could still stay but, as Jakobsen told them in his typically subtle way, they wouldn’t do any more training or play any matches. Everyone who got to play was 17 or 18, so bigger, heavier opponents wore us out physically for the first two seasons, but in our third season we were promoted, and we went through the Second Division unbeaten. It was us against the rest of the world. We had one mission: to win. We were a team of 11 practically insane footballers whether we were playing away against Levanger, at home against Bærum or travelling away to Strømmen Stadion. Even before the last league round, long after our promotion had been secured, Jakobsen stood there with his top off, pounding his chest, telling us: “Now it matters more than ever.”’
‘Which year was this again?’ asked Bjørnar.
‘We went up from the Second Division in 1998. Then came our legendary 1999 season in the First Division, on Linderud’s astroturf. On the touchline we had a speaker with a megaphone and a portable cassette player with a tape of Prince’s classic hit “1999”, which we played during half-time. The start of the season was beyond all our expectations, and by halfway through we were top of the league. Then Ajax called.’
‘Did they call you personally?’
‘Yeah, I didn’t have an agent. Ajax had been following me for two years, and it was my boyhood dream. The team that had won the Champions League four years earlier with almost exclusively home-grown players. There was no better club to join, but I was terrified of telling Jakobsen.’
‘What did he say?’
‘He started crying.’
Bjørnar looked at Steinar as if he were lying. Steinar started to smile, then tilted his head and nodded, confirming Bjørnar’s suspicions.
‘No, he told me that he knew he couldn’t keep me forever, but it was a tough thing to take nonetheless. I stammered a few words to the effect that I hadn’t made up my mind yet. Then Jakobsen looked at me harshly and said: “You’re going!”’
‘Why?’
‘He couldn’t compete. He didn’t want to. Jakobsen came along to Amsterdam, negotiated my contract and got them to agree that I’d finish the season I was playing with Årvoll. It was a bizarre situation. An Årvoll player on his way to Ajax, and Jakobsen negotiating with them as if he’d never done anything else. Later that evening I lost him in the centre of Amsterdam, but that’s another story altogether.’
Bjørnar laughed.
‘We had a few injuries during the autumn and had to keep making changes to the team. We still ended up in third place and met Kongsvinger in a play-off match. We travelled to Gjemselunden, drawing 0–0, meaning we had one foot in the top division. For the second-leg match, 2,150 spectators came to Linderud, which was practically impossible, but they piled one on top of the other around the pitch. We were leading 1–0 until the 92 nd minute, when Johan brought down Kongsvinger’s striker, and I’m not lying when I say that it happened two yards outside the penalty box. The referee awarded a penalty. Of course we all protested wildly, all except Jakobsen, who stood absolutely still. The Kongsvinger player was seriously arrogant and took a two-step run-up. He managed to fool our keeper and chipped the ball straight into the goal. It happened as if in slow motion. We just managed to take the next kick-off before the referee blew his whistle. One ref’s mistake away from the top division. I completely lost it and got a five-match ban for starting a fight. Ajax were about to cancel my contract.’
‘I remember. It got a lot of space in the Swedish papers too. But what about Jakobsen? Didn’t he snap? You said he just stood there calmly, watching.’
‘After calming down, I took a long shower. I was the last one there as I left the dressing room. Jakobsen took me aside and said: “I’m glad.”’
‘What?!’
‘He said that the team would fall apart the day one of us left, and then the top
‘Which year was this again?’ asked Bjørnar.
‘We went up from the Second Division in 1998. Then came our legendary 1999 season in the First Division, on Linderud’s astroturf. On the touchline we had a speaker with a megaphone and a portable cassette player with a tape of Prince’s classic hit “1999”, which we played during half-time. The start of the season was beyond all our expectations, and by halfway through we were top of the league. Then Ajax called.’
‘Did they call you personally?’
‘Yeah, I didn’t have an agent. Ajax had been following me for two years, and it was my boyhood dream. The team that had won the Champions League four years earlier with almost exclusively home-grown players. There was no better club to join, but I was terrified of telling Jakobsen.’
‘What did he say?’
‘He started crying.’
Bjørnar looked at Steinar as if he were lying. Steinar started to smile, then tilted his head and nodded, confirming Bjørnar’s suspicions.
‘No, he told me that he knew he couldn’t keep me forever, but it was a tough thing to take nonetheless. I stammered a few words to the effect that I hadn’t made up my mind yet. Then Jakobsen looked at me harshly and said: “You’re going!”’
‘Why?’
‘He couldn’t compete. He didn’t want to. Jakobsen came along to Amsterdam, negotiated my contract and got them to agree that I’d finish the season I was playing with Årvoll. It was a bizarre situation. An Årvoll player on his way to Ajax, and Jakobsen negotiating with them as if he’d never done anything else. Later that evening I lost him in the centre of Amsterdam, but that’s another story altogether.’
Bjørnar laughed.
‘We had a few injuries during the autumn and had to keep making changes to the team. We still ended up in third place and met Kongsvinger in a play-off match. We travelled to Gjemselunden, drawing 0–0, meaning we had one foot in the top division. For the second-leg match, 2,150 spectators came to Linderud, which was practically impossible, but they piled one on top of the other around the pitch. We were leading 1–0 until the 92 nd minute, when Johan brought down Kongsvinger’s striker, and I’m not lying when I say that it happened two yards outside the penalty box. The referee awarded a penalty. Of course we all protested wildly, all except Jakobsen, who stood absolutely still. The Kongsvinger player was seriously arrogant and took a two-step run-up. He managed to fool our keeper and chipped the ball straight into the goal. It happened as if in slow motion. We just managed to take the next kick-off before the referee blew his whistle. One ref’s mistake away from the top division. I completely lost it and got a five-match ban for starting a fight. Ajax were about to cancel my contract.’
‘I remember. It got a lot of space in the Swedish papers too. But what about Jakobsen? Didn’t he snap? You said he just stood there calmly, watching.’
‘After calming down, I took a long shower. I was the last one there as I left the dressing room. Jakobsen took me aside and said: “I’m glad.”’
‘What?!’
‘He said that the team would fall apart the day one of us left, and then the top
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