Birthday boy of the month I: Arne Larsen Økland turns 70

In the spring of 1979, he took part in a one-week trial in Leverkusen and made a very good impression. Bayer 04 signed the little-known 26-year-old Norwegian in the summer of 1980. He became the first senior international from outside Germany to play for Bayer 04. His first season here went like clockwork. He scored in his second match against Köln. On Matchday 7, he scored three goals against Borussia Dortmund.

Then came 7 March 1981, when Bayer 04 hosted second-placed Bayern Munich. It was cold and only 15,000 spectators were present at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion when the formerly unknown Norwegian single-handedly demolished the heavy favourites. He netted a hat-trick between the fourth and 24th minute. He even scored another goal in the second half - at least that's what the referee decided. When the Bavarians protested, Økland started to ponder. He told referee Udo Horeis that he’d only hit the outside of the net. As a result, Økland became the epitome of sportsmanship overnight and was awarded the FIFA Fair Play badge for his actions. In Leverkusen, they still love him for it today, but above all for his hat-trick. He played a total of 101 Bundesliga matches for the Werkself and scored 43 times.

In 1983, he moved from Bayer 04 to Racing Club in Paris. He played there for two years before returning home to Bryne for the rest of his career until 1987.

He played 54 games for the Norway national team, scoring 13 goals. After his career, he became assistant coach of Norway from 1989 to 1994, but also head coach of Viking Stavanger.

In the mid-90s, Arne slowly said goodbye to football, only appearing sporadically as a pundit on Norwegian television, and founded an advertising agency with two friends, without really knowing anything about advertising.

The boss of a pizza chain was so enthusiastic about the agency's work that he asked if Økland would like to join him. Arne said yes, even though he had no idea about catering. But he knew that Norwegians love pizza, and so he suddenly owned the Dolly Dimple's chain. He only left it a few years ago, when he was in charge of more than 80 branches and 1,600 employees and was called the "Pizza King". In the meantime, he is also the boss of a computer company and sits on the board of more than 10 different companies.

Today he lives with his wife on a small island and goes shopping by boat. Sometime in 1997, Økland discovered an advert in the business newspaper Dagens Næringsliv. It read: "Island for sale. Give us a call!" So he called, and the voice at the end of the line quoted a price of the equivalent of €65,000. Økland informed his wife and agreed to the deal. He likes the address. It is Hillesøy 1, but Hillesøy 2 does not exist. So today he lives near his home town, which has the same name as him: Økland. His mother owned a grocer's shop there. And his father once worked there as a cook.

Dear Arne, I wish you all the best for your 70th birthday. Stay just the way you are and, above all, stay healthy!