MARBELLA – Sarpsborg 08 forward Daniel Karlsbakk admitted he felt uneasy during a recent encounter with fans while on a team training trip in Turkey.
The 22-year-old was relaxing in a sun lounger when he was approached by enthusiastic supporters.
Karlsbakk, who finished last season as the Eliteserien’s top scorer, is currently with Sarpsborg at their Marbella training camp.
Glimt-stjernen om sykdommen: – Jeg har aldri pratet så mye om det
Earlier this winter, a potential move to Turkish giants Trabzonspor was close to completion, but ultimately fell through. Karlsbakk experienced firsthand the intense interest from the club’s fanbase while Sarpsborg was training in Turkey.
Hotel staff even approached him to express their support for Trabzonspor. “It was completely new to me,” Karlsbakk said.
“It was a little uncomfortable, I think,” he confessed, adding that at the time, the links to Turkish football were still just rumors. “It was a bit of a strange moment,” he admitted, noting he’s since been able to laugh it off.
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PREPARING FOR THE SEASON: Karlsbakk and Sarpsborg are warming up for the Eliteserien season in the sunshine of Marbella. Photo: Adrian Richvoldsen (Nettavisen).
Moving from Norway: “I Noticed it Immediately”
The situation at the hotel in Turkey was just a preview of how Karlsbakk would experience the passion for Turkish football firsthand.
After news of the potential Trabzonspor transfer broke, Karlsbakk’s social media accounts were flooded with over 5,000 direct messages from Turkish fans eager to see him join the club.
“It was crazy!” he said.
Sarpsborg’s star striker estimates he received well over 5,000 direct messages from Turks wanting him at the club.
The transfer never materialized for Karlsbakk, who has rediscovered his form after a stint with Dutch side Heerenveen.
Sold from Viking to the Dutch club at age 19 in a deal worth up to 30 million, Karlsbakk struggled to produce an impact.
After two years and 33 appearances, mostly as a substitute, he returned to Sarpsborg.
The Jæren native never settled in the Netherlands, scoring only one goal in two seasons.
Now, he offers advice to young players facing similar situations. “If I can deliver one piece of advice, it’s that you have to sense ready. That’s the most important thing,” he explained.
He wasn’t ready when he first moved abroad, entering what he described as a more cutthroat culture.
“It’s a bit more of a ‘one-man-show.’ You might feel like friends with everyone, but then you can get ‘backstabbed.’ It’s a different culture there, both in terms of how the coaches are and how they’re used to talking to their players. That’s what took me a bit by surprise,” Karlsbakk opened up.
He immediately felt the cultural shift.
“I noticed it right away. I found it boring to be alone. You feel a bit lonely. It was mostly a lot of impressions at first, and once those impressions had set in, I realized I was particularly far from home. I realized I had to manage on my own, and I couldn’t do that at first.”
Could Be in Line for Another Big Move
The solution was a return to Norway, with Sarpsborg 08 signing him just over a year ago.
He immediately made an impact, finishing as the Eliteserien’s top scorer last season with 18 goals for the Østfold club.
Now, he anticipates that Eliteserien teams will be much more aware of his abilities.
“They are very aware of my skills.”
A strong first half of the season will again make the Jæren striker a prime target for a major move abroad, and Karlsbakk acknowledges that at 22, he feels much more mature and prepared for another foreign experience than he was three years ago.
“I’m in a stronger mental position based on that experience. And then there’s the timing of things. How I play until the summer is as well very decisive.”
