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Viking

Full name	Viking Fotballklubb
Nickname(s)	De mørkeblå (The dark blues)
Founded	10 August 1899; 125 years ago (1899-08-10) (as Idrætsklubben Viking)
Ground	Viking Stadion, Stavanger
Capacity	15,900
Chairman	Jan Henrik Jelsa
Head coaches	Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim & Morten Jensen
League	Eliteserien
2024	Eliteserien, 3rd of 16
Website	www.vikingfotball.no
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Viking Fotballklubb, commonly known as Viking or Viking Stavanger internationally, is a Norwegian professional football club from the city of Stavanger. The club was founded in 1899. It is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian football, having won 8 Norwegian top division titles, most recently in 1991, and 6 domestic Norwegian Cup titles, most recently in 2019. The club has played more top-flight league games than any other club in Norway. It has played in the top division since the league was established, except for the years 1966–67, 1987–88 and 2018. Notable European successes include knocking English side Chelsea out of the UEFA Cup during the 2002–03 season, knocking out Sporting CP from the same tournament in 1999–2000, and qualifying for the group stages of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.

History

Viking was founded in Stavanger in 1899 and played mainly local games in the early years. From the 1930s, the club established itself at the national level, playing in the 1933 cup final, which it lost to Mjøndalen. During the 1930s the club produced several of its best known players, most prominently Reidar Kvammen, who played in Norway's bronze medal winning 1936 olympic team. His brother Arthur Kvammen was also capped for Norway, while Bernhard Lund later went on to write the club anthem.

After the Second World War, Viking became a dominant side in the 1950s, beating Lillestrøm in the 1953 cup final and Sandefjord in the 1959 final, as well as winning the league title in 1957–58. Long-serving goalkeeper Sverre Andersen was the most prominent player in this generation, while Edgar Falch also earned several caps for Norway. Rolf and Kåre Bjørnsen, Asbjørn Skjærpe and Leif Nicolaysen were other prominent players, while a young Olav Nilsen began his remarkable Viking career in 1959. The club attendance record also stems from the semifinal of the 1959 cup, when 18,892 spectators saw Viking beat Odd 4–0.

While the 1960s was a somewhat quieter decade for Viking, the club returned to dominate Norwegian football in the 1970s. Viking won four straight league titles from 1972 to 1975, as well as the double in 1979. Innovative 1972 manager Kjell Schou-Andreassen has been credited for laying the foundation for the success, with his ideas on cooperative behaviour and his revolutionary use of pacey, attacking full backs Sigbjørn Slinning and Anbjørn Ekeland. However, the team had a new manager every year, with Sverre Andersen, Stuart Williams and Olav Nilsen leading them to the title in the subsequent years, and Tony Knapp managing the 1979 team. Midfielder Olav Nilsen was also a crucial player on the pitch in the first half of the decade, earning the nickname "Olav Viking", while fellow midfielder Svein Kvia was awarded the Norwegian Player of the Year title on several occasions. Arvid Knutsen, Reidar Goa, Hans Edgar Paulsen, Erik Johannessen, Inge Valen, Johannes Vold, Svein Hammerø, Gunnar Berland and Trygve Johannessen were other key players.

The 1980s started well for the club. Kjell Schou Andreassen returned to guide the club to the league title in 1982. They also finished runners-up in the league in 1981 and 1984, and in the cup in 1984, producing players such as Bjarne Berntsen, Per Henriksen, Erik Thorstvedt, Svein Fjælberg, Nils Ove Hellvik, Tonning Hammer, Isak Arne Refvik, Torbjørn Svendsen, Trygve Johannessen and Gary Goodchild. However, the mid-80s saw the club relegated to the Second Division, and 1987 was the club's worst season in recent memory as the club fell to 8th position in the Second Division, while local rivals Bryne won the cup and neighbouring minnows Vidar almost won promotion to the Tippeligaen.

