4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 25, 2026 09:12 PM IST
Norway continued to dominate in Italy even after the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics wrapped up as Bodø/Glimt stunned Inter Milan in the round of 32 playoffs of the UEFA Champions League. To put this achievement in perspective, the club come from a town (Bodø) so small that their entire population, of just over 42,000, could comfortably fit into Milan’s San Siro stadium, which seats 75,817.
For a team that comes from such a humble place, unconventional methods might be the only way they can prosper. It is not a new concept for football clubs to employ a club psychologist, yet Bodø’s approach remains unique: their mental coach, Bjorn Mannsverk, is a former fighter pilot.
In an interview with Sky Sports last year, he spoke about developing the practice of ‘The Ring.’ After conceding a goal, players immediately gather in a huddle, not only to discuss their errors but also to collectively share the responsibility.
He said he got the idea from his combat days. “When it comes to flight safety, it was really important that we immediately stood up and were honest about our mistakes.”
Talking openly and listening to feedback was not valued or encouraged before he joined the club. When he arrived, “It was total quiet.” When I asked “‘Why don’t you talk?’, they said ‘No, we’re not used to this’.”
Their communication with the coaching staff was a one-way street. “Not because they wanted a monologue, but because they were not trained to have a dialogue.”
He then asked them, “Why don’t you start giving each other feedback?”
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How far the new approach has been ingrained is best exemplified when former player Hugo Vetlesen, now at Club Brugge, started giving advice to players vying for his position.
According to Capology, Bodø/Glimt’s complete wage bill is around €176,000 per week. Milan’s Lautaro Martínez himself makes double that (€ 391,731). Milan’s entire wage bill is 16.74 times bigger than Bodø’s.
No pushovers
For those who have been tracking their progress, this outcome will not be unexpected. To say this team refuses to give up would be an understatement. Before Matchday 7, Bodø needed to win their remaining two games to have a chance at advancing and were given just a 1.5% probability of making the playoffs. These two matches were against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid. No one gave them a prayer but the Norwegian club shocked everyone by defeating both European giants, becoming the first side from the country to qualify from the league/group phase since 1996-97.
The knockout playoffs draw presented an even tougher challenge: a match against Inter Milan, a team that has reached the competition’s finals in two of the last three years. Regardless of whether the Italian giants underestimated their opponent or if Bodø simply outplayed the Serie A leaders, the 3-1 and 2-1 wins put to bed any argument that it was just luck.
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Making this campaign even more impressive is the fact that this is Norway’s off-season, as the Eliteserien takes place from March to November. Whether this is an advantage is up for debate but many would argue that a club needs to play football matches regularly to maintain optimal fitness.
There is no scale to measure the biggest upsets in the competition, but this would certainly be up there. Bodø/Glimt now face either Sporting Lisbon or Manchester City in the Round of 16 and it would be unwise to rule them out already.
(The writer is an intern with The Indian Express)
