Why Tottenham's Europa League semi-final opponents Bodo/Glimt have a slash in their name
Before Tottenham Hotspur's credentials are questioned by the football world, many fans are wondering why Bodo/Glimt have a slash in their name
A quick glance at the scoreboard and fans may be curious to see a slash in Bodo/Glimt's name. The Norwegian giants have once again punched above their weight in the Europa League this season.
They have already seen off Europa Conference League winners Olympiacos and overcame Lazio in a penalty shoot-out. Kjetil Knutsen's side will be looking to add Tottenham to their list of European scalps and will travel to north London for the first-leg of their semi-final clash.
Many fans will be wondering if Ange Postecoglou's side will have the stomach to deal with the pressure of facing the dangerous Nordics. The Europa League has been Tottenham's sanctuary this season, having lost 19 of their 34 Premier League matches this season.
But before the football world can turn their attention to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they may be curious as to why the Norwegian side have a slash within their team name.
The origins are grounded in northern Norway, in the town of Bodo which is believed to be home to just under 55,000 people - nearly 8,000 less than the stadium capacity of Spurs' home ground. Initially, the town football team was simply known as Glimt, which is 'Flash' when translated from Norwegian to English.
In the 1940s, another football team within the town formed and they referred to themselves with the same name. To try and alleviate the confusion, the team then changed their name to 'Bodo-Glimt'.
If anything, the hyphenation caused even more befuddlement, particularly when it came to newspaper readers and gamblers, who assumed 'Bodo-Glimt' was a match between two football teams, when they saw the team name in the paper listings and betting slips.
The football team decided it was time to say an abrupt goodbye to the hyphen and hello to the lesser used forward slash. Not long after, the official team name became 'Bodo/Glimt' as it is still referred to today.
They will be hoping to slash Tottenham's hopes of reaching the Europa League final by securing a constructive result in north London to take back to Bodo for the second-leg. In 2021, the Scandinavians left one former Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho shell-shocked.
They destroyed the Special One's AS Roma side 6-1 in the Europa Conference League. As well as Mourinho, Knutsen has also emerged victorious in both matches he has had against Postecoglou.
In 2022, Bodo/Glimt did the double over Celtic in the Europa Conference League knockout-round play-off tie, destroying the Scots home and away with an impressive 5-1 aggregate score-line. A repeat would be disastrous for Postecoglou, who is believed to be on thin ice as a result of Tottenham's chastening form in the Premier League.
The Europa League is the Australian's lifeline, as victory in the competition would not only book Spurs a place in next season's Champions League, it will also see them win their first trophy since 2008. When asked about his opponents, he said: "Bodo are there on merit.
"They beat Lazio, Olympiacos. They're tough teams. I'm from the other side of the world. It doesn't matter where you're from. We're going to treat them with the respect they deserve and give our best."
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