– We were not familiar with that! And it’s not something we should start with here, grins the chairman of Sogndal Football, Jan Rune Årøy, on the phone to TV 2.
He has spent Friday presenting the club’s latest hire, Gisle Olsen – a man with a past playing for Skeid, but also from the “shadow side” of the media industry.
He was one of those who ensured that the magazine Playboy, which has been known for naked ladies and cover girls, saw the light of day in Norwegian.
– I was production manager for the media house Media Holding, yes. So I was involved in the launch, and in the production, of Playboy and Mann. I had a lot of responsibility in the company, says Gisle Olsen laughingly to TV 2.
Media Holding was owned by Sten Ture Jensen, known as the editor of Aktuell Rapport, the first porn magazine to see the light of day in Norway, and then the founder of a media company that owned several soft porn magazines and other publications.
– It is possible to draw on the experience that can be useful now. If you are going to launch Playboy in Norway, with Linda Johannsen and Tanja Hansen on the team, everyone must be involved, says Olsen.
– Everyone must be aware of the pluses and minuses of doing this. This is also how it will be in Sogndal, you have to want to succeed and work together, says the incoming boss, who has also been an editor at Goal in the Nordics.
Does not exclude the porn industry
Back to Årøy, who unknowingly learned who it is he has given responsibility for leading a club that has faced many challenges in recent years, not least in terms of finances. The magazine idea is starting to pay off.
– We have something to fall back on! But then it must go really badly, says Årøy and laughs.
– No, we are very happy with whoever gets the job now. There were several good applicants, but Gisle has many of the qualities we were looking for. He has worked extensively in business, been involved in football and was general manager of the Manglerud Star ice hockey club. So we look forward to this, says Årøy.
And it’s not just soft porn and other magazines hidden behind a black visor at the kiosks that have occupied Olsen.
– I myself was active as a footballer in Skeid, and have met Sogndal in the 80s, says Olsen.
He is also the father of two players who have experienced the level at the top level.
– Will stay until we succeed
Julian Faye Lund is a goalkeeper in Bodø/Glimt. He guarded the cage for the team in the cup final in December, but is now out with a knee injury. Big brother Jacob Faye Lund was in the Eliteserien for Lillestrøm before he had to retire.
PROS: Sons Julian and Jacob Faye Lund have both had careers in the Eliteserien, while father Gisle Olsen now takes over as manager of Sogndal Football. Photo: Private
– You learn and experience a lot from being involved in football, at the same time I think it is an advantage to come from outside, and be able to think a little differently than what those in Sogndal have done so far, says Olsen.
He is now taking the entire moving load from Eastern Norway with him, and is moving up to Sogndal to start his job in August.
– I have got a very good impression, and they have not hidden anything. It is perhaps time that we try to think a little differently, and do things a little differently, says Olsen, and says that he envisioned a perspective of around five years.
– Then I was told quite well that it was enough just to imagine staying in Sogndal for ten years. I think I’ll stay here until we succeed. This was a job I really wanted, says the man who in recent years has worked as an entrepreneur and in business.
You can see on Saturday Bryne-Sogndal on TV 2 Play from 16.00.