When Hreidarsson was clinging on for dear life to a trawler in the middle of the North Atlantic while a Force 10 storm ripped away at him and the rest of the crew, life in the Premier League seemed a million miles away.
On board that ship, an international footballer wasn’t the most precious cargo. Back in 1996 Hreidarsson was a fully-fledged member of the Iceland squad and played for IBV on the south coast of the island, but to continue studying engineering at university he had to earn a living on choppy waters.
“I was a part-timer in Iceland,” Hreidarsson revealed in an interview with The Independent in 2008. “I was in school until 20, then university. I had trials and started playing for the national team. I worked where I could - a factory freezing fish, a fishing net factory, building work - all sorts of things. I also worked on the trawlers. For me, it was important to be part of that before football.”
However, in 1997 that work ethic and his displays on the pitch caught the eye of Steve Coppell, and he jumped at the chance to swap plaice for Palace.
“It was an honour for me to move there in 1997,” he added. “I went from what was essentially amateur level to the Premier League in one move; a dream come true. I even scored at Stamford Bridge!
“I went on trial there [at Palace] and I must have done OK because later in the year when they were promoted to the Premier League they made an offer, and it all happened quite quickly."
