Viking's UCL journey and the rise of co-head coaches: Why two managers might be better than one — SkimNews
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- Viking FK appointed Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim as co-head coaches in 2020, and the duo helped deliver the club’s first Norwegian league title in 34 years and qualification for the Champions League.
- Viking FK drew 3-3 with Bayern Munich in Champions League play with Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim leading the club.
- Eirik Bjorno said Viking’s two assistants proposed sharing the head-coach job after separate interviews, with both being treated equally as head coaches.
- Morten Jensen said he and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim agree on player selection 99% of the time, but debate disagreements with the coaching staff until they reach an agreement.
- Lyngby appointed Andreas Bjelland and Mikkel Jespersen as co-head coaches after Morten Karlsen’s December 2025 dismissal and Jespersen’s departure from Mainz, and their leadership delivered promotion to the Danish Superliga.
- Andreas Bjelland said Lyngby divided duties with Mikkel Jespersen handling the off-ball structure on “minus three” and himself covering the on-ball structure on “minus two,” requiring daily alignment and extra talks.
- Lincoln City also moved toward a dual-head-coach setup in the past year, extending the model beyond Viking and Lyngby.
Why it matters: Viking won its first Norwegian league title in 34 years and drew 3-3 with Bayern Munich after installing co-head coaches Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim. The organizational cost is equally concrete: CEO Eirik Bjorno said the arrangement created more work for him, while the coaches made alignment and disagreement resolution central to player selection.
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