Two Head Coaches: The Viking and Lyngby Example

Viking FK is one of the clubs taking the field in the Champions League with two head coaches. The Norwegian side is managed by Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim. The pair led the team to a 3-3 draw in the match against Bayern Munich.

The club moved to this structure in 2020, appointing the two as head coaches. Viking then won the Norwegian league title for the first time in 34 years and earned a Champions League place. Jensen and Aarsheim were invited to interviews for the head coach job and, as close friends, suggested applying for it together. Club CEO Eirik Bjorno said the decision has not left them regretting it.

The structure is not unique to Norway. In Denmark, Lyngby wanted to move to joint management after Morten Karlsen was dismissed in December 2025. Andreas Bjelland, an assistant coach at the club, was included in the arrangement even though he had never been head coach before. The club also contacted Mikkel Jespersen, who had left Mainz. The team earned promotion to the Superliga, Denmark's top flight. The club has not won the Superliga since the 1991-92 season.

The biggest challenge of joint management is resolving disagreements. Jensen said debates in the coaches' room sometimes get loud, but most of the time they agree about 99 percent of the time on player selection. Aarsheim said he can read Jensen in a second, so they have not run into any serious problems.