Bodø/Glimt: the ongoing sensation

After defeating Manchester City (3-1), Atlético Madrid (2-1) and Inter Milan (3-1) in quick succession, Bodø/Glimt is asserting its ambitions in the Champions League. The Norwegian club continues to progress and is gradually becoming a force to be reckoned with in Europe.

After five Champions League matchdays, Bodø/Glimt was virtually doomed to elimination from the group stage according to all probability models. With only two points to its name after playing the most beatable teams on its schedule on paper, the Norwegian club was not expected to continue its adventure.

In the end, to everyone’s surprise, Bodø achieved the unthinkable: picking up seven points against Borussia Dortmund (2-2), Manchester City (3-1) and Atlético Madrid (2-1) to secure its place in the top 24. An achievement? Yes, but not enough to satisfy the appetite of a club that is thinking bigger and bigger.

A trip apart

On Wednesday, in the first leg of the play-off, Bodø/Glimt added another impressive scalp to its list of achievements. Inter Milan, who are dominating Serie A, stumbled (1-3) on the artificial turf of Aspmyra Stadion, the muddy stadium par excellence. A small 8,000-seat arena on the Arctic Circle, bordering the Norwegian Sea and the surrounding mountainous landscape, lost in the middle of snow-covered scenery.

In these very unusual circumstances, many top teams have come unstuck against Bodø/Glimt, a side that is much weaker on paper but has developed a well-defined playing identity, offering an aggressive and dynamic style, focused on attacking play, with controlled transitions. Obviously, in this rather picturesque context, the gaps are levelled out, and what the paper says is no longer worth much.

Steady progress in Europe

Bodø/Glimt is also performing well with a squad made up almost exclusively of local players: there is only one non-Scandinavian in the squad, Russian goalkeeper Nikita Haikin, alongside four Danes, with the rest being Norwegian players. Certain individuals are helping to lift the team as a whole: this is the case for midfielder Patrick Berg, who failed to make his mark at Lens, winger Jens Petter Hauge, who returned home after spells at AC Milan and Eintracht Frankfurt, among others, and striker Kasper Høgh.

How far can this model go? Since the early 2020s, Bodø/Glimt has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in Europe. Quarter-finalists in the Conference League in 2022 (the year of their famous 6-1 victory over Roma) and semi-finalists in the Europa League in 2025, the Norwegians are well on their way to reaching the last 16 of the Champions League this year. They will have to withstand Inter’s revival next Tuesday in Milan, but another feat would come as no surprise.