Pedersen sat down with Flashscore to talk about his time at Blackburn and their collapse under Venky's, the Manchester United move that never happened, and why he believes this Norway generation can beat anyone.
Let's start right at the beginning. You scored 51 goals in over 120 games for Tromso. When did you start to believe that playing in a league like the Premier League was a realistic possibility?
"In my head, that thought was quite early. When I grew up in the north of Norway, one of the first things I said to my mum, she wrote down. It was: "I am going to be a football pro, I am going to drive a Ferrari, I am going to be a millionaire, and I am going to have a gold tooth." That is one of the first things she got written down in a book, so the aim to be a footballer has always been there.
"I did loads of sports. Handball, running, orienteering, skiing, gymnastics, all kinds of things, but football was always number one. That was a big aim from the beginning."
Does your mum still have that book?
"Probably. I am not 100% sure, but I think she still has it. She collects everything. My father is not happy that she has all the newspaper clippings and everything, but they are good memories."
Blackburn signed you in August 2004, brought in effectively to replace Damien Duff. How did you feel about those expectations when you arrived?
"When a Premier League club comes in for you, it is like a dream coming true, but of course you are nervous. You are going to the biggest stage in football. I did not think too much about replacing Damien Duff, to be honest. I was thinking more about what I could do, what improvements I could make to myself, how I could contribute to the team.
"It is a big difference to go from Tromso to a Premier League club. You need to adapt to different things and you have to be mentally prepared as well. It was tough, but it was my dream, so I could not wait to get started."
What was the hardest thing to adapt to when you arrived in England? The physicality, the weather, the language, the football itself?
"The weather was actually much better in Blackburn than where I come from. Of course it was a new country, new teammates, and the best league in the world, so I had to become a better footballer. You develop every year and I was very curious about how to do things.
"When I arrived I had my debut against Manchester United and played two more games. Then Mark Hughes came in and said I was not 100% ready for the Premier League. We sat down with the assistant manager and the coach and had a chat.
"I looked at different kinds of players and picked up different things, how to develop as a player. I went into every training session trying to be better and to learn. Some things I was already best at, but I had to improve in other areas. I have always been a hard worker, so in the end I achieved what I wanted to do."
You were signed by Graeme Souness and he left for Newcastle almost immediately. What was that like for a young player?
"I signed on the Thursday, 26th of August. I had my debut on the Saturday against Manchester United. I went with the national team on the Sunday, and on the Monday Graeme went to Newcastle. So it was three days.
"But I always had backing from the chairman, John Williams. He was one of the guys who liked me as well, so I did not think too much about it, to be honest. Graeme was a really nice man, a gentleman, and maybe without him I would never have been at Blackburn. But the replacement was good, because with Mark Hughes and Sam Allardyce I had my best football at Blackburn."
Take us through that debut day against Manchester United and the assist.
"First of all, I was in Norway, up in Svalbard. It is an island almost at the North Pole, far, far north. We were there on a team-building trip with Tromso, down in the mines and up in the mountains, and we were supposed to stay three or four days. On day two we got a call that I had been sold to Blackburn, so I had to fly back to Tromso, repack a few things, have dinner with mum and dad, and then fly over to Manchester for the medical.
"There were a few issues at the beginning, because there were some new people on the board and the director at Tromso had never sold a player before. They were brand new, so it was a bit of "oh, what do we do?" Things took a little bit of time on that first day when we were supposed to sign.
"I ended up calling the club to ask what was going on, because they had not signed the papers. Then John Williams said: "If you do not get the papers signed, we have to go for another player." Everything had to be sorted before the deadline.
"When I came over there were so many new players and of course you do not know everyone's name. I remember I had one of the match programmes in the hotel and I sat looking at the names, just to learn them all. On the Friday, the day before the game, I came a little bit late to training because I had a press conference with Graeme and he picked me up. So you are the new guy and you turn up late for the session, but it was not my fault.
"He threw me straight into the starting lineup and we did set pieces. Barry Ferguson was taking most of them and I told the coaches I wanted to take set pieces as well. I ended up taking them, so I think the captain was not so happy with that. But he was one of the guys I learned a lot from during the period when I was not playing much."
How was it to train under Mark Hughes? The start was hard, but that goal against Cardiff changed everything.
"It was tough. We trained really well. He was a young, modern manager when he came in and we trained really hard. I think we were probably the fittest team in the whole league, because that was one of our strengths, and we had a good group together.
"For that Cardiff game, I was not in the squad, but Brett Emerton got ill the night before, just before we were due to leave. On the coach on the way to the stadium, one of the staff came down and said: "Morten, the boss wants to see you." He told me I was starting. In my head I had played that scenario so many times, because he always said I would get a chance, so you just have to prepare for it. That is what I did for months.
