Tag: B68 Toftir

Pedro Tarancón – Postcard from the Faroes #3: Moving from The Maldives to the Faroe Islands

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Working away from home is not what it’s cracked up to. There’s a sense you’re experiencing life by looking through people’s windowsills – rather than feeling a part of it. The smile of a waitress taking an order is as near to warm conversation as you get, and you stand at the bar ‘contemplating’ over a pint; trying not to look lonely.

Uprooting your life to a new place is is part of a footballer’s routine.  They can become legends within their adopted community. Some wait to be rescued from footballing hell by their next club. Others leave burning their bridges completely.

What of B68 Toftir’s Pedro Tarancón? Continually away from his home, family and friends in Valencia. A journeyman chasing the dream of being paid to play the game he loves: in Malta, then the Maldives, and now the Faroe Islands. Tarancón has been playing for B68 Toftir since January.

We look back at Tarancón’s move from The Maldives, and explore how he is settling into his new life in the fishing village of Toftir. “I was playing for Club Eagles. After our last match of the season, my agent informed me B68 Toftir offered a contract. So I researched the Faroe Islands on Google and YouTube. My first impression was how cold it was. However, I was sold by B68’s history and squad’s strong desire to wear their badge with pride.”

B68’s chairman (Niclas Davidsen) came to greet Tarancón at Vargar airport, and drove him all the way to his home for a family meal. “On the way, I stared out of the passenger window as the chairman spoke about B68’s history and aspiration. The next day, Andre Olsen (our club captain) took me for a tour around Toftir. The place was picturesque like a Christmas card, though it was far far colder than I could imagine”.

If Tarancón was unprepared for the cold, then he was certainly shocked on his first pre-season training. “We had 10cm of snow under-foot. I thought really? We’re going to train in that? I put more and more clothes on without feeling warmer. I’d never played in the snow before”.

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Pedro Tarancón Antón with some his team mates; Carlos Quintana Herrero and Michal Przybylski

The pre-season snow has melted away, and the welcoming fires turn to embers. So what of life in Toftir now? “I meet friends for a coffee, go round peoples’ houses, and watch DVD’s with Carlos (my Spanish team-mate) in our home. It’s particularly hard when family come up to visit; then leave. We speak on Skype, yet I’m an experienced professional and seasoned with this aspect of my job”.

Tarancón seems to be experiencing the welcoming camaraderie of a soldier in his new barracks, rather than the loneliness of a travelling salesmen. However, it looks like he has a long, hard season ahead.

After 9 games, B68 languish at the bottom of the table having not won a league fixture. Tarancón is under no illusions of the struggle ahead. “We are angry with ourselves, but the next day we have to stand-up and start again. We have to fight in every game and learn from our mistakes”.

Tarancón’s journey has a steep hill ahead.

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Following the manager #2 – Successfully steering the wind

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The Faroe Islands provides once constant in life: it will always be windy. Neither the force nor the direction of the wind changed for Sunday’s local derby.

Sunday saw the return of an Esturoy derby, with newly promoted B68 Toftir hosting their much maligned neighbours, NSI Runavik, at the Svangaskarð. No Grass Pitches follows the journey of Danish manager, Anders Gerber, throughout his first season in charge of NSÍ Runavik……

Traditionally, B68 were one of the stronger teams to challenge HB Torshavn’s dominance of the Effo.dieldin; with NSI somewhat of a yo-yo team between the top flight and 1.dield. However, in recent years both teams have swapped these positions. NSI have hired Silkeborg IF’s ex-Assistant Manager, Anders Gerber, to mount a greater challenge on HB’s summit. Whereas, B68 have recruited trusty Icelandic helmsman, Páll Hagbert Gudlaugsson, to navigate them into more familiar waters.

Svangaskarð, overlooking the bay to the Norwegian Sea, provided B68’s much exposed defence neither protection from NSI’s relentless wind nor wave-after-wave of attack from their opponent’s midfield. B68’s defensive wall ground under constant aerial bombardment, and they’re centre-back guardsmen were naively wrong-footed by Klæmint Olsen’s deft off-the-ball movement. With no remorse or threat to counter, B68 inevitably succumbed to a 5:0 hammering; with Olsen grabbing himself a hat-trick.Click here to watch the highlights.

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B68’s Svangaskarð Stadium provided no home comforts or protection from ‘the wind’.

NSI’s dominance

After the match, Gerber reflected, “I was very satisfied with the players’ performance with and without the ball, and most of all, their focus in the game. But you also have to remember that B68 didn’t have any pressure on the ball at all, at any moment in the game. Then it is difficult to be a defender”.

It looks like it will be a long, hard season for B68. Especially their defence. So it could be back to the drawing board for Gudlaugsson, if not the transfer market if they’re to remain in this league. Gerber suggests, “Maybe they have to deal with man-marking? They also man-marked my two central midfielders in the game, to no effect”.

