CNN
–
Bodobo, a small Norwegian town just inside the Arctic, has shorter days and can be extremely cold in winter. It’s not the type of place you’re expected to find an elite soccer team, especially if you sometimes need a shovel to clean up fresh snowfall layers from the local pitch.
It takes a certain fortitude and tenacity to withstand the winds and freezing temperatures that hit the town for months of the year, but Bod/Grimt is not a normal team, and its army of proud supporters is not a normal fanbase.
Bodø/Glimt, who recently won his fourth Norwegian League title in five years, is used to rubbing his shoulders with European football elites. On Thursday, the club will travel to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This is a stadium of 62,850 people, almost 10,000 more than the entire population of Bodeau, and will face spurts in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-finals.
“Fortunately, we’re pretty used to it now. We’ve been through a lot of difficult games in large, large stadiums, so we’re very used to it, but I think it’s a bit shocking for the city and others.”
Earlier this month, Underdogbodo/Grimt became the first Norwegian team to reach the semi-finals of European competition after beating Lazio on his return leg in Rome.
Now, the town and its fans are preparing for Bodeau’s next showdown.
“It was a mess. With tickets for the match, we only sold a few hundred people, and it was a lot of people trying to get tickets, and that’s what we’re talking about right now in town.
“That means everything to this club and the players here. We really want to show that we can compete at the biggest stage of playing against the best clubs in the world,” he added.
It’s probably fortunate for Spurs that the second leg match at Bodø takes place in May. Teams visiting the Arctic during the winter can face unique and unforgiving situations.
“For us, we train a lot of it, so compared to people who came from warm places in January, we’re used to it,” midfielder Hakon Evgen told CNN earlier this year.
Currently in his second stint with the club, Evgen is able to count the great Area of the Area strikes in the top corner in November to face Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Even more noteworthy than that goal was the fact that Bodø/Glimt was cheered on by over 6,500 fans in the game, about 12% of Bodø’s 55,000 residents. If there were any indications of how one town became devoted to the football club, this was it.
“We have so much support and the whole town has become a soccer town,” Evjen says. “It’s beautiful to see how football can change the city and how people see it. To play here and now, it’s much bigger than it was a few years ago.”
bodø/glimt – “glimt” means “flash” and the team plays in all yellow accordingly. Success is just a recent phenomenon in the club’s 108-year history.
Under manager Kjetil Knutsen, the team has earned rewards for disciplined training sessions, new, overwhelming playstyles, and clever recruitment strategies that blossom into Norway’s most decorated side over the past five years.
Saltnes, who arrived at Bodø/Glimt over a decade ago, said the club felt “Worlds Apart” compared to when he joined. “When I came around, I rank it almost as semi-professional, but now it’s at the top and top professional level,” he added.
When Bodø/Glimt won his first league title in 2020, it did that in a historic way, finishing 19 points ahead of runner-up Molde FK and finishing the campaign with a record 103 goals in 30 games.
“It’s a club that has changed for the better with the team, coaching staff and club,” said Evgen, who played for the Netherlands and Denmark during two stints with Bod/Grimt. “It’s really professional and I’m keen to try and be the best team in Norway.”
The standoff with Tottenham on Thursday is just one of many challenges awaiting Bodø/Glimt. The goal is to compete in the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
“We’ve been closer to the Champions League twice, and that’s really going to be a little statement,” veteran midfielder Ulrik Saltness told CNN Sports earlier this year. “Economically, it’s a completely different league and it really shows that Glimt is here for everyone in European football.
“In a few years, we’ll never hear about us again. I think reaching the Champions League will really be the next step for the club.”
But Bodø/Glimt is chasing these lofty goals, which is strangely strange to other games in the European game, like all Norwegian teams. The country’s cold and dark winters – Bodeau has about 50 minutes of sunlight on the shortest day – means that domestic competitions are usually held during the summer between March and November.
“I think it’s also making us tougher about the game and what the weather is like. We need to adapt to everything in a different way, but that’s how it’s here,” Evgen told CNN earlier this season.
Norwegian Elitrien has recently resumed, for example, with Bodø/Glimt securing victory in the opening two games.
“It’s not feeling well for all the fans who have to come and see us at -10 (Celsius).
The club will face one of the biggest tests that will take place on Thursday. In an injury, some of the best players on the team can sit in the first leg.
“We have to play together as a team, because it’s a really tough challenge. Clearly we miss a few key players. That’s going to be difficult for us, but the only way we can replace them is to play together as a team and fight each other.”
“We all know that it will be decided in a week, so even if we experience a tough experience (in London), there’s everything we’ll play at home next week. So no matter how the game goes, no matter how difficult it is, we have to stick with it and fight each other,” he said.
Resilience is part of Bodeau’s DNA, and its people are ready to be extraordinary length when it comes to beautiful games. Or, as Evjen explained, “If you’re fully committed, you can do anything as long as you have a shovel with you.”
