Bodø/Glimt challenge Bayern Munich as Champions League gets under way

FC Bayern Munich kick off their Champions League season on Thursday at 9 p.m. at home, in front of a sold-out crowd of 75,000, against Norwegian club FK Bodø/Glimt.

Two very different worlds

Bodø is located roughly 80 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, according to T-Online, and its home matches usually draw no more than 8,500 spectators. The new stadium currently under construction, due to open next year, will hold just 10,000. The financial gap is just as stark: Bayern's squad has a combined market value of around €1.04 billion, compared with only €83.78 million for Bodø. Three Bayern players alone — Michael Olise (€170m), Jamal Musiala (€100m) and Aleksandar Pavlović (€90m) — are worth more than Bodø's entire squad, whose most valuable players, Jens Petter Hauge and Patrick Berg, are valued at €12 million each. Bayern's revenue last year was close to a billion euros (€978.3m), while Bodø's stood at around €60 million, per T-Online.

Last season's giant-killers

Despite the financial mismatch, Bayern have reason to be wary. Last season Bodø was the surprise package of the Champions League, beating Manchester City (3:1), Atlético Madrid (2:1) and Inter Milan (3:1 and 2:1) on its way to the round of 16, and drawing with Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund (both 2:2), as reported by T-Online. In the round of 16, Bodø won the first leg against Sporting Lisbon 3:0 but was eliminated after losing the second leg 0:5 in extra time.

Strength through the collective

Sportschau links Bodø's success to the Scandinavian cultural principle of "Janteloven" — a code of humility holding that no one should consider themselves better than others — which manifests on the pitch as a strong collective spirit. This ethos allows an almost entirely Norwegian squad, featuring left winger Jens Petter Hauge, playmaker Sondre Auklend and striker Andreas Helmersen, to compete with Europe's top clubs. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany warned: "Every player can run, every player is good on the ball, some are exceptional. You can see they have a very clear idea." This season Bodø has already played 19 league matches domestically, winning 15, according to Sportschau. Still, Bodø coach Kjetil Knutsen struck a humble tone, saying he believes Bayern are currently the best team in the world. Bodø CEO Frode Thomassen told T-Online the match will be a "good test" to see whether the club can compete with teams of that calibre.