It smells like gold in Stavanger. It smells like nervousness, anticipation, euphoria – all at once. The gold lager is already brewed in diversity, perhaps in arrogance, perhaps in hope. Kjartan Salvesen is being called down by desperate fans who still refuse to believe that all the tickets are gone. There may be free tickets in the away section, but there are no fans who can sit still out of respect for keeping the peace among the away fans.
The city is already full of fun, but still – this week Stavanger has found room for even more. The nightlife is rigged up, booked out well into overtime, ready to welcome both those who didn't get a ticket and those who just can't stand the thought of sitting at home with their heart rate at 190. It's going to be a party, no matter what. Both Viking and the city deserve it. But deep down – behind all the preparations – there's only one theme that matters: gold!
Vålerenga are not coming to be extras in a siddis adventure. They are coming to destroy, to throw one last big obstacle in front of a Viking team that seems unstoppable, and who have already noticed that the blue ones from Oslo can beat. They won the training match this winter. They won at home in the series. This will not be a walkover. This will not be a Sunday trip. This will be a final, brutal test.
The long wait from 1991 – 2025
The wait is not long – it is geological, to dramatize it for a football-mad soul. 34 years. 1991. The last time Viking was best in Norway. At that time, the Tippeligaen was young, the stands were simpler and the internet was something you had only heard about. Since then, Viking has been dragged through the entire emotional spectrum: big favorite, Mediterranean danger, relegation candidate, fought their way up directly after relegation, cup champion, football's answer to Lazarus – condemned to relegation, but always on the way back. Now on a good course towards crowning the top of Norwegian football.
I was -1 myself when Viking last lifted the trophy, the trophy that symbolizes that the team is Norway's best. My upbringing with Viking was a series of contrasts. I went to the old Stavanger stadium and saw a solid Viking team play in Europe, while they held a safe position in Norwegian football. In 2004 the new stadium opened - a monument to their ambitions. For a period Viking had a good team, which was again in Europe. We beat teams like Monaco, with Adebayor at the helm! But that was it and it ended with a mediocre 5th place in the series. The years that followed just got worse and worse. Peter Ijeh single-handedly saved us when we thrashed Brann on a wet November evening in 2006, Viking's biggest win in the Norwegian Super League in 10 years. How could we go from European games to barely making it through the season the following year? And ironically, I fell asleep during one of those games the following year, which remains the first and last time I have fallen asleep during a live match. A pitiful 0–0 draw against Sandefjord in 2007, which still has to be the most boring match I've ever seen. Viking were boring.
The following decade 2010-2020 was a roller coaster like no other. Everything from 11th place to 5th place and a relegation that hurt deep into the soul. The stands were empty and interest was at one of the lowest in Viking's history. The economy was in shambles and something had to be done. That's what happened, Henningsen came in and turned the ship around financially, in good cooperation with new general manager Bjørnø who came through the doors in 2020. The promotion before that, in 2018, was in many ways the start of what we see today. The enthusiasm among the fans went up, in many ways marked by the storming of the field when the promotion was a fact, the economy became healthier and healthier, and the club appeared in all ways far more professional in everything they handled. Good, and not least sensible, signings were made. This has only continued and besides the 2022 season, Viking has ended up respectably in the table. 3rd place in 2024 tasted good, but also a bit sour. 5 points behind Bodø/Glimt and only 2 poor points behind rival Brann. But something was going on. The young talents in the club got better and better. The experienced ones led with a different style. More guts and raw leadership. There was a positivity on an upward trend towards 2025. And now we are here, in a golden position to take the first gold in 34 years.
A city in turmoil – a club in its own bubble
While Stavanger is boiling, Viking is doing everything not to boil over. Coaches and support staff are trying to keep a grip on everything, a kind of "covid regime" as Morten Jensen describes it - not because illness threatens, but because focus does. School classes and kindergartens are not allowed into the locker room now. No changes. No major moves. No exceptions.
“We must dare to enjoy this, not be afraid,” says Jensen. But he knows as well as the rest of us: this is not “just a football match.” This is 34 years of hope that trembles in the walls of Lyse Arena.
The training week is going according to plan. Easy Tuesday. Full power Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Saturday with the opportunity for individual training. And then Sunday: kick-off at 5:00 PM.
The squad is almost intact – except for crucial pieces: Henrik Falchener out with quarantine after the heroics in Fredrikstad. Uncertainty surrounding Nick D'Agostino. Nevertheless: the optimism is palpable.
Vålerenga? Weakened, but dangerous. Vålerenga arrives in Stavanger without five key players. Quarantines, surgeries, injuries – a reduced crew. "We are weakened," says coach Petter Myhre. But he adds something that makes every Viking supporter's stomach a little uncomfortably tickle:
"Football is not mathematics. It is not logical either."
And he's right. Viking fans feel the gold is close, but nothing is decided. No player in dark blue thinks this is done. And Vålerenga is coming to play, not to park the bus. They have already shown – against Bodø/Glimt, against Viking – that they are best when they dare.
Super Sunday – the whole city holds its breath
Stavanger Municipality calls it "Super Sunday". Giant big screen displays are set up both at Torget and in Vågen. The police are preparing for between 30,000 and 50,000 people . There is a Christmas tree lighting, a gingerbread town, Santa's Run - but all of this is a sideshow. The main number is 5:00 p.m.
The whole city is prepared for chaos of the good kind. Folk festival. Fjåge i Vågen, winter edition. And if Viking takes gold, the plans are clear: players and coaches down to the city center for the tribute afterwards.
Stavanger is ready for anything.
Now there are only 90 minutes left – the most important 90 minutes of this season
Morten Jensen says they are sure of one thing: Bodø/Glimt will win their match. That means Viking must win. Period. A brutal and simple equation. But the feeling around the team is clear: they have handled everything that has been thrown at them this season. Big tests. Big teams. Pressure, expectations, adversity. And every single time they have responded. Goalkeeper Arild Østbø puts it simply: “Here at home, we are the ones who will rule.”
Ninety minutes where anything can happen.
Ninety minutes that could give Stavanger its greatest football pride since 1991
Ninety minutes that could give Viking gold, give the city a moment that will go down in history books, and give an entire generation something they have never experienced before.
The wait has lasted 34 years.
Now it's almost over – one way or another. There will be a party, gold or silver, the dark blues and the city deserve it.