Gerber shifted attention back to his team, “If we talk about our own match then we were the best team. I think they had one or two shots inside the box at our goal – and those were in the last minutes of the game. We had a very high percentage of possession and a lot of chances on goals. Gerber was not as content with Olsen’s hat-trick as he was with his team’s execution of the game plan. “Yes, he had a good game and scored 3 goals, but he had some big chances to score more. We should have scored even more”.

A Star is Born

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B68’s Svangaskarð Stadium provided no home comforts or protection from ‘the wind’.A star is born

In between Olsen’s hat-trick, 17 year old midfielder Petur Knudsen (son of legendary bobble hatted goalkeeper Jens Martin Knudsen) almost stole the headlines by scoring a superb free-kick. Gerber believes there will be plenty of headlines to come for Knudsen in the future. “He has a big big future. I think he can become a good player, move abroad, and develop more in a better club. He has quick feet, a good shot, makes goals, a great dribble, and has an impressive football intelligence”.

When pressed upon how far and where Knudsen’s career could take him, Gerber opined “I think he could make it in the Eredivisie. “A lot of Scandinavian players thrive in the Netherlands because the culture is nearly the same. They take care of the players more than in England, as they have more focus on developing players. That is vital if you are a young player”. Gerber stated that he did not know if there’d been any interest in signing Knudsen.

The Vikings are coming

Last week, Gerber described B68 as the ‘noisy neighbours’. After the match it was NSI’s players making all the noise in the neighbouring changing room. Among the strong smell of Ralgex and stale football kit, NSI’s victory shanty ‘The Bum’s Song’ sailed across the celebratory shower steam. However, Gerber had no time to sit and sing. After the match he was straight in the car to scout this Sunday’s opponents, Víkingur, for the second half of their draw against AB Argir.

Víkingur were founded in 2008, as a merger between Gøta GÍ and Leirvík LÍF). Gøta GÍ had a strong tradition of success, LÍF less so. Both teams merged with the intentions of having a better chance of transcending HB Torshavn dominance, but it’s been open to debate as to whether Víkingur are any closer to achieving this aim. Víkingur have had a similar record to NSI Runavik in the Effo.dieldin. over the past few seasons, but have found far more success in the cup competitions. This fixture should provide a good indicator to each other’s progress this season.

Anders Gerber evades this fixture’s significance, and wants to focus more on the team developing to his style of play. “Víkingur is a top team together with HB, NSI, B36 and KI. They are a very experienced team and should finish top 4. I think it will be an exciting match with two very different styles of play. The first goal is very important, actually, and will tell us if it can be ‘a boy or a girl’ – a home win or an away win”. The scorer of this goal will provide another intriguing duel for Effo.dieldin’s top scorer between Olsen and Víkingur’s Serbian attacker, Filip Djordjevic. Olsen is currently leading the way with 7 goals, and Djordjevic chasing slightly behind with 5 goals.

Not only will we find out on Sunday evening if Anders Gerber is left holding a boy or a girl, but we’ll also have a clearer picture on which young pretender will be looking to take HB’s crown.

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Following the manager #1 – The return of a local derby

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You have to be wary of your little brother. He’s competing for your place at the dinner table. What do you ignore? When should you swat?

No Grass Pitches follows the journey of Danish manager, Anders Gerber, throughout his first season in charge of NSÍ Runavik. This Sunday, his club will travel 3km down the road to face B68 Toftir, in the return of the Rókavegur derby to the Effodeildin fixture schedule.

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Páll Hagbert Gudlaugsson

B68 Toftir were promoted back to the Effodeildin last season, under the legendary Icelandic helmsman, Páll Hagbert Gudlaugsson. Páll was the national team manager when the Faroe Islands famously defeated Austria 1:0 in their first ever competitive international fixture in 1990.

Meanwhile, NSI Runavik will be looking build upon last season’s Europa League qualification. They narrowly lost out 5:4 on aggregate in the first qualifying round to Linfield this season, and stubbornly held Martin Jol’s Fulham 0:0 in the second leg of their 2011-12 Europa League campaign.

Despite their close proximity to each other, there’s far more than the 440 Bus route which separates these teams. In both club stature and philosophy. B68 are somewhat of a yo-yo team between the Effodeildin and 1.deild (much like Norwich City); whereas NSI Runavik appear to be the perennial ‘bridesmaids’.

NSI Runavik take pride in producing their own youth players and aim to field a local team. In contrast, despite having only a slightly smaller budget, B68 Toftir do not have a youth team and seem to prefer to improve the quality of their squad with more expensive foreign players.

Anders Gerber, NSI Runavik’s manager, explains the difference in the clubs’ philosophies. “It is very difficult to get the best Faroe players for the small clubs. So teams like B68 need to buy foreign players to be strong enough.”

