Bodo/Glimt have been the main story in the Champions League this season, having just knocked out Inter Milan.
Every once in a while a surprise team defies all footballing logic in a Champions League run. Bodo/Glimt have been doing exactly that this year and have won fans’ hearts across the globe.
They have now won four consecutive matches, including both legs of the play-off round against Inter Milan. Before that, home and away wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, respectively.
It’s hard to imagine that this is the same team that advanced in 23rd out of 24 spots. Their only wins in the league phase were precisely those two mentioned above, having started their campaign with three draws and three defeats from six matches.
How have Bodo/Glimt been so impressive in the Champions League?
The impact of Scandinavian climate
It would be foolish not to start off with the obvious. The cold weather and artificial pitch can certainly provide a bit of an edge over opponets who aren’t used to this type of surface.
It’s obviously not their fault as the climate makes it difficult to maintain and take care of natural grass over time. Just something that some teams have to adjust.
The schedule can also be advantageous to a degree, especially at the start of the year. It’s usually their time off from the Norwegian league, which allows them to focus solely on the Champions League and prepare for specific opponents.
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Bodo/Glimt played Borussia Dortmund on 10th December and spent nearly a full month without a game. They then played friendlies in the first two weeks of January before facing Man City on 20th January and Atleti eight days later. Bodo/Glimt then spent three weeks preparing for the play-off match-ups with Inter (18th and 24th February).
On the other hand, the schedule can be cruel at the start of the Champions League season. The Norwegian league usually kicks off around March and while teams are fresh come September, Bodo/Glimt already have five or six months of football on their backs.
Their Champions League form actually backs all of this up. Struggled mightily between August and December, but picked things up after their “pre-season”.
Squad traits
People have talked a lot recently about Bodo/Glimt’s ability to switch from low blocks and counter-attacking football in the Champions League to possession and dominance in the Eliteserien.
But their squad is actually much better suited to transitions and fast breaks. So much so that they didn’t win the league in 2025, finishing second to Viking FK.
In the 2024-25 Europa League semi finals, Tottenham Hotspur were in a run in which Ange Postecoglou famously dialed down on his high line and aggressive approach to play more cautiously, often letting the opponents keep possession. He did that against Bodo/Glimt and beat them on both legs.
The three main players this season are all better suited to play on the counter. Jens Petter Hauge is a complete winger, with speed and skill, ability to create and finish – but also a lot of tactical discipline.
Only Kylian Mbappe, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland have scored more goals than Hauge in the Champions League this season. He ranks joint-first for take-ons completed and second for overall attempts, but outright first in duels contested.
Kasper Hogh was mostly quiet in his first six matches — in which Bodo/Glimt went winless. He provided just one assist in the defeat to Juventus.
But Hogh has picked up since the Man City game, with four goals and two assists in his last four. He only failed to register a goal involvement in the second leg against Inter.
He is a traditional No.9, who is good in the air, holds up well, helps the team get out of their own half and brings teammates into play.
Hogh is one of just three strikers with 3+ goals and 3+ assists in the Champions League this season (four and three, respectively). The others are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (three goals, four assists) and Serhou Guirassy (four goals, three assists).
Patrick Berg is a solid, well-rounded and hard-working mifielder. He is capable of covering large distances defensively, while also pitching in creating chances going forward — mainly from set pieces.
The team as a whole has the high work rate as one of the main traits. Since the start of the group stage, Bodo/Glimt rank second in defensive duels (494), behind only Union Saint-Gilloise (497).
Among midfielders and forwards, they have three different players in the top 20 for tackles: Patrick Berg (29), Hakon Evjen (24) and Jens Petter Hauge (19). That’s the most of any team (alongside Benfica, also with three).
Playing style
Considering how suited the players are to a more defensive and cautious approach, looking to attack on the counter, numbers and results reflect that.
Bodo/Glimt have played 10 Champions League games since the start of the group stage. Five of them with 50% or more possession (two draws, three defeats) and five with 50% or less possession (four wins, one draw).
| Opponent | Possession % ↓ | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Monaco | 64% | L |
| Galatasaray | 62% | L |
| Juventus | 57% | L |
| Slavia Prague | 53% | D |
| Tottenham | 52% | D |
| Inter Milan (1st leg) | 42% | W |
| Borussia Dortmund | 37% | D |
| Atletico Madrid | 36% | W |
| Manchester City | 34% | W |
| Inter Milan (2nd leg) | 29% | W |
Their current campaign is already a hit, no matter what happens going forward. They could have a tough time keeping the foundation of the team and replacing those who could potentially leave in the summer.
Norwegian football isn’t exactly the most attractive for players from abroad. So the board will have to get recruitment right in order to maintain the level of performance next season and establish them as a side that looks to get on the knock-out rounds of the Champions League.
Bodo/Glimt will have to work hard to avoid being a 2015 Molde, for example. Another Norwegian side who impressed – though in the Europa League, finishing first in a group that featured Ajax, Celtic and Fenerbahce. But saw other teams come for their players and never made noise in Europe again since then.
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Good news is that many of Bodo/Glimt’s current players have already left and then came back. Hauge went to AC Milan in 2020, then Eintracht Frankfurt and a loan spell at Gent before returning in 2024.
Berg’s adventure in France lasted just seven months in 2022, going to and leaving Lens in the same year. Goalkeeper Nikita Haikin played zero games in two months for Bristol City and went straight back to Bodo/Glimt.
Like Hauge, Evjen also left in 2020 and returned in 2024 following unsuccessful spells abroad. Fredrik Andre Bjorkan was another one who tried his luck in Germany and then the Netherlands only to return one year after leaving.
So there’s a chance that many of these players feel like they have already taken a shot at top-five European-league football. Bodo/Glimt will certainly hope for that in order to keep the current team together. Manager Kjetil Knutsen has been there doing an amazing job for over eight years now and could also resist to potential interest from elsewhere.
Depending on how long this run goes on, the sense of camaraderie beats the temptation of moving to bigger clubs and they run it back all over again year after year.