Swedish manager Benny Lennartsson and players Kjell Jonevret and Per Holmberg arrived on large salaries to save the club. The gamble paid off when charismatic striker Alf Kåre Tveit secured a controversial penalty in the 95th minute against Vard in the final league game of the 1988 season. Arild Ravndal converted the spot kick to give Viking the victory and secure promotion, dubbed "the miracle in Haugesund". This signalled the start of a new era, and the club won the cup in 1989 and the league in 1991. Lars Gaute Bø, Roger Nilsen, Kent Christiansen, Egil Fjetland, Jan Fjetland, Trond Egil Soltvedt, Mike McCabe and Børre Meinseth were other key players in a young Viking team.

However, many of the young players from the 1991 league winning squad did not manage to live up to their expectations, and the club was almost relegated under new manager Arne Larsen Økland in 1992. Bjarne Berntsen took over as manager in mid-season and secured renewed Tippeligaen status. Viking FK almost knocked the world famous side FC Barcelona, the second sports team with 100 million Facebook followers, out of the European Cup. While the club spent most of the 1990s challenging for Premier League medals, it did however never manage to challenge Rosenborg for the league championships. The 1990s was also the era of player exports in Norwegian football, and Viking made substantial earnings from the sales of striker Egil Østenstad to Southampton for £900,000 in 1996 and goalkeeper Thomas Myhre to Everton for £800,000 in 1997, among others. Gunnar Aase, Lars Gaute Bø, Magnus Svensson, Bjarte Aarsheim, Kenneth Storvik, Roger Nilsen and Ingve Bøe were other key players in this generation.

Benny Lennartson returned in 2000 to take over from Dane Poul Erik Andreasen, and this resulted in two bronze medals, a cup title and a memorable European Cup victory over Chelsea. In 2003, Kjell Inge Olsen took over as manager, and the club finished fifth in the league.

At the beginning of the 2004 season, the club moved to its new stadium in Jåttåvågen, named Viking Stadion. At the same time, Englishman Roy Hodgson took over as manager. The club finished ninth in its first season in the new stadium and fifth in the 2005 campaign. Brede Hangeland, Egil Østenstad, Peter Kopteff and Frode Hansen were notable players in this period. At the end of the 2005 season, Roy Hodgson quit his job as Viking coach to take over as Finland manager, and he was replaced by Tom Prahl.

The 2006 season started poorly for Prahl's team and poor soon turned to terrible. With seven matches to go, the once so feared team were situated at the bottom of the table. Former Start coach Tom Nordlie was brought in on a three-month contract to replace Tom Prahl and save Viking from relegation. Under new leadership, Viking won three of the first four games, jumping to tenth place in the standings, but were then defeated consecutively twice to once again fall into the relegation zone. Now lying second from the bottom, it looked like the best the club could hope for was making the play-off spot. The season finale proved to be extraordinary, however, as Viking crushed league runners-up Brann 5–0 at home to pass both HamKam and Odd Grenland in the standings and ultimately retain their spot in the Tippeligaen. Tom Nordlie was considered the favorite for the manager role after the season, but he chose a move to Lillestrøm instead. On 22 November 2006, Viking appointed Uwe Rösler (who was replaced by Tom Nordlie in Lillestrøm just one week earlier) as their new manager.

Under Rösler, Viking returned as a top team, and claimed the 3rd spot on the table in 2007. However, the following seasons were less successful, with Viking ending on 6th place in 2008 and 10th in 2009. They were also surprisingly knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Finnish team FC Honka in 2008, and suffered an embarrassing loss against local rivals Bryne in the domestic cup in 2009. After not living up to the expectations two consecutive seasons, Rösler resigned from his position as manager on 18 November 2009.

In early December 2009, after a period of massive speculation in local newspapers, Viking appointed Åge Hareide, former manager of the Norway national football team, as their new manager. Failing to bring any titles to Stavanger, Hareide was sacked by the club on 9 June 2012.

Kjell Jonevret signed as the club's new manager on 19 June 2012. Jonevret had previously had a spell at Viking during his playing career, from 1988 to 1990. Jonevret spent over four years in charge of a team suffering from the club's increasing financial difficulties, achieving acceptable results despite the difficult financial premises. In August 2015, he renewed his contract until the end of the 2018 season. However, after the 2016 season the club reached a mutual agreement with Jonevret to terminate his contract.

