Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir says that the most important part of being a leader is to ensure ‘everyone is connected’ as her side return to UWCL action this week.
Viggósdóttir was speaking to the media ahead of her side’s trip to Paris to face PSG on match-day four of the UEFA Women’s Champions League at the Parc des Princes. The Halfway Line was present to hear from the Bayern Munich captain.
Viggósdóttir says ensuring people are ‘connected’ and ‘feel good’ is key to leadership
Viggósdóttir has been captain of the Bavarian giants for three years and dons the armband for her nation too, Iceland. The Halfway Line asked Viggósdóttir to speak a little on her leadership style, and what’s important to her as a leader,
“It’s always a little bit of a tricky question to answer” Viggósdóttir said. “I think for me the most important job as a leader is to make sure that everyone is connected and everyone feels good. So, because I really believe that when people feel connected and feel good, they can perform at their best.
“So, for me, it’s really important to always bring that, bring my best to every single training, and then I try and get the same out of every single player, because that way we can have good training sessions where we improve, and that will then translate into the games. I try and lead by example in that way but yeah, it’s a little bit difficult to answer exactly what that looks like.”
Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir says Parc des Princes is ‘a special’ Stadium
On Tuesday night, Bayern Munich will walk out at Parc des Princes, one of the greatest stadiums in the world. The Halfway Line asked Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir what her favourite stadium she’s played in has been,
“I think Parc des Princes is a special one” Viggósdóttir smiled. “The grass is incredible, the fans are incredible, the stadium is nice. I mean, [FC Bayern] Campus, it’s always a special feeling as well but then really randomly we played, I don’t know what the stadium is called [Estadio de Anoeta] but we played against Real Sociedad in the Champions League a few years ago.
“I really, really liked that stadium. [The] dressing rooms were nice, it was brand new! And they sang the same songs that we sing in Iceland, so it was a little bit like playing at home!”
Viggósdóttir expecting a ‘tight game’ against PSG
Bayern Munich have face PSG in each of the past four years in the UWCL, Munich have had the better of it with three wins to PSG’s sole victory back in 2022. The club from the French capital were eliminated in the league phase last term but they already have three points more this time round, than they got in the entirety of last year. Viggósdóttir weighed in on the opposition,
“Yeah, I think they have had some good results this year” Viggósdóttir said. “And I think they’re always a tough team to play away. Also with their fans, it’s always a tough challenge. But yeah, I think in the games that we played them before, it’s always been been a tight game.
“But we’re gonna be fully focused on how to use our strengths against them and how we can use our team and our strength to get the results that we want.”
Viggósdóttir lauds PSG’s ‘individual brilliance’
Over the years, the Paris club have had some exhalated names walk out in the famous navy and red, Laura Georges, Caroline Seger and Lieke Martens to name just a few. Today, they can call upon talents like Sakina Karchaoui, Naomie Feller and Rasheedat Ajibade, Viggósdóttir was asked to comment on the talent in the ranks of the opposition,
“I think they always have this like individual brilliance that they can can bring out in certain situations” Viggósdóttir explained. “I think that’s what we need to be the most aware of on the transition. I think this individual brilliance that we need to just be aware of and and have have a good balance and be prepared for it.
“Obviously, we always just prepare the team as a whole. Like, how do they play? What are they looking for? How do we prevent it? How are we prepared in the best way? And how can we use their weaknesses in our favor and vice versa.
“I think it’s of course a strength for them that they have lots of players who can score. But for us, I think we are more focused on the how they play as a team, but then we just have to be aware that they can pull out this individual brilliance in certain situations, and then we need to be on top in those situations.”
Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir reflects on a decade in the UWCL
Viggósdóttir made her UWCL debut when she was just 16-years-old, she has come quite the distance since then. Her first taste of UWCL success came with a Swedish side Eskilstuna United, with whom she helped reach the Round of 16, featuring in all 11 matches. The Bayern Munich captain was asked to reflect on how far the competition has come along since then,
“I mean it’s massively different” Viggósdóttir said. “A lot has changed in these years since I played my my first game, and the competition has grown, the football has grown. I talked to somebody about this the other day, and I was trying to think back, and I was thinking, I can’t even remember who won the Champions League the first year that I played because it wasn’t as available to watch.
“It wasn’t as available to follow the competition to see what was happening, and as well, I think we played in Iceland, and it was maybe 25 people in the stands. And then I think back to playing the semi-finals last year in Camp Nou. It’s really special to have been able to see the development and how how far everything has grown in not that many years, to be fair, so it’s really exciting.”
You can catch Viggósdóttir’s Bayern Munich taking on PSG in the UWCL on Tuesday night from 8pm, learn more about where you can watch it and all the other European action this season here: https://wheretowatch.uefa.com/
