The Icelandic minnows sensationally won the first game against the Greek favorites 2-1 and their performance a week ago was even more remarkable judging from the fact that Vikingur and their supporters even had to travel to the artificial pitch at the Bolt Arena in Helsinki, Finland to do battle with Panathinaikos, as their own stadium, Sarpugerði, which has a capacity of 1600 spectators and doesn't have any floolights, doesn't meet UEFA requirements.
In the return leg in the Spiridon Louis Stadium in Athens, Vikingur, coached by Sölvi Ottesen, held out for 70 minutes before Filip Mladenovic scored the opening goal for Panathinaikos before Tete broke the Icelandic hearts as he latched onto Filip Duricic's rebounded effort to score a last-gasp winner deep into injury-time as the match otherwise seemed to be headed for extra-time.
It was a cruel fate for a team that has produced the best Icelandic performance in the UEFA Club competitions since Breidablik Kopavogur made history at the start of the 2023/24 season by reaching the group stage of the UEFA Conference League for the first time. And after the game Executive Director of Vikingur Reykavik, Haraldur Haraldsson, was understandably very disappointed with the result but at the same time very proud of what the club has achieved this season.
"Of course it's a hard one to take right now. We were so close at making it to extra-time and who knows what could have happened then. During the first half Panathianikos had the majority of possession but they did not produce any chances and when they scored, it was their first shot on goal. So, its of course cruel to go out of the tournament in this way and it hurts but that is sport, that is football", said Haraldsson to Flashscore.dk and was at the same time extremely proud of the team effort.
"The players are heroes, they played their hearts out against a very strong team. We have made history and gone further in the UEFA competitions than any Icelandic team before that and we should be proud of that. We have written a new chapter in the history of Icelandic club football, it has been a fantastic journey and it has been amazing to be part of it."
"We are a club that operates on a three million EURO budget for the complete squad and half of the squad is not full-time professionals as they also have jobs or go to school besides playing football. So, on that basis it has at least in the past been extremely hard for Icelandic clubs to get anywhere in Europe", said Haraldsson who at the same time applauded UEFA for creating a tournament format, where small clubs have a chance to shine.
In the new format, Vikingur have shown they are a side not to be underestimated with an impressive 3-1 win at home against Cercle Brügge and a 1-1 draw away against LASK Linz.
"For Icelandic club football it's a new dawn. We have shown for other Icelandic clubs that its possible to go far in the tournament. With the new format in the UEFA club competitions, we actually have a chance to do something in the competition as its not as hard as before to qualify for the tournament. This brings hope to smaller nations and the distribution of funds also benefits us to a much bigger degree than before and you can see the difference it makes. Just look at teams like Shamrock Rovers and Borac Banja Luka who have also done very well in the tournament. I am very happy with this format, it suggests that there is a bright future ahead of us", ends Haraldsson.