Risto Izev keeps Valur’s Hlíðarendi community running

Risto Izev has worked at Valur’s Hlíðarendi sports grounds in Reykjavík since 2014, helping keep the facilities running and supporting the hundreds of children who attend activities there each day, mbl.is reports.

“There is always a lot going on at Hlíðarendi,” Izev said. Training sessions bring activity from mid-afternoon into the evening, with matches adding to the atmosphere. He said treating the children well and helping them feel safe were important parts of the job.

Izev is officially a caretaker, but his duties include keeping order in the sports hall, guiding visitors, working in the kiosk and taking training clothes to be washed. He also helps children with practical problems, such as tying their shoes, finding a plaster or looking for missing clothes and bags.

He usually arrives at Hlíðarendi around 4 p.m. and often stays until close to midnight. On weekdays, he also works until the afternoon at Pennan’s sales and distribution centre on Krókháls.

Born in Macedonia in 1966, Izev lived there until 1989, when the situation was becoming more difficult because of the war in the Balkans. Trained in cooking, he moved to Lombardy in northern Italy to seek work and opportunities, taking jobs in construction and other fields.

In autumn 1989, he met his future wife, Aðalheiður Pétursdóttir, at a café in Lombardy. They spoke in the limited Italian they both knew. The couple moved to Iceland in 2002 and have three children: Patrik Uni, 25, Pétur Uni, 21, and Ísabel Una, 18.

Izev said he grew up in the countryside, where his parents were market gardeners growing melons and peppers. He said he had never known anything other than long working days.