Drug testers ask for Haaland and two dead Norway players

Norway’s men’s team received a visit from the country’s anti-doping agency this week, but while this is a usual occurrence in football, what made this instance remarkable was the players they asked to test.

The list of players required to provide a urine sample included Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, but also Jorgen Juve and Einar Gundersen — two of Norway’s record goal scorers, but neither is alive. Juve died in 1983 and Gundersen died in 1962.

“We had a visit from Anti-Doping Norway [on Tuesday],” Norway manager Stale Solbakken said on Wednesday. “The following players were selected for testing: Erling Braut Haaland, Jørgen Strand Larsen, Antonio Nusa, Oscar Bobb, Einar Gundersen and Jorgen Juve.

“Then I start to wonder. These were the names that were read out, and it was serious. So we had to call Anti-Doping Norway and ask, ‘Is there a hidden camera?’ So Einar Gundersen and Jorgen Juve were summoned. It was a bit late. Negative tests on both of them.”

Solbakken added: “They’ve probably taken the list of top scorers and added a few names.”

While Haaland and Larsen were with the squad, Bobb, 21, wasn’t with the group, as he’s out injured for three months with a broken leg.

And as for Gundersen and Juve, their place in Norwegian football history is assured. Juve scored 33 goals for Norway from 1928 to 1937, while Gundersen scored 26 goals from 1917 to 1928.

“It’s hard to say what happened, but normally we hit the target better,” Anti-Doping Norway (ADNO) communications director, Halvor Byfuglien, told the VG newspaper.

“All we can do now is admit we’re wrong. We can joke about it in the office today and then review our routines going forward.”