We begun 2025 stuck in Bodø, because of a snowstorm, and heavy snow. Even though our favorite place remains Tromsø, this town was pleasant from our point of view. Three months and a bit later, the same story: a snow storm arrived in Northern Norway, so Bodø was covered in white. Just before the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarter final between Bodø / Glimt and Lazio. The ground was cleaned instantly, and the hosts won by 2-0. I have talked several times about the amazing performance made by the black-yellows, a club which resembles with the most famous Rosenborg Trondheim from 20-30 years ago. There are some differences, because Rosenborg comes from a place with almost 300K inhabitants, while Bodø merely has 50K. Also, Rosenborg played dozens of Champions’ League group games, while Bodø had not yet qualified at all. They will, no doubt about that. But for now, they become the first Norwegian club to reach a UEFA Europa League semifinal. Because after winning at home, 2-0, they beat Lazio, at Rome, at the penalty shoot-out, after a 3-1 down. This didn’t happen by accident, as Bodø / Glimt beat, not long back, Mourinho’s AS Rome with 6-1! In Europe Conference.
Bodø / Glimt has a stadium of less than 9.000 people capacity. Huh?
Truth being told, later in the competition, AS Rome took it revenge with a 4-0 win. But still… Now, the next opponent is Tottenham Hotspur, and a potential success can provide an outstanding result: a European Cup final against either Manchester United, or Athletic Bilbao. But how is this possible? I would say, the work ethic, and the way sports is perceived in Norway – wrote something revelatory here – but when we top such a result, it needs to be much more. It needs, but in reality, this mirrors very well world football, a hyper-inflation of lack of value, lack of talent, which can be demasked easily when a club wants to perform. A club that has a stadium which can hold less than 9.000 people! A Google research shows something even more interesting, something I’ve expected, because I know the Norwegian culture.
Players earn ridiculously low (comparing to many others)
Then, no Bodø / Glimt player, with one exception, earn more than 150k GBP / year! This is a very decent amount, which shows, on top of this, the huge undeserved salaries many sportsmen have for nothing, and you should remember that Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the world, and an income of 200K EUR, let’s say, can represent 100K EUR real money in other countries. And yet, these boys still outperformed some bigger teams in Europe. Who is the best paid footballers from the squad, then? Patrick Berg (27 years) – team captain. Without the short spell from Lens (from 2022) he played exclusively for his home town, Bodø, in more than 300 official games. So earning 400k GBP / year is not that of a huge compensation. OK, the numbers from the link look to be quite obsolete, as no other player, apart Berg, plays anymore at Bodø / Glimt, but for sure we are not too far from reality, as the statistics can be as far as 2023, for example.
From Patrick Berg to Ulrich Saltnes
It is very possible players earn additional bonuses, based on results. And this is how it should be. But to consider that most of the players maybe bring home a base salary of 10.000 – 15.000 EUR / month, at most, it gives the clearest signal that in Norway things are done fair. You should have results, and then claim money. Not the other way around, because if you take the other way, it is very likely to have only money, but not results. Look at so many teams in European football. The preach about income is decent, interesting, but not enough. Especially if I take a look on the goal scorer of the brace from the first game, played in Bodø: Ulrirch Saltnes. The 32 year old midfielder is a key player for the team, not from now, but from… 2011! With almost 400 games played. 67 of which, in Europe. Not only he became four time Norwegian champion with the club, but he also played in three years of the second division.
Norway didn’t qualify in quarter a century to a major football tournament!
But to make the most interesting part of this, Saltnes never ever played a single game for the Norwegian football team. It looks shocking, especially that Norway doesn’t have the best squad in the world – their last qualifying at a major tournament lasts from… 2000! 25 years ago. But he didn’t make it. This guy probably earns less than 20.000 EUR / month, but he loves playing football at a top level. These kind of stories wake up what remains of this sport. Not the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Messi, Mbappe, Neymar, Ronaldo, Manchester City, PSG and so on. It is easy to do performance with a top club, but could Ancelotti, Klopp, Guardiola or Mourinho win the Champions League with Bodø / Glimt? We will never know, but I can definitely say: NO! Because, after all, Bodø is in the semifinals of the second European competition, under Kjteil Knutsen, so why couldn’t a guy like Klopp do much more?
Kjteil Knudsen, Bodø / Glimt architect
Getting back to Knutsen, who is this guy? As I was researching some time back, I have identified that he might be, by far, the best paid person in Norwegian football: around 50K EUR / month. Now, that is not a neglectable amount, but it is quite ridiculous comparing to the guys mentioned above. And he earns this after tons of results, because he is in charge from 2018, and under his guidance, Bodø done it all. In more than 300 games, he won more than half, and, of course, brought four titles, the first from the club’s history. 6-1 against Jose Mourinho, as mention (it never happened to Mourinho in Europe this at all), and the story brought us in 2025, where we are now. A perfect sample of well done things, with the head of the club being the best paid, not a random player, like it usually happens.
Tromsø IL, the biggest rival… joined forces with Bodø / Glimt
Even if Kjteil Knutsen had a lot of succes, he did one amazing thing, some fans did not appreciate very much, for sure: took Gaute Helstrup as his assistant at the beginning of 2024. You might now who this guy is, sure, and I will tell you: former head coach of Tromsø IL, from 2020 to 2023. A team which he lead to slot no. 3 in the league, best finish in 12 years. Not only Tromsø is my favorite place in Norway, but what I do know for a fact is that the fans of the two clubs despice each other. Especially those in Bodø are hated by Tromsø supporters. Yet, this happened. Both Helstrup accepted to be a second in charge to the best football club in Norway, but also Knutsen took the opportunity to work alongside with a great mind, a bit younger. Now we see the results, and the story.
Forever history in 2025
Happy to be a small part of this saga, even though I regret a bit to not making it to the stadium, just a bit, when caught by snow in Bodø. Because, for those who not know, the distance between the town’s airport and the city center is around 1.5 kilometers. I am not sure how many cases like these are in the world, but for sure I never encountered another. However, I can tell all my life that I started the year in the town that brought, in the same 2025, the first European football semifinal in the history of Norway. And, who knows? Might be even more, hopefully. Now, from a sports perspective, I am not very fair, because of course I should be much more attached to Tromsø IL, and naturally I am, considering how much I like the town, but this kind of achievement, shouldn’t remain untold, and without tons of words written about it. I wish Tromsø IL would have written it, but yet, in 2025 I’ve started the year in Bodø, not in Tromsø, and from a statistics point of view, facts are facts. 
Photo source: glimt.no