Wayne Burnett is looking forward to seeing how our young players tackle the challenge of facing their counterparts from Bodo/Glimt in unfamiliar surroundings in the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday morning (11am local time, 10am UK).
We meet the Norwegian side in the arctic circle on matchday two of the Under-19 competition, where the fixtures mirror those of the first team in the Champions League, in what promises to be an intriguing encounter on the artificial turf at Aspmyra Stadion, just a few hours before the senior sides lock horns at the same ground.
Coach Wayne led a training session at the stadium in Bodo on Monday afternoon and has called for a mature performance from the players as we look to build on our 5-3 home win against Villarreal on matchday one.
“These games in the UEFA Youth League are really, really tough,” he said. “Bodo are a different side to play against, obviously our first team played against them last season and we’ll have to deal with the artificial pitch.
“We’ll practice that but we’re really excited – it’ll be a tough game but it’s one we’re looking forward to and hopefully we can have a positive performance.”
Midfielder Callum Olusesi, who captained the team in our UEFA Youth League opener against Villarreal a fortnight ago, has prior experience at Aspmyra Stadion, having been on the bench for the first team in last season’s memorable Europa League semi-final victory. He hopes to use what he learned there to his and his team-mates’ advantage.
“Bodo is on artificial turf, so it’s a lot different to playing on grass,” he said. “That experience last season was crazy, getting to the Europa League semi-final and winning there, the changing room was buzzing, the atmosphere was good as well, so I think it’ll be a great experience for the boys and we’ll do everything we can to produce a good performance.”
Tuesday’s UEFA Youth League match is not set to be televised live anywhere, but we’ll keep supporters fully updated on the game via a dedicated live blog here on tottenhamhotspur.com and the Spurs Official app, along with updates on our official Academy social media channels.
A full report and highlights will be available on the website and app after the game.