Key to their success has been captain Zlatko Tripic.

The winger, who turns 33 on Tuesday, 3 December, joined the club immediately following their relegation in 2018.

He had previously won the Norwegian title twice with Molde in 2011 and 2012 – and arrived from Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol, where he had played in Europe.

“It’s a great story,” said Risan. “We had just got relegated in 2017 and it was a big surprise when Zlatko turned up.

“He was a profile, someone we didn’t think [we could sign]. We thought he just came to keep fit and train.

“But he really liked the idea of taking the club to something great and being part of a good story.

“Viking is traditionally a big club, but it was down in the dust. He’s been a big part of taking Viking back to the top of the table.”

Tripic scored the winner in their 2019 cup final success over Haugesund, but left in 2020 for Turkish side Goztepe, returning 18 months later.

And the Croatia-born forward has reached double figures in both goals and assists in each of the past three seasons – something no Viking player had ever done before.

Tripic notched the third goal, from a first-half penalty, in the 5-1 victory over ninth-placed Valerenga which sealed the title.

And now he has done something no player has done in a generation – lifted the Eliteserien title as Viking captain.