Understand Bodo/shines on your danger, Tottenham.
Just ask Porto, Besiktas, Olympiakos and Lazio this season. Roma and Celtic, who were then managed by Spurs -Baas Ange Postecoglou, were also victims four years ago.
However, the most recent gigantic dead from Lazio was mainly historic because Bodo/Glimt became the first Norwegian side to reach a European semi -final.
Now the Eliteserien champions, located above the polar circle, want to freeze traces, whose stadium is amazingly larger than Bodo's population of 55,000.
“We are trusting this game that we meet, we believe that we can compete,” says Bodo/Glimt's sports director Havard Sakariassen.
“I hope we don't concentrate on the occasion and that we play the game and dare to be ourselves.
“I really believe that we have all the tools to be brave enough to go out in London and just be Bodo/Glimt. Just play the game, and then we will see.
“Of course the experience we have gained in recent years makes us more confidence in situations such as this.”
'We have squatted the European code'
One of those crucial experiences came in North London in October 2022, because Bodo/Glimt a 3-0 Europa League Group phase defeat on the Rivals Arsenal van Tottenham.
But the loss at the Emirates Stadium turned out to be the key to resolve the European puzzle.
“I think we have cracked some codes with regard to performance, especially gone,” says Sakaras.
“To be more cynical, not to be naive to play against good teams in Europe.
“At home we want to go out, dominate teams and have it. We try to do that in Europe, but of course you meet teams that are really, really good.
“It's hard to find the weakness in the team, and you can't be naive against these teams. You might have to adjust the mindset. It's hard.
“When we went to Arsenal, they led, it was difficult to dominate. You have to attack it in a different way and try to be smarter. It is something that is accompanied by experience.
“We learned a lot because we played decent games in under pressure situations this year. It is smartness in the play and to think that a good performance is sometimes really good in your defense.”
Spurs will have their own mystery to find out – Bodo/Glimt's 8,270 -day Asmymyra Stadium. An artificial pitch and freezing temperatures have made it an icy Enigma for visiting parties.
The Postecoglou team needs solidarity and teamwork to get the test, something that their opponents have plenty, with the majority of the team from Norway.
“I think it has a value in itself, in your life, to be able to play at this level in your hometown, also with your friends,” says Sakariaas.
“So I think the culture in the club here is something they really enjoy … But I think it should be rare to be able to play football with your friends at this level everywhere in Europe, and that has a value.”
But Bodo/Glimt's band from brothers goes to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first stage that is confronted with an absent crisis. Influential captain Patrick Berg, his midfield partner Hakon Evjen and striker Andreas Helmereren are all suspended, while important center-back Odin Bjortuft is an injuries.
All four were part of the starting XI, because Bodo/Glimt lost 3-2 in Manchester United in November, even though she went up 2-1. Sakarassen wants to once again on the side of Ruben Amorim in Bilbao on May 21.
“I am actually a (Manchester) United supporter of the past, so Bodo vs United sounds great for me,” he jokes.
From the edge of bankruptcy to potential Europa League final
Talking about Bodo/Glimt in a Europa League final would have been unthinkable ten years ago.
He reveals that during his match days for the club they were “almost bankrupt”, and he spoke earlier about a time when the team had to wash their own kit.
Their budget in 2017 was a meager £ 3.6 million (€ 4.2 million). Seven years later, their turnover was £ 51 million (€ 60 million). The fairy tale is even more magical since it was financially organic.
“Nobody has given us money outside of the prize money in these 10 years,” says Sakaras. “It shows that you can achieve things if you work well over time, and that is the majority of it, but it is much easier if you have money.
“I know people told me that we are an inspiration that you can achieve with a small club.
“I would find inspiration in a story like this if you go back 10 years ago. Smaller clubs can be inspired, and it takes a lot of hard work and good luck during the road to make it actually happen.”
Sakaras also believes that patience has been of vital importance in their meteoric turnout, so that they have won four of the last five Norwegian top-flight titles, with their first elites reservations in 2020.
'I am not afraid of interest in boss Knuting'
The frontman for their success is manager Kjetil Knutsen, whose football characteristic has been described as “kamikaze” by midfielder Ulrik Saltnes.
Asked by Sky Sports about the Norwegian tacticus, Sakariassen answers: “It is his eighth year here, so we have been on a long journey together to build Bodo/Glimt from what it is today.
“He is a man of true passion for football and about this project. It is impressive for him, but also for many people who have worked with the kind of success we have achieved in the last eight years.
“We come in with him every day as a leader to look for improvement every day, even after winning a trophy or achieving something.
“So number one, he is famous for the project, to actually live through and through.
“Loyalty to the club, the fans, the city and the loyalty that we have for each other are also quite unique in professional football everywhere.
“With the kind of success that Bodo/Glimt has had in recent years, it is quite unique and says a lot about him that he is still there.”
But that loyalty can quickly be tested seriously with the 56-year-old linked to Rangers and Leeds.
Asked by Sky Sports if he was worried about interest in crafts, Sakariassen answers: “No, I am not afraid of anything.
“Of course Kjetil is an attractive manager, that's just the nature of what we do.
“Whatever happens, happens. He has been here for eight years and has probably had some really good offers along the way.
“I know he likes to be in Bodo, to work in this club. If he decides to do something else for some reason, I think we should applaud and thank him at the airport.
“But I am not afraid of that at all, and I think we will work here for more years – but who knows?”
What is certain is that crafts and his players are ready to crack another code on Thursday.