When Viking FK ended a 34-year Norwegian title drought last year, it was days like these in the Champions League they were dreaming of. A visit to Aston Villa on Wednesday comes on the back of a remarkable 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich, where Viking led 2-0 at half-time but needed a last-minute goal to rescue a point. Captain Zlatko Tripic, who joined the club in the second tier in 2018, told Norwegian channel TV2: "I could have played another 90 minutes. I'm so incredibly proud. I've waited 34 years for this."
Tripic is one part of the Stavanger club's revival story, along with a rarity in modern football: joint head coaches. Former assistants Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim stepped up together in 2021 and led them to last season's title, and they are top again this season. Aarsheim, who spent most of his playing career at Viking, said: "It's a special story. We were born Viking fans." Jensen added: "If you dare sometimes to go against the strides then you can achieve great things."
This is Viking's first European group stage since the 2005–06 Uefa Cup. Their Champions League fixtures include trips to Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid and Napoli, plus a home game with Bayern. Jensen described the schedule as "the whole buffet", noting that Norwegians are obsessed with English football and that their old assistant coach Pal Fjall is set-piece coach at Villa Park.
Viking are one of Norway's most successful teams, with nine league titles, six of them between 1972 and 1982. Former British managers and players have passed through the club, and in 2002 Viking knocked Chelsea out of the Uefa Cup first round on a 5-4 aggregate. Relegation in 2017 followed a spell of overspending, but the drop proved a turning point, and the club's modern revival has now brought them to the Champions League stage.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing