Nico Vadøy was born in 1982 in Rathenow, Germany, which is also the birthplace of Borussia Dortmund legend Jörg Heinrich. During his professional training in Barcelona, he met his future wife. As she is Norwegian, the couple moved to Oslo, where they now live with their daughter. Nico Vadøy works as a global application development manager at Kuehne + Nagel. 

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How did you become a Borussia Dortmund fan? 
As children growing up in Königslutter am Elm, near Wolfsburg in Germany, football was naturally our game. One of my friends often wore a black and yellow Borussia Dortmund shirt. I was 12 years old at the time and fell instantly in love with those colors. My friend had an extra club shirt that he often lent me and we would team up as Borussia Dortmund against the others. At the same time, I saw real club players in black and yellow on TV and they went on to become German champions in 1995 and 1996. 1996 was also the year that I moved to Barcelona with my family. 

How and where were you able to keep up with Borussia Dortmund games in Spain?
Although it wasn’t as easy as in Germany, I was able to watch some games, including the club’s Champions League victory in 1997. Then in the UEFA Super Cup, my beloved Borussia faced off against European Cup Winners’ Cup holder Barca – at my home in Barcelona. I was 16 at the time and watched from the third ring in Camp Nou. The 2–0 defeat was my first stadium match and, sadly, the last time I watched Borussia Dortmund for a while.  

Life without Borussia Dortmund must have been very tough ...
Yes, it was a dark time. But then I met my Norwegian girlfriend. In 2006, we left Spain and moved to Norway. And as luck would have it, I was finally able to watch German Bundesliga games on Norwegian television again. And that sparked my passion for Borussia Dortmund again. What’s more, I discovered there’s even a Borussia Dortmund fan club that meets here in Oslo to watch games.  

What is the fan club called? 
BVB Norway – Borussentrolle. It was set up in January 2010. I joined in 2014 and have just been re-elected president. Norway is a big but sparsely populated country. Most members live in Bergen, Oslo and Trondheim. Before the pandemic, we organized a joint tour to Dortmund every year. Hopefully, we’ll be able to start again soon.

And in the meantime?
My priority is bringing Borussia Dortmund fans together. That’s why, a few years ago, I created a Borussia Dortmund world map that pinpoints all Borussia fan clubs as well as pubs and bars where you can watch games. Just recently, a woman from Malta contacted me. Her son is a huge Borussia Dortmund fan. I told her how to get in touch with the official fan club in Malta, which no doubt has one more member now.
Interview: Uwe Schedlbauer

In this section, our main sponsor Evonik, who supports us at all of our international games, lets soccer fans who feel close to Borussia Dortmund but live nowhere near SIGNAL IDUNA PARK have their say. 

When it comes to power, endurance and agility, Erling Haaland is in a class of his own. No doubt football is in his DNA and he has put in the hours of training, but maybe the superfood that Norwegians swear by also plays a part: the Scandinavian bilberry. This berry is not to be confused with the blueberries you find on supermarket shelves in Germany and elsewhere. The harsh Scandinavian climate produces berries that are a dark red inside. In fact, they’re so red that they look blue. A number of health-giving properties are attributed to anthocyanin, the natural substance that is responsible for this coloring. At its Norwegian plant in Sandnes, Evonik uses these extraordinary berries to produce Medox Vital, a nutritional supplement that is also sold in Germany. The tiny capsules are packed with natural anthocyanin. During one game for Borussia Dortmund last year, Erling Haaland even sported Medox on his shirt. Although Haaland is a striker, the superfood plays in defense, supporting the immune system. Which is just as important.