How did an unheralded Norwegian team from a tiny town north of the Arctic Circle become one of the fairytale stories of European soccer?
For Bod酶/Glimt, the transformation has been underpinned by a fighter pilot who developed mental techniques for his squadron before bombing missions in Libya.
Bj酶rn Mannsverk discovered a group of players exuding negative energy and prone to 鈥渁 collective mental breakdown鈥 when he was asked in early 2017 to join the backroom staff of a team that had just been relegated to Norway鈥檚 second tier.
His task as 鈥渕ental coach鈥 at Bod酶/Glimt? To make players talk openly about their feelings, lower stress levels, change their attitudes and routines about things like preparation and nutrition, and remove the stigma around mental training.
Winning or losing no longer mattered. It was all about following a philosophy and culture established by Mannsverk, a former Royal Norwegian air force squadron leader whose military duties took him to Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and to Libya for a NATO-led intervention in 2011.
The results have been extraordinary.
After securing an immediate return to Norway鈥檚 top division, the team 鈥 based more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of Oslo in a fishing town, Bod酶, with a population of around 55,000 鈥 has captured four of the country’s last five league titles. It with a first in the history of a club founded in 1916.
Bod酶/Glimt has also had some big results in Europe in recent seasons 鈥 a in the Conference League 2021 stands out 鈥 and this year it has become the first Norwegian club to reach the .
The first leg against Tottenham in the Europa League takes place in London on Thursday. It鈥檚 Bod酶/Glimt鈥檚 biggest ever match.
鈥淚t is a fairy tale, almost a miracle,鈥 Mannsverk told The Associated Press in a video interview. 鈥淗ow can you actually come from (Norway’s) second division in 2017 to playing a Champions League playoff and teams like Arsenal five years later?
鈥淏ut I think it鈥檚 possible ... if you have the right mentality and you work hard over time.鈥
An active air force pilot for more than 20 years, Mannsverk and others in his squadron were the subjects of a mental training project in 2010 where the focus was on meditation and 鈥渆very day repeating boring stuff, but with 100% attention.鈥
It meant that when he was in Libya the following year, he had the mental capacity to handle the dangerous missions he was asked to perform. His squadron鈥檚 mantra 鈥 鈥渢rain as you intend to fight鈥 鈥 worked.
鈥淓ven though I got strong feelings when my first bombs hit the target and it was in infernal flames and fragments and everything,” he said, “it was like, 鈥橫y training said that it鈥檚 OK, this is happening, recognize that, but know I have to return and do my job.’鈥
With Bod酶 until recently having a NATO air base, it was simply a happy coincidence that Bod酶/Glimt鈥檚 leadership came across members of the squadron at the same time as it was seeking a 鈥渟ilver bullet鈥 鈥 as Mannsverk put it 鈥 to improve the team鈥檚 mental conditioning.
A project was born and fully embraced by manager Kjetil Knutsen following his appointment in 2018.
Bod酶/Glimt has never looked back.
Mannsverk鈥檚 fingerprints are all over the team鈥檚 behavior, though he acknowledges there has been such a buy-in by the players that they now take decisions by themselves.
Like having a rotating cast of eight captains to share leadership duties. Like when the players gather into a circle 鈥 Mannsverk calls it the 鈥淏od酶/Glimt Ring鈥 鈥 after conceding a goal to discuss what happened and maintain solidarity. Like the players having no specific targets, apart from being the best version of themselves.
Inge Henning Andersen, Bod酶/Glimt鈥檚 chairman, told the AP that midfielder Ulrik Saltnes considered retiring because he used to suffer from stress-related stomach issues that flared up around matches. Saltnes opened up about his problems to Mannsverk and 鈥渇inally found a way out of it,鈥 Andersen said.
The team plays at an intensity that far exceeds its rivals, which players attribute to Mannsverk.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it would be possible to play like that without Bj酶rn and the mental work we do,鈥 Saltnes once told the BBC.
This season鈥檚 Europa League campaign is giving Bod酶/Glimt widespread attention, notably for its location. The team鈥檚 Aspmyra stadium 鈥 with a capacity of less than 9,000 鈥 is one of the most northernly in world soccer at 67 degrees latitude. Tourists have long come to the town on the tip of Norway鈥檚 west coast because it is a good spot to see the northern lights.
Bod酶, named the European Capital of Culture in 2024, has less than an hour of sunlight during its shortest days, meaning players take supplements to combat a lack of sunlight. It can be bitterly cold and windy in , making for tough trips for opponents from other countries.
On paper, Tottenham, one of the world鈥檚 richest clubs, starts as a huge favorite against Bod酶/Glimt. The crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday will be bigger than Bod酶’s population.
Yet the English club is having one of its worst seasons in a generation and currently lies in 16th place in the 20-team Premier League. It gives Bod酶/Glimt a realistic shot at an upset, like it produced when getting past Italian team Lazio in the quarterfinals.
Another chance, then, for the club to write another amazing chapter in its remarkable journey.
鈥淲e like to tell our story,鈥 Mannsverk said. 鈥淭he philosophy is a good thing. We know it鈥檚 difficult in football, where there鈥檚 so much money involved, to give a coach or a team the time. And it takes time to change and drill in the mentality.
鈥淭his was not done overnight ... but I鈥檓 totally convinced that it will work more or less all over.鈥
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