Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim

Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim
Born	Bjarte Andre Lunde Aarsheim (1975-01-14) January 14, 1975 Stavanger, Norway
Other names	Batty
Occupation(s)	Football player, football coach
Years active	1993–2012 (player), 2008–present (coach)
Known for	Former Norwegian footballer and current head coach of Viking FK

Bjarte Andre Lunde Aarsheim (born 14 January 1975) is a former Norwegian footballer turned coach, currently serving as the head coach of the Eliteserien side Viking.

Predominantly associated with Viking throughout his playing days, Lunde Aarsheim ranks eighth in total appearances for the club. His active career spanned from 1993 to 2012 and included periods at Start, Randaberg, and Hundvåg, where he took on player-coach responsibilities at the latter two teams. In 2001, he was capped three times by the Norway national team. His coaching portfolio also encompasses roles at Randaberg, Hundvåg, Sandnes Ulf, and Brodd.

He earned the nickname "Batty" due to a playing approach that resembled that of English midfielder David Batty.

Viking

Lunde Aarsheim’s longest tenure was with Viking, having progressed from local youth club Hundvåg. He made his first-team debut in 1994 and went on to participate in 425 matches across all competitions until 2005. As an inventive midfielder and team captain, he led Viking during the 2001 season before suffering a severe ankle injury in a match against Brann. Although he made a brief return in the 2001 Norwegian Cup final triumph over Bryne, recurring injuries significantly curtailed his playing time thereafter, restricting him to only four appearances in 2002 and occasional involvement in 2003.

Start

Lunde Aarsheim continued as Viking’s captain through 2004 but moved mid-2005 on a free transfer to league leaders Start. That season, Start concluded as runners-up.

Randaberg

In the summer of 2007, he signed with Randaberg, competing in the Norwegian Third Division, joining forces with Øyvind Svenning. The club achieved promotion to the Second Division during his first campaign. By November 2008, he had assumed the role of player-coach alongside Jørgen Tengesdal. Their joint management led Randaberg to ascend to the First Division in 2010, after which Lunde Aarsheim retired from playing and departed the club.

Following his retirement, he returned to Hundvåg as a player developer. However, in July 2011, he briefly resumed playing by rejoining Randaberg in the First Division, appearing in eight matches that season.

International career

Lunde Aarsheim made his debut for the Norway national football team in January 2001 during a 3–2 victory over South Korea. He earned three international caps, with his final appearance occurring in August 2001 against Turkey.

Hundvåg

Before the start of the 2012 season, he took over as head coach at Hundvåg while also participating as a player in two Fourth Division games. Under his guidance, Hundvåg secured promotion to the Third Division during that season.

Sandnes Ulf

On 6 December 2013, Lunde Aarsheim was appointed assistant coach at Eliteserien club Sandnes Ulf on a one-year deal. Following the dismissal of head coach Asle Andersen in July 2014, he served briefly as interim head coach for a single match before stepping down.

Brodd

On 30 November 2014, he accepted the head coaching position at Third Division side Brodd, remaining there for one season.

Viking

In January 2016, Lunde Aarsheim returned to Viking FK as a player developer. Ten months later, he advanced to assistant coach under Ian Burchnall. After Viking's relegation in 2017 and Burchnall’s subsequent dismissal, Lunde Aarsheim managed the team for its final two fixtures that season. In December 2017, Bjarne Berntsen was named head coach with Lunde Aarsheim continuing as assistant. During this tenure, Viking secured promotion back to Eliteserien in 2018 and lifted the Norwegian Football Cup in 2019.

Following Berntsen's exit on 26 November 2020, Lunde Aarsheim and Morten Jensen were appointed co-head coaches on contracts running for two years ahead of the 2021 campaign. Viking finished third that year, prompting contract renewals extending their tenure through the conclusion of the 2025 season on 25 March 2022 and further extended until the end of the 2028 season as of 25 November 2024.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals categorized by club, season, and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Overall
		Division	Appearances	Goals	Appearances	Goals	Appearances	Goals	Appearances	Goals
Viking	1994	Tippeligaen	12	1	3	0	—		15	1
	1995		23	2	3	1	2	0	28	3
	1996		26	0	4	0	—		30	0
	1997		22	3	7	0	4	0	33	3
	1998		25	2	2	0	—		27	2
	1999		21	1	4	1	5	1	30	3
	2000		24	3	5	1	—		29	4
	2001		19	2	4	3	2	0	25	5
	2002		4	0	3	0	—		7	0
	2003		25	1	4	0	—		29	1
	2004		17	0	3	1	—		20	1
	2005		4	0	1	0	—		5	0
	Total		222	15	43	7	13	1	278	23
Start	2005	Tippeligaen	10	0	0	0	—		10	0
	2006		24	1	0	0	4	0	28	1
	2007		7	0	0	0	—		7	0
	Total		41	1	0	0	4	0	45	1
Randaberg	2007	3. divisjon	9	0	0	0	—		9	0
	2008	2. divisjon	25	3	0	0	—		25	3
	2009		24	2	0	0	—		24	2
	2010		18	1	0	0	—		18	1
	2011	1. divisjon	8	0	0	0	—		8	0
	Total		84	6	0	0	—		84	6
Hundvåg	2012	4. divisjon	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
Career total			349	22	43	7	17	1	409	30

Notes

Managerial statistics

!rowspan="2"|Team !rowspan="2"|Start Date !rowspan="2"|End Date !colspan="5"|Performance Record !rowspan="2"|Reference(s) |} !Games!!Wins!!Draws!!Losses!!Winning Percentage |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |} |-

|align=left | Sandnes Ulf (interim) 
|align=left |17 July 2014 
|align=left |20 July 2014 
 
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|align=left | IL Brodd 
|align=left |1 January 2015 
|align=left |31 December 2015 
 
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|align=left | Viking FK (interim)  
|align=left |9 November 2017  
|align=left |26 November 2017  
  
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Player

Viking

• Norwegian Cup champion: 2001

Manager

Individual Achievements

• Recipient of the Eliteserien Coach of the Month award in August 2021, July 2023, August 2023, May 2025, and November 2025