Bodø/Glimt is a place Tottenham Hotspur will remember for a long time in their clubs history.
On the way to beating Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League Final last season, Spurs faced Bodø/Glimt away in the semi-final in a tough tie but came out on top, with memorable images of the players dancing in the crowd in the cold emerging after the full-time whistle.
As it happened, the Europa League win and breaking the 17-year-long barren spell of a trophy were not enough to keep Ange Postecoglou in the job.
In the summer, the reins were passed to promising Brentford manager Thomas Frank.
The results thus far have been encouraging, with Spurs sitting fourth in the table and conceding just four goals.
Frank seems to have brought many of Brentfords tactics with him to Spurs, which is somewhat surprising for an elite team.
Tottenham were a team under Postecoglou that were hell-bent on an attack-first, possession-based brand of football; what were seeing with Frank is totally different.
Bodø/Glimt, playing in their own stadium in the Arctic Circle, is a special and hostile place to play due to the weather and the uniqueness of the pitch.
Although the match ended in a 2-2 draw, it gave us more insight into some concerns for Tottenham fans and more admiration for the Norwegian side.
Overemphasis On Progression Via The Wing
For one of the first chances Bodø/Glimt created, the team from Norway turned the ball over in Tottenhams half after dispossessing Pedro Porro on the wing.
We can discuss how well Bodø/Glimt turned the ball over later in the article; for now, I want to emphasise Tottenhams limited number of players in the middle of the pitch.
This continued to happen; the ball would go wide, and instead of a pass inside or an attempt to progress the ball centrally, it was always down the wing.
The image above shows the few players Tottenham actually had in the middle of the pitch.
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