Liverpool FC alive and well in Iceland

I catch up with the 38-year-old at Reykjavik harbour, as we slurp bowls of langoustine soup and talk at length of all things Red during our 90 minute chat.
Sveinn is one of nine board members from the Liverpool Club in Iceland, a supporters club if-you-will, who live and breath all things Anfield.
With over 2,300 paying members, the association appears in rude health and has gone strength to strength since it was first set up in March, 1994.
These Icelandic Liverpool fans are impressively active, the board meeting every Monday, publishing magazines and holding festivals across the country.
They have good links with Anfield and welcome a past Reds player to the country every year - last year it was Ian Rush, this year it was the turn of Neil Ruddock.
"Razor was good fun," Sveinn recalls with a smile.
"He got right into the spirit of it, he must have some Viking blood in him. We had a real job keeping up with him."
Sometimes, the group visit different cities in Iceland and distribute Liverpool FC flags to children in their bid to educate this Scandanavian country about the magnetic pull of the Reds.
But it's the trips to Anfield which these fans dream of and up to 12 are organised each season with the usual scramble for tickets before every visit.
Sveinn, who grew up in the tiny Westman Islands, a short 20 minute flight from the mainland, says: "Last year, I went to the Chelsea and Man City games.
"Even this year, during what has been a pretty shitty season, every trip is full. They are full even before they are advertised usually.
"For me, it's because of the famous Anfield atmopshere. I was a Liverpool fan since I was just five. My dad was an Arsenal fan, and his brothers and their kids were Liverpool fans."
Sveinn fondly recalls his first trip to Anfield, one of thousands frantically biting his nails in the early late spring of 2005, as Liverpool protected a precious 1-0 lead against Chelsea in the Champions League.
The beer compnay brand manager was almost flush in line with Icelander Eider Gudjohnsen's shot which fizzed past the Kop post with just seconds remaining on the clock.
For his second game, he was brought back down to earth like a dump.
A drab Liverpool 0 Everton 0 was a reminder that football is never always about winning and glory.
Even so, the indoctrinated way of life familiar to most Liverpool fans in this city seems to be filtering through to some who follow the Reds from more far flung places.
Sveinn says: "There are a lot of Man Utd fans in Iceland, but we are more organised than them, we are more passionate about our football.
"One guy said to me, 'I'm a Spurs fan, I don't like Liverpool, but I support the Liverpool Supporters Club in Iceland.
"Football means more to us than to other fans. In Reykjavik, on the last day of the season, when Man Utd had a chance of still winning the league, and Liverpool were playing for nothing more than pride, we outnumbered them in the bar by three to one."
In recent years, Scouse Reds fans have suspiciously eyed the 'out-of-towners' and foreign fans who some feel are detracting from the traditionally raucous Anfield atmosphere.
Listening to Icelandic Reds fans like Sveinn, it seems it would be a tad harsh putting them in this bracket.
"We make sure we have a few beers in The Park on Walton Breck Road before the match. We're greeted like we belong there. It's where we feel at home," he says.
"We're not speaking Chinese, or wearing big comedy hats with our cameras in hand. It's a three night trip to Liverpool where we usually stay in the same hotel.
"After the match, we kind of raid town."
As for favourite players Sveinn namechecks Kenny Dalglish ('everything about him I like') Gary McCallister ('he played for just a few years but really fitted in') and of the current crop Pepe Reina (by far, he's my favourite player'}
He adds: "I have strange favourites too. Stephane Henchoz, for example. He got away with so many handballs. He's not the usual choice, but I liked him."
The website affiliated to the Icelandic Liverpool FC supporters club - www.liverpool.is - is among the top 20 most popular in the country, a sign of the continuing affection for the Reds here, even during troublesome times, a point which the Westman Islander reflects upon.
"Of course, we want to get rid of the owners. We are all very concered about what might happen next season, We could be entering an era during which Liverpool becomes merely a mediocre team," he says.
"It's a terrible thought.
"Liverpool must always be challenging for trophies. We won't just fade away. This is Liverpool."