On 24 November 2016, Englishman Ian Burchnall was announced as the club's new manager. Despite Viking signing an inexperienced manager and having financial trouble, Norwegian media predicted Viking to finish mid-table ahead of the 2017 season. However, it proved to be a difficult season for Burchnall, as the team struggled throughout the year, being in the relegation zone from start to finish. Two matches before the end of the 2017 season, Burchnall was fired from the job following the club's relegation to the 1. divisjon. Assistant manager Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim took charge as head coach for the last two matches, achieving a win in Viking's last match in the league.

On 19 December 2017, Bjarne Berntsen left his role as vice president of the Norwegian FA to take over the manager position at Viking. Berntsen has previously served as player, manager and director at the club.

During the months of December 2017 and January 2018, Viking's financial difficulties reached a level where there was a real possibility that the club could go bankrupt. A statement from the club revealed that it would not be able to pay players and staff in February unless a solution was found. The financial situation was eventually resolved in a deal with Stavanger-based bank SR-Bank which allowed the club to refinance its debts. The bank also purchased parts of the stadium and the stadium naming rights.

On 11 November 2018 Viking secured promotion to Eliteserien by placing 1st in 1. divisjon, in a tight ending of the season where two points were the difference between 1st and 3rd place. Viking defeated Kongsvinger 3–1 in front of a packed Viking Stadion on the last day of the season to secure the 1. divisjon title and put the club back in the Eliteserien after just one season on the second tier of Norwegian football. The victory sparked a pitch invasion by the Viking fans. Pitch invasions are extremely uncommon in Norwegian football.

On 8 December 2019 Viking won the Norwegian Cup after a 1–0 victory over FK Haugesund. Goalscorer was Zlatko Tripić on a penalty kick.

On 26 November 2020, the club surprisingly decided to terminate Bjarne Berntsen's contract, even though he had taken the club from the second tier to Eliteserien on first attempt and achieved top half finishes in the following two seasons. Berntsen expressed great disappointment over the decision. The club moved to a dual head coach model, with Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim jointly in charge of the team. Despite a lot of initial public scepticism about this decision, the duo coached the club to third position in the 2021 Eliteserien, qualifying for the 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League.

Crest and shirt

The original kit colours in 1899 were all white. This turned out to be problematic at that time. To avoid colour bleeding from the red and yellow club badge when cleaning the white shirts, the badge had to be removed from each shirt prior to washing and then re-attached afterwards. The club therefore changed to dark blue, and is now nicknamed after the dark blue colour of their shirts.

The club badge is shaped like a flag, and remained relatively unchanged from the club's formation in 1899 until 2020. In January 2020, the club introduced a redesigned badge. The flag shape remained, but the font was changed. The oak tree stump graphics were also changed, the year of foundation (1899) was moved and the name of the home city (Stavanger) was made slightly smaller. The traditional red background of the badge was also replaced with a dark blue background matching the colour of the shirts. Two years later, the 2022 edition of the kit reintroduced the red badge background.

From 2011, Diadora is the technical sponsor. The Norwegian power company Lyse has been the club's main shirt sponsor since 1999.

Stadium

Since the 2004 season, Viking Stadion has been Viking's home stadium. Previously, the club played at Stavanger Stadion, which had a capacity of 17,555. Stavanger Stadion had been the club's stadium since the club was founded in 1899.

Attendances

The first season with Viking Stadion saw the average attendance increase from 6,712 in 2003 to 12,450 in 2004. The average attendance numbers have been around 10,000 since the stadium was inaugurated. The lowest average attendance came in 2017, when Viking finished in 16th place and were relegated from Eliteserien. In 2007, Viking had an average attendance of 15,842, which is the highest in Viking's history. The official supporter club of Viking, is Vikinghordene (the Viking hordes). Other supporter groups are F19 Stavanger, Viking Oslo, Blå Brigade 99 and Vecchia Guardia.