"I knew the opportunity would come, and I think that is one of the reasons it went so well. After that there was no turning back."
You had players like Tugay, Brad Friedel, Christopher Samba, Roque Santa Cruz and Robbie Savage in that dressing room. Who helped you most in your first months?
"We had a good group. In the beginning there were some players who were really good with me. Dominic Matteo, I remember on my debut, the way he talked to me as an experienced player from Liverpool and Leeds. He helped me a lot early on. It helped that Peter Enckelman was there too, he is Finnish but he speaks Swedish.
"You have to find the right people to be around. I think I was a little bit lucky, because people thought I was a good guy, not an idiot, and in football people want to protect players like that. Friedel, Samba and Savage came a little bit later, when I was already a regular, and we had a very good group."
Everyone who played with Tugay speaks about him almost reverently. What was so special about him?
"First of all, Tugay and his family are fantastic people, absolutely amazing human beings. And the way he played football, everything about it. He is the best player I probably ever played with, and I think you could put him in any team in the world at his top level. He was a showman, his skills were unbelievable, and to play on the wing in front of him was something else. He did not even look at you. You just knew the ball was going to come.
"He was a good guy, you could ask him anything, he always wanted to help you and wanted the best for you. As a player he was the maestro. You could just enjoy watching him in training, playing with the ball, his touch. It was almost impossible to beat him at football tennis as well."
Mark Hughes once said your set-piece delivery reminded him of David Beckham. What did you do differently from other players?
"I practised a lot. Even from a young age I was doing set pieces, corners, free-kicks from the side, all kinds of set pieces, not only one type. I think that is one of the reasons it became a strength, and I did not stop working on it. Even when I came to Blackburn I worked a lot on it.
"Kevin Hitchcock was the goalkeeper coach and the day before training, or two days before, we used to go over to the goalkeeper area with one of the young keepers and do set pieces from different angles. That was something I worked on all the time, and I think that is why I was the best at it."
Could you still do the set-piece challenges you see on TikTok and Instagram now?
"Of course. I still have it. I have played a few show games and the ball ended up in the net. That was probably my biggest strength."
Blackburn reached an FA Cup semi-final in 2007 and played in the UEFA Cup. How good was that team really, and how close were you to something bigger?
"We did ever so well. One season we finished sixth and were two or three points away from a Champions League spot. It is the margins. You see the same today. If you make small mistakes you get punished heavily, and it was the same back then. With the squad we had, we did so good. We had a strong team, so we did not overachieve, but we were knocking on the door.
"I think people were a little bit afraid of coming to Ewood Park. We had a physical presence, and we had good players who could destroy people, not just physically but technically as well. We worked hard together as a team. We had some good individuals, but we all worked in the same direction."
You have said that if Ryan Giggs had not played for so long, you would have been a Manchester United player. How close was it?
"I do not know how close you would say, but if he had retired and stopped playing, I would have been his replacement. We can never talk about ifs and buts. He kept playing and did ever so well, and I continued my things at Blackburn. But I know there was some talk about it. The chance was very high that I would have replaced him."
Have you ever texted him to ask why he played so long?
"No, I did not do that. Maybe I should have tackled him in a game instead."
Were there other offers during your Blackburn years?
"I know Tottenham and Arsenal were interested, United, Juventus in Italy, Valencia. I know Bayern Munich were following me at one stage. There was one guy from Bayern who watched every training session I did for two weeks, because we were at the same pre-season base as them. But it is a big step from people watching you to something actually happening.
"I know I could have gone to Juventus, to Valencia, to Fenerbahce. There were a few clubs, but I ended up staying at Blackburn and had a really good time there."
Nine years there. Do you ever wonder what might have happened if you had accepted one of those offers?
"You can always imagine, but in another way there is so much I would have missed. It is like winning the lottery, what are you going to do? It is hard to say. I have not used too much energy on those things. I am happy with the journey.
"I also had an offer from the Emirates in 2006. I could have gone there and had mega money, but then I would have lost all the football and the national team and all those kinds of things."
In 2010, Venky's bought the club. When did you first realise from the inside that difficult times were coming?
"When Sam got sacked. There were some people in the background who were more interested in their own interests than the club's. The owners always did what they were supposed to do as owners, with money and everything, but there are always people with other kinds of agendas inside.
"I was actually on my way to a funeral when I heard Sam had been sacked. How is that possible? When people try to gain things for themselves instead of thinking about the team and the club, things are not good. But I do not blame the owners. They put the money in.
