A ray of light in the Arctic

Just half a century ago the Norwegian football league allowed the Bodø / Glimt play the tournament. A widespread belief in national football isolated the clubs above the Arctic Circle, as in this case, by consider that they would be unable to compete at the same level as those from the south due to the harsh climatic conditions that they experience throughout the year. The Bodø / Glimt, founded in 1916, has tonight become league champion for the first time in its history. He needed a draw against Strømsgodset (institution that gave birth to Ødegaard) to secure the title, and ended up winning 1-2. The Scandinavian set, 18 points above Molde (club in which Haaland played under Solskjær), is the new king of the Eliteserien 5 days before the end of the championship.

The city of Bodø, capital of the Norwegian region of Nordland, has a peculiarity due to its extreme geographical situation. Between June 4 and July 8 of each year its 45,000 inhabitants they are witnesses to the absence of night, while at certain times of winter they don't see the sun. This season their team has given them hours and hours of light in the form of victories: 22 wins out of 25 possible. Their scoring records speak for themselves as they have scored 85 points in favor 28 against. Last matchday, against Aalesund, they achieved an impressive 7-0 at home. Aspmyra Stadion, the local fiefdom, has only seen their own win.

Two Norwegian glasses occupy the cold windows of a club that lost three more and was runner-up in the league four times, the last one, last year. At a continental level, his greatest achievement was reaching the knockout stages of the 1979 Recopa against Inter Milan. This same season he played the previous rounds that give access to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, where defeated Lithuanian Kaunas in the first game and, curiously, to the Zalguiris (neighbor of the first) in the second. The rival for the third match to achieve the goal was nothing more and nothing less than AC Milan, which eliminated the Norwegians with many troubles (3-2 at San Siro). In fact, the Italian team signed yellow star Jens Petter Hauge for 4 million euros after seeing his self-confidence on the pitch.

The good form of the team shown lately is explained by the project created three years ago. The Bodø has laid the foundations of its growth in betting on the young people of its quarry. In this way, they intend to compete in the country, in Europe, and seek to nurture the national team with talents. In recent years, players like Alexander Tettey (now in Norwich City) and Hakon Evjen (AZ Alkmaar) sprouted from the academy and now they play with the national team.

Alexander Sørloth, battering ram for RB Leipzig, was part of the team in 2015. Now the Dane occupies the position of scorer Kasper junker (19 goals in 20 games), who appears in the top scorers in Europe. On the right, Zinckernagel is the top assistant and in the Vetlesen and Solbakken media area they are making the milanista Hauge forget. Yes, Patrick Berg, usual with the selection, continues to act as leader and team brain.

Bodø, a city bombed on May 27, 1940 by Nazi Germany and almost completely destroyed, re-emerged. Now, after years ignored and despised soccer, get back up in a big way. Glimt, which means “lightning” in Norwegiandefines a club that withstood the strongest blizzards.