Rivalries

Viking's biggest rivals both locally and historically are Brann, Bryne, Haugesund, Sandnes Ulf, Start and Rosenborg BK. The rivalries with Brann and Haugesund are often referred to as Vestlandsderbyet (the Western Norway derby). The rivalry with Start is commonly known as Sørvestlandsderbyet (the Southwestern Norway derby). Bryne, Haugesund and Sandnes Ulf are all located in Rogaland, the same county as Viking. Bryne and Sandnes Ulf are geographically the two closest rivals. Bryne is often considered Viking's biggest rival. The 2003 season was the last season Bryne and Viking played against each other in the league, even though the clubs have met in the cup since then.

Honours

• Eliteserien
  • Winners (8): 1957–58, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1991
  • Runners-up (2): 1981, 1984
  • Third place (10): 1968, 1971, 1978, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2021, 2024
• 1. divisjon
  • Winners (3): 1967, 1988, 2018
• Norwegian Cup
  • Winners (6): 1953, 1959, 1979, 1989, 2001, 2019
  • Runners-up (5): 1933, 1947, 1974, 1984, 2000

Recent seasons

In European football

Overall record

As of 25 August 2022

Source: UEFA.com

Players

Current squad

As of 26 October 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  NOR Arild Østbø 2 DF  NOR Herman Haugen 3 DF  NOR Viljar Vevatne (vice-captain) 4 DF  NOR Sondre Langås 6 DF  AUS Gianni Stensness 7 FW  AUS Nicholas D'Agostino 8 MF  NZL Joe Bell 9 FW  NOR Lars-Jørgen Salvesen 10 FW  NOR Zlatko Tripić (captain) 11 MF  NOR Yann-Erik de Lanlay 12 GK  NOR Magnus Rugland Ree 13 MF  SWE Hampus Finndell 15 DF  NOR Henrik Heggheim 16 MF  NOR Kristoffer Løkberg

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  NOR Edvin Austbø 18 DF  NOR Sondre Bjørshol 20 FW  DEN Peter Christiansen 22 DF  AUS Franco Lino 23 DF  SVN Jošt Urbančič 24 DF  NOR Vetle Auklend 26 MF  NOR Simen Kvia-Egeskog 27 MF  USA Christian Cappis 29 FW  NOR Sander Svendsen 30 GK  NOR Jacob Storevik (on loan from Vålerenga) 31 MF  NOR Niklas Fuglestad 32 MF  NOR Kasper Sætherbø 51 GK  NOR Aksel Bergsvik

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 34 DF  NOR Kristoffer Paulsen (at Sogndal until 31 December 2024)

Personnel

Technical staff

Position	Staff
Head coaches	Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim Morten Jensen
Assistant coach and analyst	Stig Vik Nedrebø
Goalkeeping coach	Kurt Hegre
Physiotherapists	Halvard Øen Grova Kenneth Rosbach Petter Søndenå
Doctor	Øystein Dale
Chiropractor	Tarald Sørenes
Player developer	Rune Repvik
Mental coach	Frank Heggebø
Equipment manager	Stian Refvik

Last updated: 13 September 2023
Source:

Administrative staff

Position	Staff
Chairman	Jan Henrik Jelsa
Chief executive officer	Eirik Bjørnø
Sporting director	Erik Nevland

Last updated: 30 April 2024
Source:

Managerial history

• Reinhard Andersen (1946)
• Sophus Jensen (1947–49)
• Frantz Gutkas (1950)
• Gunnar Stensland (1951–52)
• Georg Monsen (1953–54)
• William Danielsen (1955)
• Georg Monsen (1956–57)
• William Danielsen (1958–59)
• Sverre Andersen (1960)
• Svend Aage Jespersen (1961)
• Georg Monsen (1962–63)
• Reidar Kvammen (1964)
• Georg Monsen (1965)
• Sverre Andersen (1966–70)
• Kjell Schou-Andreassen (1971–72)
• Sverre Andersen (1973)
• Stuart Williams (1974)
• Olav Nilsen (1975)
• Arvid Knutsen (1976)
• Svein Kvia (1977)
• Tony Knapp (1978–1981)
• Kjell Schou-Andreassen (1982)
• Andreas Morisbak (1983)
• Keith Blunt (1984)
• Svein Kvia (1984)
• Bill Foulkes (1985)
• Sverre Andersen (1985)
• Svein Kvia (1986–87)
• Kjell Schou-Andreassen (1987)
• Benny Lennartsson (1988–91)
• Arne Larsen Økland (1992)
• Bjarne Berntsen (1992–95)
• Poul Erik Andreasen (1996–99)
• Benny Lennartsson (2000–02)
• Kjell Inge Olsen (2003–04)
• Bjarne Berntsen (interim) (2004)
• Roy Hodgson (2004–05)
• Tom Prahl (2006)
• Tom Nordlie (2006)
• Uwe Rösler (2007–09)
• Åge Hareide (2010–12)
• Kjell Jonevret (2012–16)
• Ian Burchnall (2017)
• Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim (interim) (2017)
• Bjarne Berntsen (2018–20)
• Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim & Morten Jensen (2021–)

