There generally isn’t a ton of banter between clubs in European competition. Especially when one team is a small club playing in northern Norway and the other one plays in the Premier League in London and is one of the ten richest clubs in world football. But I guess that’s not stopping Bodø/Glimt! In an article published in Norwegian outlet vg.no, some of Bodø/Glimt’s players are chatting shit. It’ll be up to Spurs as to whether they get banged.
First, here’s Fredrik Sjøvold:
“Damn it! We just have to play simple and not give the ball away too easily. I think their pressure is going to fall apart pretty quickly. Then we can cause trouble.
“So I’m not going to say they suck. It’s a very good team and they’re good with the ball, but their pressing isn’t better than that of an okay Eliteserien team. It’s possible to play through it.”
Jostein Gundersen was a little more diplomatic.
“I’m a bit older than Sjøvold, so I won’t use those words. International football is a bit different. Norwegian teams are extremely loyal and extremely well-drilled. Matches might be more open against a team like Tottenham.”
And Bodø/Glimt’s goal scorer Ulrik Saltnes said something similar:
“I’d say it’s something that can be exploited. It’s something we’ve figured out quite well, and something I hope we can take even more advantage of in the home game.
“We have nothing to lose. We’re going to be on the front foot. I’m expecting a pretty electric Aspmyra.”
Now I guess if I’m a small Norwegian club down two goals in a critical European Cup semifinal maybe I don’t give my opponents locker room posting material ahead of the second leg, but hey, this is why I’m just a blogger and not an elite athlete. Honestly, I find this to be more funny than anything else.
And here’s the thing — they’re right! Tottenham absolutely did not press high and ferociously in the first leg. Instead, the back line sat deeper than we often see them, Ange Postecoglu used selective pressing triggers, and Spurs were perfectly content to let Bodø/Glimt pass around their box. Spurs controlled the center of the pitch, worked the ball wide in attack, and focused on putting in crosses from the flanks. And it was effective! Bodø/Glimt barely generated any real offense in the first leg; they scored a lucky, deflected goal with their only shot on target and are extremely fortunate to not be down three goals right now.
That said, getting all Billy Big-Balls about it while down two goals ahead of the second match sure is a choice.
If anything, I expect Tottenham to set up in a similar way on Thursday — as I stated in another article, the artificial turf field at the Aspmyra Stadion will likely result in a faster-paced, more open match, and it would benefit Spurs to play a more compact defensive structure with more long balls from deep. Tottenham have better athletes than Bodø/Glimt, and if they stay disciplined they can get a result without having to resort to a more risky all-out press.
I have no idea whether these comments have filtered back to the Spurs players, but if nothing else it might provide a little more motivation for the second leg in Bodø.