- The draw of the Champions League with “Bayern” has been made
- Why the club means everything to Nevland
- The low point of losing 5-0 in the second leg
- He won the title again after a 34-year wait
- Why do they do it differently with co-coaches
- Building something sustainable for the future
For Viking CEO Eirik Bjorno, it was the first goal against Bayern Munich. “It was the moment,” he says Sky Sports. “You prepare from wave to wave, maybe do a couple of counterattacks, and then you score from the first corner.”
Erik Nevland, sports director of the Norwegian club, preferred the second. “You can always score early,” he explains. “But it was something we never dreamed of. It was crazy. It was more than we expected. It was just a night for the history books.”
The third goal guaranteed it. Bayern turned the game around with three goals of their own, but Michael Olise was sent off and the Vikings seized the moment – their moment – to draw on the night Champions League football comes to Stavanger.
“It was the biggest game in the history of our club,” said Bjorno. “The most important learning is that we can actually compete. We can actually handle the tempo.” Viking certainly did, managing to upset the Bundesliga champions in more ways than one.
Bayern Munich board member Max Eberl was so baffled by Zlatko Tripic’s red card for Michael Olise that the executive hit the headlines by later describing the Vikings captain as “evil”. “But he’s our bad guy,” Nevland said with a laugh. “We love him.”
Some context is needed to understand why Nevland, 48, is enjoying the moment so much. The former Norway international left Vikings to join Manchester United as a teenager and played for the club in the Premier League before turning out for Fulham.
But this his club. There were four games with the Viking as a player, but the love affair began earlier. His mother even worked in a club. He has never known anything like this. “I’ve been dreaming about it since I was five years old,” Nevland explains.
“I’ve played at the club since I was seven years old and I’ve never experienced this as a player. To win the league and now to represent Viking in the Champions League is kind of a dream come true. It’s my home town and it means everything. It’s the proudest moment of my life.”
Viking shocked Europe by beating Bayern Munich’s 3 in the Champions League
That pride also stems in part from the journey this club has been on. Bjorno, like Nevland, remembers how far the Viking has come. Rock bottom reached the second level eight years ago. “The low point was losing 5-0 against a team called Nest-Sotra,” he recalls.
Bjorno pauses for comic effect. “That club no longer exists.” It serves to emphasize its absurdity. It was June 2018 and only 274 spectators were there to see the Vikings trail by four late in the first half. This was the lowest of them all.
“It was definitely a low point,” Bjorno said. “It looked like we weren’t going to go up, but we turned it around and went up by a point.” Progress was steady, albeit with a wobble in 2022, before taking the title for the first time in 34 years in 2025.
How? That is the open question. They say acceptance is the first step on the road to recovery, and Newland’s open appreciation of this version of Viking supports that theory. “We realized we were bad. Something had to change.”
Erik Nevland scored a goal for Fulham in his Premier League days as a player
Bjorno, more candidly, points to external factors. Norwegian football is enjoying a rise in performance levels in general. “The federation is starting to make sure we develop players.” But that doesn’t explain why it was the Vikings who capitalized.
Nevland offers a hyper-local explanation. “We use our academy and we have local players. We also have people in management positions who love the club and want to do well, have a passion for the city and have been at the club for a long time.”
He believes it is important to have people in key positions who want to be at Viking. “It’s the biggest job they’ve ever had,” Nevland explains. And this presence provides real continuity. “Players can come and go. But the culture we have created is massive.”
Viking’s co-coaches exemplify not only this culture of sustainability, but also the club’s willingness to do things differently. Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim played for the club for years, while another head coach, Morten Jensen, was on the books as a teenager.
It’s an unusual job-sharing arrangement, but it works for Viking. Bjorno says, “Regardless of what people think or what’s natural, we have to ask ourselves what is the best decision for Viking. We really thought it would make us better.”
Viking head coaches Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim and Morten Jensen
Nevland actually sees it as a bonus that others don’t take this approach. “It was brave to do it that way. It was a gamble. But we were absolutely convinced that we had to do something different for everyone. It worked. Now we can hardly see any other solution.”
Sustaining this success will be difficult, but Viking is also doing well domestically. They are battling Bodo/Glimt to defend their Norwegian title for the first time in over 50 years. The two clubs are tied on points with only 7 games left in the season.
The danger in Europe’s minor leagues is that only one club gets the Champions League money, and the rest simply fall behind. With both teams in their biggest competition of the season, there is the prospect of a different dynamic emerging in Norway.
Viking fans cheer their team against Bayern Munich
“Financially, it’s a different world,” Nevland says. “It gives you a very solid foundation, more freedom and security. It also gives you the ability to sign different types of players.” But the goal is to use the increased resources to build something longer than that.
“We will definitely look at our facilities, our training ground, our stadium,” adds Bjorno. “We want Viking to be strong 100 years from now. What decisions can we make now to ensure that the next generation can continue to develop the club?”
Nevland agrees. They will not be bought. They want to focus on enjoying the moment. “The biggest danger in football is that you lose yourself too quickly because you are always looking for success. There are many examples of this happening at bigger clubs.”
Viking’s squad away to Stuttgart in the opening match of the Champions League
The Vikings know who they are and what that means. “Everything,” says Bjorno. “We spend all our time trying to make the club better. When you see a lot of kids in town wearing Vikings jerseys, that’s what it’s all about. It’s bigger than life in a lot of ways.
“We’ve been there when it’s very dark, so we know it’s a rollercoaster. We’re just looking forward to the rest of this journey.” With visits to Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid and Napoli still to come for the Vikings, there could be more twists and turns to come.