TV image after Viking match astounds:

Unique and impressive. This is the verdict from NRK expert Carl-Erik Torp about what he has seen from the Stavanger club off the field in the Champions League this autumn. In a football world that is increasingly closed, the blue shirts from Rogaland have taken the other route. Torp goes so far as to claim that Viking must be the most open club in the Champions League's history. - Never seen anything like it There are fresh examples that support the NRK expert's praise. - Before the Bayern match, TV 2, which produces the documentary "Viking Inside," got home to coach Morten Jensen the day before the match. With the tactics board on the table, he told how they were going to play and how they were going to stop the Bayern stars. - TV 2 also got to be part of and observe Jensen at a training session for the nine-year-olds in Havørn. In the car back, the channel managed to install a camera and document that Jensen's son interviewed his father about the upcoming match. - On match day (!) TV 2 brought back the defense profile Gianni Stensness. He said goodbye to his partner before the channel took him to the stadium and filmed the whole thing. - The Viking coaches let the reporter go right into the middle of the match against Bayern and agreed to wear small microphone mics. In this way, the TV viewers heard how the coaches communicated with each other – and with the players during the game. - Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim also allowed cameras to be set up in the coaching locker room, which allowed the TV viewers to get a glimpse into the conversation after the victory over Bayern. - That night, the channel got to ride in the car with Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim on the way home from the stadium. - At this level, I have never seen anything like it. I have never seen a club or a national team, without hesitation, say an unconditional yes to being available to the media as Viking is doing now, says Torp. That Viking makes it possible for the outside world to get so close to them is not random. Around the same time as Bjarne Berntsen handed over the coaching responsibility at Viking to Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim after the 2020 season, something happened behind the scenes that would shape the club that is now participating in the Champions League for the first time. Fearless choices in 2020 Daily manager Eirik Bjørnø tells NRK that the many strong personalities and leaders in the club agreed on what should shape the club's course and culture further. They agreed on a fearless choice for the way forward. - When we started this journey to the treble and playing in the Champions League in 2020, we agreed that we had to do things differently. We wanted to cultivate the strengths of the club and the personalities we have at home. We felt that it gives an advantage to be welcoming and offer yourselves, says Bjørnø. They decided: Viking should be a club where everyone feels welcome and a club that offers itself. - No force Now this culture of openness has permeated the entire club for many years, Bjørnø insists. - For us, much of this is completely natural. We have a fundamental attitude that if Gianni Stensness thinks it's okay for TV 2 to bring him and sit in the car for the match, then he does it. If he doesn't want to, he leaves. There is no force and no one demands that people must be nice; we just make room for the possibilities for those who want them, says he. Viking's profiles on openness Zlatko Tripic: - I think she is unique. I hope all journalists appreciate that openness and how fun it can be to be so close to us. We want to give something back to the people. We want to show that we are ordinary people, us too, even though we play at such a high level. We are very happy to share this journey with our supporters, the Norwegian people, and everyone who is happy in Viking. Viking's profiles on openness Morten Jensen: - We are an open club and have nothing to hide. If people want to get closer and see how we work inside, we are open to it as long as it is according to our premises and players and coaches accept it. I feel we have respect for their profession too. If you want to make good journalism, we must open the doors sometimes. Viking's profiles on openness Henrik Heggheim: - That's how we have always been, at least as long as I have been in the club. It is good that we don't change ourselves even if the occasions become a little bigger. It is probably a strategy from the club's side. It has worked, so why change it? The Viking leader says it directly: They are neither bigger nor better than the interest that surrounds them at all times. - Instead of closing ourselves off and just focusing on sporting development, we see no contradiction between sporting ambitions and offering ourselves, says he. - Do you think openness has a real impact on the sporting achievements? - Yes, without a doubt. I am endlessly naive about the belief that good atmosphere and club culture affect sporting results, says he. - We just kept going Bjørnø believes that if Viking is to be a club people care about even on bad days, they must do their best to cultivate the interest that is there on good days. - That interest is only created by people getting to know the club and our profiles. It was an attitude that really gained momentum when Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim took over the responsibility. They got energy from going out on the stage, and when the rest of the club's personality benefited from the idea, we just kept going, he says. It is not just the press that meets open arms when it comes to the champions from Stavanger. The mantra is that supporters, even their opponents, should be well taken care of. Giving balls to "football fans" The notorious supporters of Dinamo Zagreb noticed this when they visited Viking before the Champions League playoff match earlier this year. Where the so-called football masses Bad Blue Boys from Croatia are probably used to meeting large police forces, skepticism and little hospitality when traveling around Europe, they met something completely different in Stavanger. Bjørnø says that Viking made sure to stand ready with their famous school jerseys when they arrived at the stadium. They were distributed to these notorious supporters – and the result was a match without any special problems or damages. - The strategy was quite simple. I think that if you are well received somewhere, the chance of causing trouble is smaller. We thought that everyone who comes to Stavanger should experience Stavanger as a good place to come to, says he. And the response from the Bad Blue Boys did not wait, he says. - Yes, they were shocked. But that was also somewhat the intention, he says. And he insists: - We have great faith in the philosophy of "kill them with kindness". - German journalists gasped NRK expert Carl-Erik Torp follows Viking closely this autumn. In Stuttgart, he saw with his own eyes that Viking's philosophy and culture attracted attention. He remembers well the reactions when coach Morten Jensen stepped up to the press after the match. UEFA's demand is only that the coaches must appear at a press conference. - In Stuttgart I stood next to German journalists who just gasped: "Hey, is it the coach who is coming here now?" It is not normal, and it shouldn't be so at this level either. The pressure on top players and coaches is enormous, daily life is extreme, and the most important thing for them is still what happens on the field, says Torp. He thinks what is most impressive about Viking is that it seems they genuinely want to be open and inclusive. - It doesn't feel like a duty, they are open by nature. They are nice people, it is easy to talk to them. They play themselves well by acting like that, he says. TV 2: – A hospitality we can hardly believe TV 2's sports editor Vegard Jansen Hagen has only positive words about the cooperation with Viking so far. - Without in-depth knowledge of Sabah's media strategy from Azerbaijan or the availability around LASK Linz, I think Viking can adorn themselves with the title as the most open club in the Champions League, says he. He thinks Viking impresses with what he calls boundless openness, trust, access, and an offensive attitude. - They invite with a hospitality we can hardly believe, and we get unique opportunities to build interest for the club, players, and coaches. Viking really manages to maximize this adventure in the Champions League. Vegard Jansen Hagen Sports editor at TV 2 - The open line must remain firm regardless Bjørnø thinks it is important to remember that football is still just football. - It is not so grave that we cannot offer ourselves. The day we stop with that, I think the pressure of expectation will eat us up. By uncomplicating the surroundings, we also strengthen ourselves in sports. We are simply a group that finds it fun to share this journey with people, says he. - How does openness fare if you have six straight losses in the Champions League and lose the title at the end? - The open line must remain firm. People should experience being met in exactly the same way in Viking regardless of the result. The real acid test comes when it comes, and then the outside world will have to bear the judgment over us, he says. - You can watch Viking's match against Aston Villa on Wednesday evening on TV 2 Play or listen live on NRK Sport on the radio. The match starts at 9:00 PM.