Sport Champions Leauge
Klaksvik Itrottarfelag writes the football fairy tale of the summer
Status: 09.08.2023 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Hard to believe: Klaksvik turned the game against the Norwegian champions
Quelle: picture alliance/NTB/Jens Kr. Vang
For the first time a club from the Faroe Islands has qualified for the group stage in Europe. And with a field player in goal. After the recent win, even the Champions League is getting closer and closer.
Of course, it is the biggest success in the club’s history. After all, what the IK Klaksvik players are putting on on the international stage this summer is unprecedented in the history of football in the Faroe Islands. The team from the town of 5,000 can now even hope for the Champions League after the recent win.
“Calls are coming in from all over the world,” goalkeeper Jonathan Johansson revealed to “Kicker”. The 31-year-old embodies one of the main characters of the Viking fairy tale, having ended his professional career two years ago and playing as a central defender in the fifth Norwegian league. “I was on holiday in Rhodes when my phone rang,” said Johansson. “It was Magne Hoseth, the coach of KI Klaksvik, calling from the Faroe Islands. He needed a substitute goalkeeper and asked if I would be interested. The contract was limited to three months.” Now the electrician is happy about his employer in Norway, who granted him extended vacation time so that he can continue writing the incredible story.
Heroes of the Islands: The KI Klaksvik team before their game against Molde
Source: picture alliance/NTB/Jens Kristian Vang
Johansson and Klaksvik gave their growing fan base new stuff that dreams are made of in Tuesday night’s first-leg win in the third round of premier qualifiers against Molde FK. After being 1-0 down, Arni Frederiksberg turned the game around in the second half with his brace (64′, 86′). For the striker, it was already his goals five and six in the fifth game of qualifying.
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After advancing against the Hungarian champions Ferencvaros Budapest (0:0, 3:0) and the Swedish champions BK Häcken (0:0, 4:3 penalties), the Norwegian title holder is now threatened with the end in the second leg. Should the underdog defend his lead next Tuesday, he would actually be in the play-offs for the Champions League, and IK Klaksvik has already written the football fairy tale of the summer.
Klaksvik qualified for European Cup
28 years ago, the club had set a milestone by becoming the first representatives of the North Atlantic archipelago to win a European Cup match. Klaksvik beat cup winners Maccabi Haifa 3-2 in the preliminary round of the European Cup in 1995, but were eliminated after losing 4-0 in the first leg. Just like in the tests in the years that followed. For the Klaksviker Itrottarfelag, the Klaksviker sports club, the Olympic motto always applied in the qualifications: Being there is everything.
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Last year, the Faroese failed conceivably. In the third qualifying round, the team lost to the Kosovar representative KF Ballkani only on penalties. However, it was only about participation in the Conference League, the third highest division at international level. This time, in the 17th attempt, that much is already certain, it will work out and the club will take part in the group stage of the European Cup for the first time. The only thing left to be decided is in which competition.
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A defeat against Molde would give Klaksvik a chance to secure a place in the Europa League in further qualifying rounds, which they would already have if they reach the Champions League play-offs. The club has already secured participation in the Conference League. But of course they want more now.
