06/07/2026
WHY NORWAY, SOLBAKKEN AND HAALAND WIN — AND ROW!
What if Norway’s football success — most recently the stunning win over Brazil — is not mainly about tactics, but about culture?
A few years ago, in Fiks Fotballen, we wrote about a fascinating observation from Soccernomics: when sporting nations were ranked across a wide range of sports, adjusted for population size, Norway came out on top.
Even if Norway’s Winter Olympic results had been cut in half, Norway would still have finished first.
Norway does not have the biggest population or the biggest budgets, but it has a sporting culture where access matters.
Across the country — in cities, towns, villages and even the smallest communities — children are given the opportunity to take part in sport. Youth sport is widely available, relatively affordable and accessible to children and young people, and Norway tends to avoid selecting “future stars” too early.
Because nobody really knows what a 12-year-old body will look like at 18.
Then there is the culture: trust, generosity and “no jerks allowed”. Even in individual sports, where Norwegian athletes naturally compete hard, they still support each other. The team matters more than the ego.
This inclusive culture have helped shape Erling Haaland — one of the world’s greatest goalscorers, yet still part of the group, part of the humour, part of the rowing, part of the shared Norwegian “we”.
This is also where Ståle Solbakken deserves credit. He is a modern, inclusive coach who reinforces many of these Norwegian sporting values: trust, honesty, humour, togetherness and responsibility. He does not build the team around fear, but around belief.
And the supporters — in this case, almost an entire nation — are backing the team and building it up with enthusiasm, belief and, not least, humour.
The whole nation is rowing just for the fun and joyful madness. Even the players enjoy rowing on the pitch after the win.
Because great teams are not built by talent alone.
They are built by trust, humour, patience and a culture strong enough to make the players row in the same direction — sometimes quite literally.
This does not guarantee victory.
But they increase the chance that the players become a good team.
Norway’s 2–1 win against Brazil is a very strong indication.
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Read more about youth sport, winning coach style and the importance of team culture in "Why Do Intelligent People Keep Making Stupid Decisions? 8 Deadly Sins in Football Leadership" by Jon Morten Melhus and Morten Eriksen-Deinoff.
Pre-order e-book for just $2.99 until 13 July; $7.99 after launch - https://lnkd.in/eBE35m2g
Paperback and hardcover available from 13 July, with the audiobook to follow shortly afterwards.