"Maybe if there had been some other advisers around it could have been different, but the past is the past. We can only look forward and hopefully see Blackburn back in the Premier League in a few years. Blackburn is one of the teams that should be there."
Relegation came in 2012 after 11 years in the Premier League. What is your strongest memory of those final weeks?
"It was tough. You get really sad, because you love the club, you love the fans, you love the people around it. You know people might lose their jobs. It is not funny at all. It is a horrible feeling. But I do not think too much about those things, I have so many good memories and that is more important."
You left a year later, in 2013. How hard was that after nine years?
"That was one of the toughest times I had. It was hard to realise I was actually going to leave when it happened. You sit there and you can feel the tears pushing. That is one of the saddest days of my football career.
"But even now, when I come back to Blackburn, I still feel welcomed and loved. It is a great feeling to be back at Ewood. That is why I am just hoping that sooner rather than later we can take the step back to the Premier League and fight the way it should be."
There is a story that Blackburn were very close to signing Robert Lewandowski...
"He was coming over. He was flying over for the medical, as I understand it. It just shows how big the margins are in football."
Blackburn still have not returned. Why is it so difficult for clubs to come back after relegation?
"It is almost every team. It is hard to bounce back. You have to keep players on reduced salaries, there are so many factors, the sponsors. You still have the parachute payments from the Premier League, but the Championship is one of the toughest leagues in the world. It is not easy.
"Look at the clubs playing there now. They are big clubs, not teams you have never heard of. There are so many games, you need a strong squad and a little bit of luck. Many factors have to go your way, especially if you want one of the two automatic spots. Now and then you get teams that are unbelievable and you know they are going straight up, but it is tough.
"You can have a good squad, and then you pick up injuries and lose players and suddenly you do not have the advantage you thought you had. Two seasons ago Blackburn missed the play-offs on goal difference. Those small margins. And if you are in the play-offs, you never know what is going to happen. Someone can surprise you and you lose the spot. We can only hope and wish, but it is not going to be easy."
Norway are going to be scary
Let's move to the national team. Norway qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Where were you when you watched it, and what was the atmosphere like in Norway?
"That was unbelievable. If football can be a place where people connect and come together, the World Cup showed it, especially in Norway. We had not been to a World Cup for 28 years. If you had been in Norway and seen the streets and the way people came together, everybody was happy.
"I was in Norway and also in the United States to watch the team. That was fantastic. I think the players could feel that enthusiasm from the crowd too. There were so many Norwegians over there supporting the team, and then all the way back home again. Like we say, it was a hell of a trip."
How would you compare this Norway generation to the ones that came before?
"The group we have now has loads of young, talented players who already have a lot of experience at a young age. You have that mix of young, enthusiastic players and good people, and it is a really good group. They are one whole group, laughing and having fun, but on the other side they are very serious and very good footballers.
"You can go from Haaland, the mega star, probably the best striker in the world right now, all the way to someone like Patrick Berg, who plays for Bodo/Glimt. The fact he was playing a game for Bodo/Glimt two days after coming back from the World Cup is unbelievable. The spectrum is wide, but the commitment and the group together can beat anyone."
Haaland scored twice against Brazil to send Norway to a first ever World Cup quarter-final. Before the tournament, had you allowed yourself to dream of going that far? And can Norway one day win a title?
"With the team we have now, if they keep getting better, it is going to be scary. We saw them go through the group stage as probably the best team in the whole qualification, and then deliver those kinds of results at the World Cup. You never know. Football is football, everybody can beat everybody, but we have a really good group and now they get two more years of experience.
"If we can keep the same hunger and the same quality, going into the Euros in two years will be very interesting. I am really looking forward to it. I follow the team and in a couple of weeks they play Denmark and then Portugal at home, so I am hoping for a good start to the qualification."
What is Stale Solbakken doing that previous Norway coaches could not?
"He is very good with people, that is one thing. And he has got the group pulling in the same direction. When I played we had a good group, but we had some small groups within the group, if you know what I mean. Now they are one whole unit.
"I think they have found the right balance between being superstars and being human beings. They have time to enjoy themselves in the right way, but when they have to deliver, he demands quality. All coaches want the same, but the mix between this group and Stale has been perfect. The people he has around him who are involved with the team are very good as well, fantastic people on and off the pitch."
What makes Erling Haaland so special?
"Erling is a really nice person. He is a deadly player, but he is so humble and down to earth, and very focused on what he is going to do. He is not a cheat, he is just deadly. I think it is hard not to like him. Whoever you ask, people have a good view of him. I do not think many people have anything negative to say about Erling.
"We are lucky to have him. The way he works, the people he has around him, they are good people as well, so it is no surprise."
