Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt are one of the most interesting sides left in European competition.
With their home games often taking place in freezing conditions north of the Arctic Circle, facing them can prove a difficult proposition for unacclimatised opposition, as Lazio found out in the quarter-finals.
The Italians lost the first leg 2-0 in Norway, and despite Lazio fighting back to win 3-1 when at home in the second leg, Bodo/Glimt won the subsequent shootout to progress.
Lazio are not the first major team to find themselves upset by Bodo/Glimt, who famously thrashed Jose Mourinho’s Roma 6-1 in the Europa League group stage four years ago.
The Norwegians also achieved a Conference League knockout blow in 2022 against a Celtic side managed by current Tottenham boss Postecoglou.
Bodo is among the most northernmost cities in the world and very isolated from other parts of Norwegian society, with the next nearest major city at least a nine-and-a-half-hour drive away.
Their fans are also famed for turning up with giant yellow toothbrushes for games.
The story goes, external that the tradition was started 50 years ago when a fan was trying to get a chant going and, frustrated at it not taking off, used a toothbrush as a way of ‘conducting’ the crowd.
The image caught on and now fans carrying giant yellow toothbrushes is the norm. The club even have their own brand sold throughout Norway.
