They were widely viewed as favorites when Norway’s small but talented football club Bodø/Glimt faced the much larger Sporting Portugal, this time in Lisbon. Glimt had trounced them at home in Bodø, but on Tuesday it was the other way around.
Glimt all but collapsed on Sporting’s home turf, losing by 5-0 after winning by 3-0 less than two weeks ago. Fans wearing the team’s signature bright yellow had flown south for the occasion, and seemed assured their heroes would proceed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Instead they literally got kicked out, and few had any clear explanations. Star player Jens Petter Hauge was disappointed and Glimt’s demanding head coach Kjetil Knutsen struggled to clarify what went wrong. “We’ve had a fantastic run, but then we headed into a match where it seemed like we weren’t playing the match itself but the opportunity,” Knutsen told Norway’s TV2, “and that opportunity was too big for us. I can only say I’m sorry to all of those who traveled down to see us.”
Glimt captain Patrick Berg, though, noted that the team has now “played against the best teams and the best players. We got fantastic reference points and I personally have felt that I’m more hungry when we play at that level.” Sporting, which was shut out by Glimt earlier, appeared jubilant after redeeming themselves.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
