On Wednesday, November 4, Norwegian side Viking will host Azerbaijan's Sabah in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League league phase. The encounter in Stavanger will attract attention not only because it brings together two newcomers to the competition's main stage, but also because of an unusual feature of the home team.
As reported by İdman.Biz, Viking are the only one of the 36 participants in this season's Champions League to have two equal-status head coaches - Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim.
Such an arrangement has been exceptionally rare in Europe's premier club competition in recent years. No confirmed examples of similarly established joint management have been identified in the previous two Champions League seasons since the introduction of the league-phase format in 2024/25.
From banking to Norwegian champions
The story of Viking's unusual coaching partnership began long before the club's recent success. In October, British newspaper The Guardian published an extensive feature on Jensen and Aarsheim, revealing details of their long-standing collaboration.
According to Aarsheim, the two discussed the possibility of jointly managing a professional team around 2012–2013. At the time, both were combining coaching with full-time employment: Aarsheim worked in banking, while Jensen was employed in the oil and gas industry. They were also involved in coaching amateur and semi-professional teams.
Their playing careers, however, were quite different. Aarsheim was a long-serving Viking player and captain, while an injury prevented Jensen from establishing himself in the club's first team.
Eventually, both joined Viking's coaching staff, working under Bjarne Berntsen. When the club decided to appoint a new head coach in late 2020, the management initially intended to choose one of them.
Instead, something unexpected happened. Rather than attending separate interviews, Jensen and Aarsheim approached the club's executives together and proposed taking charge on equal terms.
As Viking chief executive Eirik Bjørnø told The Guardian, the candidates presented a 120-page document outlining their football philosophy in detail. Their presentation also featured an unusual comparison: they depicted their competitors as a flock of sheep and themselves as two wolves ready to challenge the established order.
The club's management decided to take the risk. The pair were appointed in November 2020 and began working together ahead of the 2021 season.
The decision ultimately proved historic. In 2025, Viking won the Norwegian league title for the first time since 1991, ending a 34-year wait. They subsequently came through Champions League qualifying, eliminating Dinamo Zagreb, and reached the competition's main stage for the first time.
Two coaches, one philosophy
Unlike the traditional structure, in which the head coach has the final say, Jensen and Aarsheim enjoy equal authority. They jointly decide on team selection, tactical plans and the club's footballing strategy.
Their day-to-day responsibilities, however, are divided. As The Guardian revealed, Aarsheim primarily focuses on defensive organisation, while Jensen pays greater attention to attacking play. The two also alternate their matchday leadership duties on a weekly basis.
This arrangement helps explain an interesting episode ahead of the match against Sabah. At the November 2 press conference, Aarsheim appeared before journalists instead of Jensen. Asked about his colleague's absence, he replied briefly: "It's my week."
Jensen had recently been involved in a heated confrontation with Bodø/Glimt head coach Kjetil Knutsen during a Norwegian league match. However, Viking dismissed suggestions that his absence from the press conference was an attempt to keep him away from the media.
Interestingly, the two coaches also have contrasting personalities. Jensen is regarded as more emotional and ambitious, while Aarsheim prefers a calmer, more analytical approach. According to the pair, disagreements are resolved through discussion as they work towards a shared decision.
Viking sporting director Erik Nevland acknowledges that the arrangement often surprises colleagues from other countries. Nevertheless, he sees no reason to abandon a model that continues to deliver results.
Azerbaijan has already faced two head coaches
Despite the unusual nature of Sabah's upcoming opponents, this coaching model is not entirely unfamiliar to Azerbaijani football.
More than a quarter of a century ago, Azerbaijan's national team twice faced a side jointly managed by two equal-status head coaches.
That team was Sweden, where Tommy Söderberg and Lars Lagerbäck shared head coaching responsibilities from 2000 to 2004. Lagerbäck initially served as Söderberg's assistant, but the Swedish Football Association subsequently adopted a joint-management structure for the national team.
Azerbaijan faced the Swedish coaching duo twice during qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
On September 2, 2000, Azerbaijan suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Sweden in Baku, with Anders Svensson scoring the only goal.
The return fixture took place in Stockholm on October 7, 2001, and ended in a 3-0 victory for the Scandinavians. Anders Svensson, Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimović were on the scoresheet.
Interestingly, Azerbaijan were coached in both matches by Igor Ponomaryov, who currently serves as Sabah's sporting director.
Thus, 25 years later, the 1988 Olympic champion with the Soviet Union will once again encounter an unusual joint-management system, this time as a senior official of the Azerbaijani club.
A similar example in Azerbaijani football
Azerbaijani club football has also witnessed an arrangement resembling the Norwegian model, although with one important distinction.
During the 2022/23 season, Shamakhi were effectively managed jointly by Vugar Asgarli and Javid Huseynov. Officially, Asgarli was the head coach, while Huseynov held the position of assistant coach.
This division of roles was partly due to Huseynov not possessing the required coaching licence at the time. In practice, however, both specialists were involved in managing the team.
Asgarli openly acknowledged this in an interview with local media on August 4, 2022.
"We both make decisions here," he said, explaining that they jointly handled team selection, match preparation and matchday management. According to Asgarli, either he or Huseynov could conduct training sessions.
Asgarli also revealed that he and Huseynov had been friends for many years and had discussed the possibility of coaching a team together even before their partnership began.
This bears a striking resemblance to the story of Jensen and Aarsheim, whose idea of joint management also emerged from a long-standing friendship.
There was, however, a fundamental difference between the two cases. While both Viking coaches officially enjoy equal status, Asgarli remained Shamakhi's sole recognised head coach.
When journalists asked who would take responsibility for potential failures, he made it clear that the responsibility rested with him.
Their partnership ended in the summer of 2023 after Shamakhi were relegated from the Azerbaijan Premier League.
The upcoming meeting with Viking will also mark Sabah's first European encounter against a Norwegian club. Likewise, the Stavanger-based side have never previously faced Azerbaijani opposition.
The match will take place at Lyse Arena on November 4, kicking off at 23:59 Baku time. After three rounds of the Champions League league phase, Valdas Dambrauskas' Sabah have three points and sit 25th in the standings, while Viking occupy 33rd place with one point.