References

1. "Maratontabell". www.nifs.no (in Norwegian). Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
2. ^ "Viking Fotballklubb". www.snl.no (in Norwegian). Store norske leksikon. 4 July 2017. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
3. "Barcelona took desperate measures beat to Real Madrid on Facebook - but lost". Daily Mirror. 2 April 2017. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
4. "UNDER CONSTRUCTION | Fan Page List". Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
5. Viking FK – S.K. Brann : 5–0 Archived 2017-10-28 at the Wayback Machine Match report from Scorespro.com
6. Hareide ny Viking-Trener Archived February 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
7. Haugen, Eivind A. (9 June 2012). "- Jeg har ingenting å klage på". dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
8. Priésner, Jakob (19 June 2012). "Jonevret har signert". aftenbladet.no (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
9. "Jonevret forlenger med Viking". aftenbladet.no (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. 3 August 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
10. "Jonevret ferdig i Viking". tv2.no (in Norwegian). TV 2 (Norway). 14 November 2016. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
11. "Burchnall presentert som ny Viking-trener". tv2.no (in Norwegian). TV 2 (Norway). 24 November 2016. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
12. "10 norske medier: Slik ender Eliteserien". www.vg.no (in Norwegian). VG. 3 April 2017. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
13. "Burchnall har fått sparken i Viking". www.aftenbladet.no (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
14. "Aarsheim: – Fikk igjen vist at vi kan vinne kamper". www.aftenbladet.no (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. 26 November 2017. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
15. "Bjarne Berntsen ny hovedtrener i Viking". www.vg.no (in Norwegian). VG. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
16. "Bjarne Berntsen har fått sparken i Viking". www.nrk.no (in Norwegian). NRK. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
17. "Slutt med Adidas i Viking". www.nrk.no (in Norwegian). NRK. 29 September 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
18. ^ "Mens vi venter på den nye Viking-drakten". www.adressa.no (in Norwegian). Adresseavisen. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
19. ^ "Lyse". www.viking-fk.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
20. "Viking går over til Diadora". www.aftenposten.no (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 29 September 2010. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
21. Historien – Viking Fotball Archived August 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
22. "Viking Stadion". eliteserien.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
23. "Tilskuertall Viking". NIFS (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
24. "Vikinghordene". viking-fk.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
25. "vecchiaguardia.no". vecchiaguardia.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
26. "Viking ute av cupen". www.nrk.no (in Norwegian). NRK. 5 May 2018. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
27. "Viking-treneren sjokkert over Bryne-fansen". www.vg.no (in Norwegian). VG. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
28. "Viking FK". NIFS (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
29. ^ "A-laget" [First team squad]. Viking FK (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
30. "Paulsen lånes ut". Viking FK (in Norwegian). 6 August 2024.
31. "Viking Fotball AS". Proff (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 April 2024.
32. Nilssen, Stig (5 August 2021). "Erik Nevland er ansatt som sportssjef i Viking". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 6 August 2021.

External links

• Official website

Supporter sites

• Vikinghordene – Official supporter club

• Viking FK
• Association football clubs established in 1899
• 1899 establishments in Norway
• Football clubs in Norway
• Eliteserien clubs
• Sport in Stavanger
• Viking Age in popular culture