Viking FK Draw 3-3 With Bayern After 34-Year Title Wait — SkimNews
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- Viking FK drew 3-3 with Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener, leading 2-0 at half-time before needing a last-minute equalizer after the German side's comeback.
- Zlatko Tripic, Viking's 33-year-old captain who joined the club in the second tier in 2018, set up two goals in the Bayern draw including the equalizer and said: "I've waited 34 years for this."
- Viking are led by joint head coaches Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim, former assistants who took over in 2021 after Bjarne Berntsen was unexpectedly sacked and went on to deliver last season's title.
- Viking sit three points above Bodo/Glimt this season (with a game more played), pursuing back-to-back Norwegian titles for the first time since the club's dominant 1972-1982 era when they won six of their eight prior championships.
- Viking's Champions League fixture list includes trips to Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid, and Napoli plus a home game with Bayern — the club's first European group stage appearance since the 2005-06 Uefa Cup.
- Viking were relegated for the first time in 31 years in 2017 under English manager Ian Burchnall, won the second-tier title at the first attempt in 2018, and later knocked Chelsea out of the 2002 Uefa Cup with a 5-4 aggregate win.
Why it matters: Viking are the rare Norwegian club climbing back to relevance with a homegrown identity rather than outside investment — joint local coaches, a captain who arrived in the second tier, and a youth-and-locals rebuild after a 2017 relegation. The Champions League run gives them a €15m-plus payday and global visibility that could sustain the model for years, but the squad must now balance a deep European fixture list against a domestic title race that is only a few points clear of Bodo/Glimt.
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