Wikipedia

Geir Bakke

Geir Bakke (born 23 October 1969) is a Norwegian football coach and former player. He was most recently the manager of Eliteserien club Vålerenga.

Geir Bakke
Geir Bakke in 2009
Personal information
Full name Geir Bakke
Date of birth (1969-10-23) 23 October 1969 (age 56)
Place of birth Hamar, Norway
Youth career
–1987 Rælingen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1992 Strømmen
1993–1994 Kongsvinger 27 (1)
1995–1997 Stabæk 39 (3)
International career
Norway U19
Managerial career
1998–1999 Skjetten
2006–2008 Moss
2012–2013 Kristiansund
2015–2019 Sarpsborg 08
2020–2023 Lillestrøm
2023–2026 Vålerenga
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Geir Bakke was born at Hamar, where he spent his infant years, before his family relocated to Rælingen when he was six.

Playing career

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Geir Bakke started his playing career at local club Rælingen before switching to nearby Strømmen in 1987 at 18 years of age. Having made two appearances in the top division with Strømmen in 1988, the following seasons at the club was spent outside the top flight. Ahead of the 1993-season, he transferred to Kongsvinger with whom he spent two seasons playing mostly at right-back in Eliteserien. Ambitious, newly promoted Stabæk signed him ahead of the 1995-season. He would spend three seasons at Stabæk. He was a regular at right-back during his first season at Stabæk, and played fifteen games in his second season. A troublesome knee prevented him from playing any games in his third and final season at the club.

Managerial career

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Upon retiring as a player, he then pursued a managerial career, having been educated at Norges idrettshøyskole and worked several years coaching young players at Wang Toppidrett. He was hired to coach Skjetten in 1998 and 1999.

Vålerenga

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Bakke was assistant coach in Vålerenga from 1999 to 2005. He was assistant under Tom Nordlie in his first two seasons at the club. From 2001 to 2005 he was assistant under Kjetil Rekdal. Vålerenga won Tippeligaen, the Norwegian top flight, in 2005. Bakke quit his position in Vålerenga after the 2005 season to become head coach in Moss FK.[1]

Moss

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As announced on 30 October 2005, he took over second tier club Moss effecting from the start of the 2006 season.[1] This was Bakke's first job as a head coach for a professional football team. Moss finished fifth in the 2007 1. divisjon. Bakke resigned on 28 August 2008.[2]

Stabæk

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Geir Bakke was presented as assistant coach in Stabæk on 29 August 2008, the day after his resignation in Moss. He replaced Petter Belsvik and signed a three-year contract with the club.[2] On 10 November 2011 it was announced that Bakke was leaving Stabæk to become head coach in Kristiansund BK.[3]

Kristiansund

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Bakke was head coach at Kristiansund for two seasons, from 2012 to 2013. Kristiansund won 2. divisjon Group 2 in Bakke's first season and were promoted to the 2013 1. divisjon. The 2013 season was the first season in club history that Kristiansund played at the second highest level in Norwegian football.

Molde

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On 17 January 2014, Bakke was presented as the new assistant coach at Molde FK.[4] His partnership with head coach Tor Ole Skullerud turned out successfully, and Molde won the league title with 71 points (as of 2018 a league record). On 23 October 2014, it was announced that Geir Bakke was leaving Molde after the 2014 season to become head coach in Sarpsborg 08.[5]

Sarpsborg 08

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On 23 October 2014, Bakke was announced as head coach of Sarpborg 08. He signed a four-year deal with the club,[6] effective 1 January 2015. He led the team to their first ever Norwegian Cup final in 2015, which they lost to Rosenborg with the score 0–2. In the 2017 season, Sarpsborg 08 finished third in Eliteserien. The third-place finish secured their first league medal in club history and qualified the club for European football for the first time. On 10 May 2017, Bakke signed a new five-year deal, which would have made him Sarpsborg 08's head coach until the end of the 2022 season.[7] Instead Bakke left for then 1. division side Lillestrøm in 2019.[8]

Lillestrøm

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On 31 of December 2019, Geir Bakke was announced as the new head coach of Lillestrøm SK,[9] which found themselves in the 1. division of Norwegian football. The following season, 2020, Bakke led the team to promotion back to the Eliteserien.[10]

Return to Vålerenga

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On 12 of July 2023, Geir Bakke became Vålerenga's head coach on a deal that would last till 2027.[11] Vålerenga were relegated to the OBOS-ligaen after they lost the Eliteserien relegation playoff to Kristiansund BK, losing 4-5 on penalties after an aggregate score of 2-2.[12] Bakke led his team to promotion back to the Eliteserien in the 2024 season after finishing 1st in the league with 69 points.[13] He finished the 2025 season in 6th, with top goalscorer Elias Sørensen scoring 12 goals.[14] On 6 of May 2026, Geir Bakke was sacked as head coach and was replaced by Petter Myhre, who served as the interim coach till a new coach was appointed.[15] This came after a poor start to the season, with the team winning one of Bakke's last five matches.[16]

Managerial statistics

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As of match played 3 May 2025
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
PWDLWin %
Moss 2006 28 August 2008 89382625042.7
Kristiansund 1 January 2012 31 December 2013 60351015058.3
Sarpsborg 08 1 January 2015 31 December 2019 156674346042.9
Lillestrøm 31 December 2019 12 July 2023 102552126053.9
Vålerenga 12 July 2023 6 May 2026 95442130046.3
Total 502239121142047.6

Honours

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Head coach

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Kristiansund

Sarpsborg 08

Lillestrøm SK

Vålerenga Fotball

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Individual

References

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  1. 1 2 "VIF-trener til Moss". Bergens Tidende. 30 October 2005. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Geir Bakke til Stabæk". Aftenposten. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "Geir Bakke forlater Stabæk". Budstikka. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "Geir Bakke blir Molde-trener". Dagbladet. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Skullerud taus om ny Molde-assistent". Aftenposten. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "Bakke blir ny Sarpsborg-trener". ABC Nyheter. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Sarpsborg-sjefen skrev under på langtidskontrakt". Aftenposten. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "Geir Bakke ferdig i Sarpsborg - klar for ny norsk klubb". Sports Bibelen. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "GEIR BAKKE ANSATT SOM NY LSK-TRENER". Lillestrøm Sportsklubb. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "Lillestrøm rykket opp". TV2. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "Geir Bakke er Vålerengas nye hovedtrener". Vålerenga (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Vålerenga vs. Kristiansund Match Report – Sunday December 10, 2023 (Leg 2)". FBref.com. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Avslutta med uavgjort på hjemmebane". Vålerenga (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  14. ↑ Ray, James (2 November 2025). "15 goal contributions in 26 games: Player who Portsmouth sold after just half-a-season thriving with new club News". The72 - Football League News. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Geir Bakke slutter". Vålerenga (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "Vålerenga has fired Geir Bakke after a disastrous start to the season". Sporten. 6 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "BAKKE KÅRET TIL "ÅRETS TRENER" – INGEBRIGTSEN VRAKET". Verdens Gang. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  18. ↑ Stokstad, Morten (11 August 2021). "Ble satt pris på: Lehne månedens spiller - Bakke månedens trener" (in Norwegian). Lillestrøm SK. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "Synes du vinnerne fortjente prisen?". Facebook (in Norwegian). Eliteserien. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  20. ↑ Wulf, Tina (6 July 2024). "Månedens trener i juni" (in Norwegian). Vålerenga Fotball. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
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