There is a theory that people from Scandinavia are so serious, cold faces. But if you look at Haaland's social media, that is clearly not true.
"No, that is him. He is humble and funny. We like to smile, and maybe that is one of his superpowers."
Martin Odegaard lifted the Premier League trophy as Arsenal captain. What does that mean in Norway?
"What a player, what a journey he has had. Being captain of Arsenal and delivering an unbelievable season last year. He was a little bit unlucky at the end of the season with injuries and people started to talk about him, but then he had a good World Cup once he got fit and had a rest, and the way he has started with Arsenal now is unbelievable.
"The vision he has for the game is something else. I think he is one of the best players in the league in that position, playing the free role. And he is a leader. I met Martin when he had his first game for the national team and I still meet him at the ground sometimes. A fantastic person. Good people.
"They are serious, they are tough, they know what it is all about, but on the other side they are the most humble, nice people as well. Fully deserved what happened for him at Arsenal."
His story is not a normal one. He signed for Real Madrid at 16, and those clubs do not always give you time to develop.
"Unbelievable journey. Going to the biggest stage, then being alone in some places to develop and play first-team football. That was very important for him. I think it was not easy for Real Madrid to sell him, but they had to. For Martin it was the best thing that happened, and he got Mikel Arteta, who believes in him and made him captain. They have made Arsenal a top team again."
If he went back to Real Madrid now?
"He would probably be one of the best players in that team."
Let's talk about Norwegian clubs in Europe. Bodo/Glimt have been one of the biggest stories in European football over the last two seasons. What is behind it?
"It is unbelievable. Bodo/Glimt were actually my biggest rivals when I played for Tromso. When I was on the pitch it was war, but I never had any problem with them. My father played for them, and my mum and dad live in Bodo, so I watch almost every European game they play.
"It is a funny and very interesting story, because they were relegated, and they did not even have the money to sign Kjetil Knutsen, the coach. There is a funny side to it if you look at the story. But they worked hard and built it stone by stone and created something unbelievable. What they did last season in the Champions League shows what is possible if you have a team that works so well together. And now you have Viking qualifying as well, brand new.
"It is not only them. Norwegian football as a whole has risen. When Bodo/Glimt do well, they have to buy players, so they give money to other Norwegian clubs. People say: "Oh, we do not want Bodo/Glimt to qualify for the Champions League because they get X amount of money." But that just generates more money into Norwegian football, so you can develop players. It helps everyone.
"The standard in the Norwegian league has been much higher the last few years because Bodo/Glimt have been leading the way. I support them in every game, and I support every Norwegian team when they play in Europe. I think it helps the national team too."
For the first time in 27 years there are two Norwegian clubs in the Champions League league phase. Against Bayern Munich, almost the entire Bodo team was Norwegian. Are the academies growing?
"They were good Norwegian players. Viking as well, I think that team is almost 100% Norwegian. It is very good. Like I said, when some teams do well you get more money into the league, and that helps other clubs develop. And you get a target. If you want to be at that level, you have to work hard. Maybe the young players in the academies look at them and think: "Wow, they are so good, I have to work harder."
"If you want to be good, you have to work hard, and you do not always have to come from an academy. I did not go through an academy. Loads of players do, but right now there are loads of good young Norwegian players coming through, and I think that is because of how Norwegian teams are doing in Europe."
Your former club Tromso are in the Europa League this season. What do you expect from them?
"They sold loads of players this year, I think for almost 25 or 30 million euros. That is mega money for the club. They have done so well. They have been quite stable, high up in the Norwegian league, and they have been into Europe. To achieve the same after selling all those players is going to be tough, but they have been doing well in recruiting, so hopefully they stay high up in the league and do well in Europe.
"Of course it is tougher when you sell maybe four of your five best players. But that is how it works. You cannot afford to say no to 10 or 15 million euros. And that is why it is a good club to go to. It is a club where you can develop and become a very good player, but the club will still give you the chance to take the next step. If you want to go somewhere you can develop and still achieve some of your dreams, Tromsø is a very good place."
Quickfire questions
Beckham or Giggs?
"Beckham."
Haaland or Odegaard?
"Haaland."
Premier League or international football?
"Premier League."
Best manager you played under?
"I have to say two. Sam Allardyce and Mark Hughes."
Best teammate?
"Tugay, the best player I played with."
Toughest opponent?
"People always ask me that, and it was actually Balotelli. That is one of the games I really remember."
Best goal?
"Maybe the United goal, the 2-1. But I had a good volley against Fulham as well. Let's say both."
Best stadium for atmosphere?
"I am tempted to say St James' Park."
Blackburn or Tromso?
"Blackburn."
Winning 1-0 or 5-4?
"5-4, 100%."