"Vision, physical strength and speed" 

Even though only 21, Aron Pálmarsson has established himself as one of the best playmakers in the world, playing a steadily increasing role for German superteam Kiel and for his national team Iceland.

Son of one of Iceland‘s finest basketball players, Pálmarsson was a regular for all Iceland Junior teams, winning silver at the U-18 EURO in 2009. A year later, he played his first tournament with the senior team, the EHF EURO 2010 in Austria, proving a sensation as Iceland won the bronze medal. And now, two years on, he is ready to shoulder the responsibility as one of the team‘s key players in Serbia.

„I grew up a lot at the EURO in Austria. It was an incredible experience, playing my first major tournament for Iceland, only 19 years old. I was surprised by the difference between the junior teams and the main team. Everything was so professional and disciplined and I was astounded by how big the occasion was in every way".

Pálmarsson was one of the sensations of the EHF EURO 2010. Some say that he went to Austria as a boy and returned as a man. He watched the first two matches from the sidelines as Iceland twice let good leads slip for draws, but got his chance in the third match against Denmark.

„I was beginning to fear that my role would be limited to the bench and was getting quite frustrated, especially as I felt that I was good enough to contribute on the field. But then I got to play against Denmark and had a good match as we won comfortably. Wow, that was a good feeling. After that I played a bigger role than I had anticipated and in many ways I grew up in Austria".

Now, after winning both the German Bundesliga and the cup with his team Kiel, Pálmarsson is ready to play his role as one of the key players in the Icelandic team.

„I feel that I have improved immensely in the last two years. I‘d say about 40-50% in all areas. Vision, physical strength and speed. I‘m playing with and against the world‘s best players week in and week out and that can only make you better and stronger".

Pálmarsson is looking forward to meeting up with the Icelandic team at the beginning of January to prepare for EHF EURO 2012 in Serbia. „It‘s always nice to come home to Iceland, get Icelandic food, meet the family and the guys in the team. Also, we get the special feeling and anticipation that hits all of Iceland in January before each championship in handball. Even though I‘m used to playing in front of 10 thousand fans at every match at home in Germany, there‘s nothing like playing in front of a sold-out hall of 3500 Icelanders and the support we get is incredible".

In Kiel, Pálmarsson‘s role is mainly that of a playmaker, chipping in with the odd goal whereas he is often the top scorer in the Icelandic team.

„In Kiel, I have some of the very best distance-shooters in the world beside me like Filip Jicha, Momir Ilic and Daniel Narcisse and my role is mainly making openings for them and the pivot. We don‘t have the same resources in the Icelandic team, so there I‘m supposed to take more shots and I‘m more than ready to do that".

It‘s still doubtful that Icelandic superstar Ólafur Stefánsson will be a part of the Icelandic team in Serbia, but Pálmarsson claims that even without him, the team‘s goals will be the same.

„Of course the team won‘t be the same without him as he‘s still world class, but I feel that we have the players to take his place. We have other players in the same position playing very well in the Bundesliga. But of course Serbia will be very tough. There are no easy games at the EURO and our first goal will be to qualify for the main round. After that we are, of course, going for the semis and after that everything can happen, but we have shown our strength in the last tournaments and are very confident. Even though the Olympic qualifiers are coming up and then, hopefully the Olympics in London, we won‘t start to think about that until after Serbia. We‘ll be totally focused on the task there and want to do our absolutely best for our fans back home. We‘ll give everything to have a successful EHF EURO 2012".

Further information

Download the Official EHF EURO 2012 Playing Schedule (pdf)

Buy your EHF EURO 2012 tickets HERE.

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Find more information on the tournament on the official website www.ehf-euro.com/SRB2012/

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