Ange Postecoglou was quick to dismiss the notion Tottenham might kill off the threat of Bodo/Glimt on Thursday night in London, with the Norwegians depleted, and removing their artificial pitch from the equation.
‘You try and do that anyway,’ said the Spurs boss. ‘Playing at home in Europe for every club has its advantages, and you want to try to take that advantage.
‘Bodo away is a difficult challenge. But we played really well against Frankfurt at home and should have won by three or four. We ended up drawing. Frankfurt away wasn’t easy. Their record is just as compelling as Bodo’s.
‘I don’t think you just go in thinking you’re going to kill off the tie then. Semi-finals for the most part tend to be pretty tight. And I expect that.’
Postecoglou required no introduction to this Norwegian team from the Arctic Circle who have made an artform out of embarrassing prestigious opponents from all corners of Europe.
Bodo/Glimt dumped his Celtic team out in a Conference League play-off round in 2021-22, a season when the Scottish champions managed to complete an ignominious full house by exiting of all three UEFA competitions at the stage they entered.
Ange Postecoglou insists Spurs will not underestimate Bodo/Glimt on Thursday night
The Norwegian outfit will be looking to upset the home crowd when they visit north London
‘You’d love us to think you’re a small club we don’t rate,’ he told a Norwegian reporter at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, where he spoke pointedly of Bodo’s ‘stability’ and ‘clear style’.
The Spurs boss knows they are dangerous opponents and not only in next week’s second leg when they return to the synthetic grass of home.
Bodo/Glimt have won nine of their 10 home games in this European campaign which started in July, in the Champions League qualifiers, with Red Star, Porto, Besiktas, Twente, Olympiakos and Lazio among those humbled at various stages in the Aspmyra Stadium.
Olympiakos, winners of the Conference League last season, were furious with the state of the pitch and made their feelings known to UEFA after losing 3-0 in the first leg of their last-16 tie in freezing Arctic conditions in March.
‘It is an advantage,’ agreed Lazio boss Marco Baroni after losing 2-0 at Bodo in the first leg of their quarter final. ‘There was a lot of speed on the pitch in the close and short exchanges due to the synthetic pitch.’
The Italians have been wary of the Aspmyra plastic ever since Jose Mourinho’s Roma were beaten 6-1 by Bodo in the Conference League in October 2021.
It was the result that made European football sit up and take notice of a new force rising from a remote fishing town with its population of 55,000, less than the capacity of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
‘That’s the beauty of football,’ said Postecoglou, savouring similarities in his own journey from the footballing backwater of Australia.
Tottenham are gearing up for a clash that could save their season amid struggles domestically
Bodo/Glimt overcame Italian side Lazio after a penalty shoot-out to reach the semi-finals
‘Irrespective of where you come from, or the size of the place that you come from, if you’re ambitious and if you have a clear plan, especially in our sport, you can create unique opportunities and create fantastic moments.’
Formed in 1916, Bodo/Glimt have a long and colourful history of ups and downs but nothing to compare with their success since promotion in 2018, harnessing data-led recruitment to win three Norwegian titles in five years under Kjetil Knutsen, the 56-year-old head coach linked in the past with the Brighton job and currently reported to be on the Leeds radar.
‘I know he enjoys being in Bodo, enjoys working at this club,’ said the technical director Havard Sakariassen of interest in Knutsen. ‘He’s probably had some really good offers along the way and should he for some reason decide to do something else I think we should applaud him to the airport and say thank you.
‘I’m not afraid of that at all. I think that we will work here for more years to come – but who knows.’
There is more to the Norwegians than the dodgy pitch and yet they arrive at Spurs without some key men.
Three are suspended, captain Patrick Berg, his central midfield partner Hakon Evjen, and forward Andreas Helmersen.
Ole Didrik Blomberg, another forward, and centre-half Odin Bjortuft are doubtful after suffering injuries against KFUM Oslo on Sunday.
All of which seems to intensify the sense of opportunity for Postecoglou’s team and the importance of seizing some sort of initiative in this first leg as the failed to do against Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter final, when they drew the first leg at home and produced a fine display to win 1-0 in Germany.
Postecoglou insisted that he’s focusing on ‘the now’ despite question marks over his future
Both he and James Maddison spoke on the eve of the tie about the ‘parallel worlds’ of an atrocious Premier League campaign and the chance to win a European trophy for the first time in more than 40 years.
With Postecoglou, rotating his team, suffering more defeats. ‘Embarrassing,’ as Maddison called the 5-1 beating at Liverpool on Sunday. Suffering even more damage to depleted reserves of self-esteem in exchange for a extra freshness in the legs of the players, some of whom are still on the way back from injuries and other who were overplayed in midseason.
All while trying to maintain the belief that this atrocious season can still end in glory in Bilbao. ‘How often will you be in this position?’ said Postecoglou. ‘History tells you not that often, irrespective of how strong you are as a club, even the strongest clubs in terms of Europe.
‘Ask any Tottenham supporter what’s furthermost in their mind right now, what’s going to happen next year or us hopefully trying to get to a final in Europe and the opportunity to win some silverware, I think the answer would be just concentrate on the now and that’s what I’m doing.’
