Zlatko Tripic, a native of Rijeka and captain of the Norwegian champions, is confident that Viking can achieve what his compatriots have failed to do so far. The first Champions League playoff match takes place on Tuesday at Maksimir.
Dinamo's players face their first Champions League playoff match on Tuesday at 9 PM at Maksimir against Norwegian champions Viking. Ahead of the clash, the visiting team is not hiding its ambitions, and their captain Zlatko Tripic, a 33-year-old born in Rijeka who moved to Norway as a child with his family, has extra motivation.
Tripic sent a clear message to the Zagreb club ahead of the match. "We will do everything we can to be the Norwegian team that eliminates Dinamo, something many other Norwegian teams have tried but failed. I have faith! You have to have faith, because if you step onto the pitch without it, it will be incredibly tough," the Viking captain told Tportal.
He added that history will not play a role in this tie. "It's a football match, and it's about who is best on the day. What happened before, all those years, doesn't matter now," said Tripic, dismissing Dinamo's rich European experience as a factor that should decide.
For Tripic, this match will also carry deep personal significance. He was born in Rijeka, and he told Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad that he has never played a match in Croatia before. "It will be special to play here in Croatia," said Tripic, adding that he is very much looking forward to the encounter.
Ahead of the match, the Viking captain received many interview requests from Croatian journalists, but he declined almost all of them. He spoke at length to the Norwegian paper about how his family left Yugoslavia during the war, how much his parents mean to him, how he started in the national team, and his return to Zagreb.
Viking's goalkeeper Aril Ostbo has special experience with Dinamo. He was Rosenborg's backup goalkeeper in earlier European encounters with the Croatian champions and remembers well how tough it is to play in front of the Zagreb crowd.
"It was very tough to play at their stadium; I remember the atmosphere, the pressure from the stands. But we have that too. We will do everything we can to make it difficult for them. There will be two matches. It's important for us to still be alive when the return leg in Stavanger begins. We're facing a good opponent. We've watched them and done our homework. Good players, well-coached, both tactically and physically," Ostbo told Tportal.
Ahead of the match, Dinamo used their official Twitter account to call on fans to fill the stadium. "Tomorrow, all as one, from the pitch to the stands! A Maksimir evening to remember awaits, and tickets are only left for the North stand - call your dads, neighbors, friends... let's fill that stand too and write history together!" the club's post reads.
Tickets for the remaining stand are on sale at 12 euros for members and 17 euros for other fans. The club also announced that part of the match revenue will be donated to help those affected by the fires that hit parts of Croatia.
A special tone was added by Zvone Boban, who congratulated the fan group Bad Blue Boys on their 40th birthday. "To you, without whom nothing is the same - for 40 years it hasn't been the same! To you, who never stopped loving and living in blue - not for a single second of life, not for a single second of any match. To you, because of whom we have the Dinamo we've dreamed of for years. In tradition, in rebellion - always your own, forever Dinamo's! Happy Birthday, Purgeri! Happy Birthday, BBB group! Dinamo Zagreb above all, Dinamo Zagreb above everyone!" Boban wrote on Twitter.
Dinamo and Viking meet for the first time on Tuesday at Maksimir, with the return leg scheduled for August 26 in Stavanger. The winner of this tie advances to the league phase of the Champions League, while the loser will continue in the Europa League.
