An interview with Vegard Forren, by Callum McFadden for WFi.
You signed for KÍ Klasvik in 2023 and won the Faroese league title with the club this season as well as representing the club in the Europa Conference League. How did the move happen and how do you reflect on that level of success?
“My time at the club has been a great adventure because I really did not know what to expect when the club reached out to me to discuss the possibility of signing me.
“The manager of the club is my former Molde teammate Magne Hoseth, and he played a big part in bringing me to the club and making me believe in the project that he was building.
“Looking back now, I have no regrets about making the move to play football in the Faroe Islands because winning the league title was a strong achievement but qualifying for the group phase of a European competition was a historic success and one that I am proud to be associated with.
“Qualifying for Europe with a club of this size is a crazy achievement and one that will be talked about for years to come.
“Working under Magne Hoseth has been really good because he has shown great capabilities as a manager in his first managerial role.
“He is brilliant to work alongside, and I have huge respect for him because he was top quality footballer, and he has the potential to be a top-quality manager for many years to come.
“He has a positive outlook of how he wants to play football and as a player, it is enjoyable to play for a coach who wants to attack games and allows you to express yourself.”
You played for Molde FK in three different spells and achieved league title and domestic cup success during those times. What does Molde mean to you as a club?
“Molde as a club means a lot to me because I would not have made it as a professional footballer without being at Molde to start my professional career.
“I have family and friends in Molde, and I am proud of the success that we had during my times with the club by winning 4 league titles and 2 Norwegian cups because the club is close to my heart, and I still look out for their results every week.
“I spent many good years there and I played under some top coaches including Ole Gunnar Solskjær who was the manager that I won most of my trophies under.
“Ole had a great playing career and he was a fantastic manager for Molde during both of spells as our manager. You could tell right away that he had a strong winning mentality and I had fantastic times under him.
“It was an honour to play under him and he had a massive impact on the club when he was manager and left a strong legacy behind too.”
You played alongside Erling Haaland at Molde when he was a teenager making his way in the game. How impressive was he from a young age?
“Erling was a fantastic young player, and it is no surprise to me to see what he has went on to achieve because he was hungry to learn and improve his game.
“He has great ability but an equally great attitude to go alongside it which I believe is key for any top footballer and he is one of the very best in world football now.
“Added to that, he was a humble kid, and he has remained true to himself even now that he is a superstar.
“It was always fun to be around him, and I am very proud to call him a friend and watch his progress for Manchester City and the Norwegian national team. Long may his success continue because he is still only getting started.”
You had two moves to English football, Southampton in 2013 and Brighton in 2017 but they did not work out as you would have liked due to a lack of game time. Looking back, why do you think things did not work out for you in England?
“It’s hard to say why those moves did not work out because I was excited by the opportunity to move to England on both occasions.
“I worked as hard as I possibly could when I was at both clubs, but the timing was not on my side particularly Southampton.
“I joined Southampton in January 2013 and there was a change of manager within days of me joining the club when Mauricio Pochettino replaced Nigel Adkins.
“I got the feeling that he did not know a lot about my signing and things did not work out for me after that which led me to returning to Molde in the summer of 2013.
“Then, in 2017, I signed a short-term deal at Brighton and Hove Albion when they were in the Championship before returning to Molde after my contract expired there.”
Finally, Vegard, you represented the Norway national team on 33 occasions. What are the standout memories of your international career?
“Representing Norway was my biggest achievement in football.
“I played alongside Brede Hangeland when I made my debut for the national team, and it was amazing to play alongside a player of such quality.
“Overall, the highlight of my time with the national team was the qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 even though we did not get there in the end.
“We battled throughout the campaign in a group that included Italy. We were 1-0 up away from home against them before losing 2-1 by conceding two late goals.
“That result led to us playing against Hungary in the playoffs, but we could not defeat them over two legs. I would have to call that campaign my highlight with the national team because it was the closest, I got to playing at a major tournament.”