But they swore up with “a good dinner and a good drink” in the city during Christmas – now they will work together again in Vålerenga – where on Monday they started the season build-up and an existence as an Obos club for the coming season. They had been friends for 35 years. And worked as coaches together in Lillestrøm since the 2020 season, which even with promotion from the 1st division. But in July last summer it was small. Geir Bakke (54) chose to leave LSK in favor of arch-rival Vålerenga. The news also came as a shock to Bakke’s right-hand man. – I think what happened was unacceptable – I was seen offside, to use football parlance, says Petter Myhre (51) openly to news. Petter Myhre is happy to be back at work as a coach in Vålerenga. Photo: Ingvill Sunnby / news He said that the relationship between them was “very strained”. – It took several months before we sat down and talked about things. And that’s what I did again before I signed for Vålerenga. When the offer came up, I had a second chat – to see if it was ready, says Petter Myhre. Siem conveys the offer Just before Christmas, the inquiry came from Vålerenga – conveyed by the working chairman of Vålerenga Fotball AS, Kjetil Siem. Following a request from Bakke. Then Myhre and Bakke found out that they had to talk to each other once more. – Then it’s like that with people you are close to – that talking about uncomfortable things is not so easy. So we had a good dinner. With something good to drink. Then it was a little easier, hehe. And then I got a kick out of it. And move on. But there were tough conversations, says Petter Myhre. Geir Bakke’s transfer to Vålerenga in July last year shocked many. And also put Petter Myhre’s friendship to the test. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB Geir Bakke, for his part, formulates himself as follows: – I don’t see those conversations as very tough. But I feel that both of us have been able to talk about how we have experienced the situation. For my part, it was not perceived as tough, but honest. It’s completely inside. And then you know a little what the other is thinking. None of us are mind readers. We have been friends for 35 years. Then it is okay to know what the other person feels, thinks and feels. I have been able to go through that, and then I drive on. – Right time Bakke responds as follows to what Myhre perceived as “unacceptable”: – I knew it was the right time for me to leave. And that I started hitting the wall a bit, and I felt that it was the right time for me to leave Lillestrøm and try something new, at the same time that the player group and Lillestrøm might need a new face in, says Bakke. About the dinner in the city, Bakke says: – It’s clear when you sit together and get to talk about what you think, feel, experience – then you get to achieve a number of things. It was very liberating, I think, says Geir Bakke. Myhre out of work for several months Petter Myhre was released from his contract with LSK – an agreement that expired in the 2027 season. And even up without work for several months, alongside a few expert assignments for TV 2. This is how Lillestrøm fan Geir Bakke marked his return to Åråsen. Photo: NTB It seems that Geir Bakke is wistful. – At the same time, it’s not like we had a joint contract. He had an employment contract. And I had an employment contract. How Lillestrøm chose to resolve it afterwards is not my responsibility in a way, says Geir Bakke. But Myhre got plenty of time to think, if nothing else. – I spent three to four to five months pondering whether I wanted to work as a coach or choose another profession. And then I decided that I wanted to take the opportunity I now had in Vålerenga. Geir Bakke is happy about that. Now they will together try to take Vålerenga straight up into the elite series at the first attempt. – Petter is a fantastic football coach and a good professional. And now also a good friend again.
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