If you get carried away with, ‘We could reach the semifinals, we could reach the final, we could be champions,’ you take some of the power and focus away,” he added. “They should forget Leicester.”
Iceland is the smallest nation to ever contest a major tournament. The team advanced from its group above Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and then stunned England to reach the quarterfinals.
The next challenge is even tougher with a game Sunday against the host at the Stade de France. Win that, and it’s either Germany or Italy in the semifinals.
