This autumn and winter, Bodø/Glimt supporters have been part of one of the Champions League history’s most adventurous journeys. This unfortunately ended in a 5-0 collapse in Lisbon, but the Champions League adventure that has entertained an entire football world was already written. Sporting took their ticket to the semi-finals, but went off the pitch in two games without scoring. We think Bodø/Glimt could have bitten off considerably better against Arsenal than the Portuguese club.
Back in the Eliteserien, Bodø/Glimt have had their anticlimax, but if we rewind to the Champions League-Glimt before the 5-0 loss in Lisbon, it was what Thierry Henry described as “Europe’s bravest club”. After Glimt’s 3-0 win against Sporting at Aspmyra, the Sporting coach said something interesting: “For me, they are a candidate to win the whole tournament. They are capable of that, came from the Sporting coach according to A Bola.
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Candidate to win the Champions League.
Carlo Ancelotti had seen Glimt’s trip from Brazil, the coaching legend was in no doubt about how good the Norwegian club was in relation to competitors in the Champions League.
– Bodø/Glimt is currently the best and most organized team in Europe. Not only because of the results – they have beaten Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan and Sporting CP – but they are the team that defends best in Europe,” Ancelotti said at a press conference (before the 5-0 loss) according to A Bola.
The best and most organized team in Europe.
Sporting lost 0-1 to Arsenal in the first quarter, in Wednesday’s game at the Emirates it was an Arsenal without Ødegaard, Saka, Calafiore, Timber and Merino. Still, Sporting were unable to create anything. Sporting captain Morten Hjulmand summed up the match:
“The result from the first game, which we lost, made it harder to come to the Emirates and win. Especially because we don’t lose that often at home. We knew it would be difficult. It was a low-intensity game, with no pace and no goals. I would say it was boring,” Hjulmand says according to A Bola.
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Loss at home, then return with low intensity and no pace. We firmly believe Kjetil Knutsen and Bodø/Glimt could have delivered a football at Aspmyra and in London that would have given injury-hampered Arsenal real trouble.
