MILAN – Bodo/Glimt are on the march in the Champions League after dumping out European giants Inter Milan on Feb 24, the latest chapter in a remarkable rise for the tiny club from north of the Arctic Circle.
Kjetil Knutsen’s team reached the last 16 of the biggest club competition on the planet with two wins over last year’s beaten finalists – a 5-2 aggregate victory giving them the greatest result in their history.
“I think it’s an amazing evening for the club, for the players, for the town and also for Norwegian football,” said Knutsen, who has been in charge of Bodo/Glimt since 2018.
“We are not talking about goals, we are talking about how to perform and how we can take steps and develop the players and the team. Now I think that’s extremely important.
“We have our way to do it and that’s really important.”
Having stunned Inter with a 3-1 victory in the first leg in Bodo, the visitors increased their aggregate advantage in Milan when Jens Petter Hauge fired home a rebound in the 58th minute and they were in dreamland 14 minutes later when Haakon Evjen effectively put the tie to bed and sent them into the last 16.
Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back four minutes later but it was too little, too late.
Tuesday’s triumph was their fourth straight win in the Champions League, with Manchester City and Atletico Madrid also falling in the final two league phase matches, which allowed Bodo/Glimt to snatch a spot in the knockout play-offs.
Bodo/Glimt were only promoted to Norway’s top tier, a competition which had been dominated for three decades by Rosenborg of Trondheim, in 2017 but have since been crowned national champions in four of the last six seasons.
And since then, they have slowly risen up the domestic and European ranks, last season becoming the first Norwegian team to play in the semi-finals of a major European competition with their run to the last four of the Europa League.
Before this season, their best result was beating Lazio on penalties in the quarter-finals of the Europa League before being eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur.
But now, the team of no stars with a tiny budget have moved to a whole new level with one of either City or Sporting of Portugal awaiting next month.
Bodo/Glimt had previously been considered tricky opposition due to their artificial pitch and the frequently frigid conditions at their 8,200-capacity Aspmyra Stadium.
However, they have now also added strong away performances to their armoury, with a solid defensive display on Tuesday allowing Hauge and Evjen to dish out two sucker punches.
“It has been a journey. There is a large group of us who have been part of it. There are unbelievably many people behind this who have such strong belief in the project,” added Knutsen.
“I always look forward, so that’s how we’re thinking. For me, history is not so important.”
It was a rude awakening for three-time winners Inter, whose stature and budget dwarf that of the Norwegians and who are heavy favourites to win Serie A this season.
A pasting at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain might have coloured their last European campaign but Inter got to that final by seeing off Bayern Munich and Barcelona in epic knockout ties.
The Italians had much the better in the first half but once Hauge capitalised on Manuel Akanji inexplicably giving the ball away on the edge of his area, there was no way back for them.
“We know that the Champions League is very competitive, if a team reaches this stage of the competition that means that they are offering something,” said Inter coach Cristian Chivu.
“They showed that in Dortmund, Madrid, against City and twice against us.”
Midfielder Nicolo Barella added: “Bodo deserve congratulations, they beat us home and away, so clearly they deserved to go through.”
Defeat to Bodo/Glimt was also symbolic after Norway swatted Italy aside twice in World Cup qualifying. Now it remains to be seen how far they can reach. AFP, REUTERS