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Anders Gerber

“NSI want their squad based on Faroese players. If they want players from outside it has to be from Scandinavia. And I understand them. The administration in the clubs in the Faroe Islands is very small .Therefore it is very difficult to help, as much as is needed, for African etc. players to adapt to Faroese society.”

When pressed about NSI’s expectations this season, Gerber acts coyly, “I’m only looking to continue our current development. Then everything is possible. But let us see how the situation is after the first 9 matches when everybody has played each other.”

Gerber is more certain about B68’s prospects, “I expect them to be bottom of the table. Probably 7th, 8th, 9th or 10 position. They have a good team with a lot of pace up front, but they are weak on set-pieces and really struggle with the tempo of this league.”

The rivalry between the fans of these two teams are as jagged as the landscape which surrounds these neighbours. Pedro Tarancón Antón (B68s Spanish defender) tells me how everybody stops him, on his shopping trip to Runavik to buy whey protein, to talk about this fixture.

“The supporters hate each other, but I want see the atmosphere on the pitch”. Gerber, apportions the hate as one-sided. Much like that of a smaller brother or Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘noisy neighbour’ reference to Man City. “I think it is more a local derby for B68 – they hate Runavik. Actually, some of the players/leaders from Runavik says if they beat us then it’s OK for them to get relegated”.

Will the noisy neighbours have their bragging rights or will the bigger brother reaffirm his standing….

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Pedro Tarancón – Postcard from the Faroes #2: First impressions of life on the Faroe Islands

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What’s it like to live on the Faroe Islands? They’re very different from Pedro Tarancón’s upbringing in Valencia. They’re also 1400km away from Anders Gerber’s girlfriend and kids.

I seek the first impressions of life on the Faroes from these recent arrivals. It seems as good a place to start as any for this blog on football in the Faroe Islands.

Andres Gerber has recently become manager NSI Runavik. He was sacked as Assistant Manager for Danish Superliga team, Silkeborg IF.

Pedro Tarancón joined B68 Toftir, via a nomadic career in Spain’s lower-leagues, Malta and The Maldives.

The local pub is a first port of call for many people to a new area. To dip your toes in local hospitality and sense of community. “There are no pubs in the Faroe Islands”, explains Anders.  “Only the occasional bottle shop. People are very religious here. In fact, half of my squad go to church on Sunday”.

Svangaskard
Svangaskarð, B68 Tofti’r ground

In the small fishing village of Toftir, where Spanish footballer Pedro Tarancón Antón plies his trade, there’s not even a café or a restaurant.

Just a few fishing huts, a supermarket; and brightly painted, beautiful houses – just like a Christmas card scene – for the 800 or so inhabitants. It’s a far cry from Valencia’s tapas restaurants and tabernas.

Beneath the sharp black ridges and in the face of unforgiving winds, Pedro explains how peoples’ homes act as the communal hub. A welcoming shelter. Their kinship and kitchen table remedy exposure to the elements.

“The people are warm and friendly, unlike the weather. Their door is always open and you rarely have to knock. They heartily invite you into their homes for coffee and conversation; whale meat and dried fish”.

Toftir
The small fishing village of Toftir.

The lifestyle evokes a familiar memory yet seems too distant away to comprehend. I can only envisage a British equivalent of knocking unscheduled on a friend’s door. Somebody greeting you with awkward surprise, or clumsily inviting you in for a cup of tea so they can gage whether you intend to stay or will be on your way.

As I stand outside, trying to look through this frosted window, I ask Pedro to describe in more detail his Faroese ‘Dickensian’ scene. Unfortunately, Pedro cannot not provide any more lucidity.

Perhaps this is out of respect for the host. Or maybe it’s because the hospitality extended solely to a new guest has dried up like the fish? I feel like an injury-claims lawyer trying to fathom a seemingly nice person’s angle. Where’s the catch?

runavik
The slightly larger Runavik, with 3000 inhabitants.

Yet Anders attests the same relationship, as Pedro, from Toftir’s fierce rivals down the road in Runavik. “The people here are sweet with open arms. They take care of new people and their family.  The people just invite you in more often here. It’s more a normal part of their daily life. Especially our Sports Director and wife”.

Given the jagged landscape and harsh weather here, it’s perhaps unsurprising how people’s nature has acclimatised in such a way. For these very reasons, you have to depend on each other and extend a warm welcome past your front door. I look forward to learning more about Faroese life, and having a tour beyond the front room. Next time from the people who were born and raised underneath these green and heavy clouds..….

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Pedro Tarancón – Postcard from the Faroes #1: Why does the defender share his best moments on YouTube?

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We’ve all watched various football challenges on YouTube that have ‘gone viral’. Our news feeds are often filled with Euro-dance montages of Ronaldo’s skills, or Premiership-related banter from Unilad.

