In four of the last five seasons, Bodø/Glimt have become Norwegian champions.
The club, which originates from a fishing village north of the Arctic Circle, has been a success story since they took the step up to the highest division in 2017. And on Thursday, they will play a semi-final away to Tottenham in the Europa League – the club's biggest match to date.
One of those behind the transformation from the second division to Norwegian top and success in Europe is Bjørn Mannsverk, the club's mental coach.
"Everything is possible"
The 56-year-old Norwegian is a former squadron leader in the Norwegian Air Force – where his military duties took him to Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and to Libya for a NATO-led intervention in 2011.
It was during the latter that he developed mental techniques for his squadron before bombing missions. Techniques he now uses with the players in Bodø/Glimt.
If you have the right mentality and work hard over time, everything is possible, he says about the club's success story.
Helped key players
Mannsverk wants, among other things, to get the players to open up about their feelings and reduce their stress levels.
One of those who has had the most help from the 56-year-old is key player Ulrik Saltnes, who considered hanging up his boots due to stress-related stomach problems. But after opening up to Mannsverk, he "found a way out of it".
In recent years, Bodø/Glimt have made a name for themselves in Europe with, among other things, a 6–1 win over Roma in 2021. And now Tottenham await in the first match of the semi-final in the Europa League.
We like to tell our story. It takes time to change and implement the mentality in a club. And it wasn't done overnight, but I'm incredibly convinced that it can work more or less anywhere, says Mannsverk>