But how many of you have watched March’s compilation of a Spanish defender playing football for B68 Toftir, in the Faroe Islands? A symphonic rock soundtrack which showcases Pedro Tarancón Antón’s array of crashing tackles and probing passes.

Beyond Pedro’s friends and family back home in Valencia, or a handful of loyal B68 fans, I can’t imagine anyone else has seen this video. Perhaps a few managers who have opened an email from an agent touting his services.

This blog aims to learn about life and football on the Faroe Islands, and understand the dreams and realities of players/coaches within them. There are many stories to be told from this wind-whipped land, and many curiosities within each bay.

Pedro Tarancón Antón’s YouTube videos provides such an example. What are the motivations behind these videos? Are they a player’s quixotic dream of being discovered by a major club or an agent touting his talents to hop towards the next stepping-stone?

“I made the video myself”, Pedro explains. “All of the football matches are recorded live by 3-2 productions. I go through each match, and compile clips of me through Windows Movie Maker. It takes me a few hours.”

I look-up 3-2 Productions website to get a fuller picture of Faroese punditry. Estate Agent suits on broadening ex-pros, like Paul Merson, are replaced by broadening ex part-timers in smart-casual fishing gear.

The anorak within me wants to find out if 3-2 alludes to a famous score-line in the Faroe Islands’ short footballing history. But google translate does not detect Faroese language. It merely recognises and translates a few Icelandic-derived words from the website. Insufficient for my itch.

In an increasingly vain world of selfie sticks and narcissistic footballers it’s hard not to imagine Pedro compiling clips of himself in a different light. Nor dimly judge his intentions for showcasing his talents. Yet Pedro’s motivations are as refreshing as the Norwegian Sea air that gushes into Toftir’s bay.

“I only make the video for my friends and family back home, so they can see my work. Of course I dream and hope of bigger things when I make these videos”.

“But my first goal is to share B68’s hope as a group, because if we have a good season then it can only help my dreams too”. The ship rising with the tide surfaces to my mind.

“My motivation is to make the supporters happy and take pride in my work. My father always taught me to give everything and be grateful with people. I like that people feel pride when they see me playing”.

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Carles Puyol. Nickname; Tiburón. The Shark

“You are now ‘the shark”, I say. Pedro laughs. “Yes. The Shark”. Puyol’s tenacity is evident in Pedro’s compilations, just as Puyol’s commitment to ‘the club’ pervades through all of Pedro’s thoughts.

It is interesting, and perhaps telling, that Pedro refers to Jamie Vardy as his favourite Premiership footballer. Vardy’s rise from obscurity to prominence has really caught Pedro’s imagination.

When I mention that ‘Jamie Vardy scores when he wants’, unsurprisingly for a defender, this elicits no interest whatsoever. “Vardy is in a great moment of his career, and I think it’s very difficult and inspiring what he and his team are doing”, Pedro earnestly responds.

 Pedro finally adds that he also sends his YouTube videos for his agency to share. Can such a video ever be solely intended for a craftsman to proudly showcase his work? A postcard to home from the Faroe Islands? Or a child’s painting for mum and dad to proudly display on their fridge door?

Ut_HKthATH4eww8X4xMDoxOjBzMTt2bJHas Jamie Vardy’s story acted as a beacon of hope? That managers and scouts are ‘shark spotting’ in even more obscure and remote waters? I can’t help but feel that Pedro Tarancón Antón’s secretly yearns for this. For now though, this warm water shark seems at home in cold waters.

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Fantasy Football: Introducing Anders Gerber and Pedro Tarancón

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How far away from home does a dream have to live? What lengths do you have to go through to achieve your goal? Can the Faroe Islands, a small archipelago halfway between Norway and Iceland, offer the remotest hope of ‘the Promised Land’? Does a football league ranked 49th out of 54, by UEFA, provide a stepping-stone too far?

Could you make the sacrifice of Anders Gerber? Moving 1,419 km away from his girlfriend and two young children to become manager of NSI Runavik; a part-time football team in a small fishing village of 3,571 inhabitants. Planning training, analysing the reserve game on video, making clips to evaluate each reserve team player; training the club’s only professional player, Nikolaj Køhlert, on long passes with the left foot.

Would you travel as far and wide as Pedro Tarancón Antón? A Spanish defender whose career has taken him from Levante to B68 Toftir via the Maldives. Toftir has an average summer temperature of 9-11C, and fares even smaller than Runavik with 823 inhabitants. Pedro couldn’t be further away from the Mestalla or his mother’s home-made paella in Valencia. Let alone his previous game of football in the Maldives.

This blog will follow the progress of Anders Gerber and NSI Runavik throughout the Effodeildin’s season, and also document Pedro Tarancón Antón’s journey from Valencia to Toftir. How far away will the Faroe Islands be from their dream compared to their home? The season will tell…..

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