– Many went into the role of victim and were frustrated because other teams tried to destroy the game Glimt wanted. That’s what an open-hearted Patrick Berg says to news about what was an elite series season without Glimt gold last year. For the first time in three seasons, the yellow jerseys had to give up the elite series throne as Molde won the series in superior fashion. When Berg returned to Aspmyra at the end of August after his stay in France in Lens, it didn’t take long before he noticed that something was wrong in the formerly superb elite league club. – Complaining culture and whining culture Several of the Norwegian teams began to “find out a little about Glimt”, and Patrick Berg noticed an internal irritation about exactly that. – I came back to the club with a bit of a new eye. Then I realized that a kind of complaining culture and whining culture had developed, says an honest Berg. The elegant midfielder felt a need to turn the situation around and look at it constructively. In the eyes of the national team player, it would have been more disappointing if other teams in Norway had not tried to destroy them and ensure that they played as badly as possible. – It’s just about turning it into something positive, it’s actually when you meet resistance that it’s easiest to develop, Berg points out. Patrick Berg, here on training in Spain, believes that Glimt has never been better prepared for success than right now. Photo: Egil Sande / news He therefore took the initiative to have a chat with Bjørn Mannsverk, who is a mental trainer in Bodø/Glimt. Together they agreed that this was something they wanted to raise for the rest of the player group to deal with the unculture that was growing. – We have a very natural forum in Glimt to be able to say about things that someone knows about, and it was something that I knew about, there was a marked change from the time I left the club until I came back. It wasn’t about yelling or anything like that, but I wanted to make people aware that there was a fantastic opportunity to develop as a team when we face opposition, and that what you experience as disgusting is actually positive, says Berg. Knutsen: Has “cleaned up” Bodø/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen, he praises for the initiative. And the Glimt boss has no problem admitting that he himself knew the same thing last season. – We talk quite openly in Glimt about quite a few things, and there was a bit of a tendency last year for things to slip out. Whining culture is not a culture we want, and there have been hints and tendencies towards it. That someone who has been in Glimt for a long time and knows the culture we should have here, comes back and sees that things have changed, it can be a wake-up call for us all, says Knutsen to news. The Glimt coach describes it as having “cleaned up” the situation. – The players who will be part of our system, they must be extremely dedicated, that’s how it has to be, Knutsen states. – Is that whining culture gone now, as you see it? – Yes. The energy and mood we started with on 3 January, he has been quite impressive, assures Knutsen. Which team will win the Eliteserien 2023? Molde Glimt RBK Another team Show result Defending the competitors Patrick Berg is of the same opinion when he takes the time for a longer chat with news at Glimt’s fashionable hotel outside Alicante, where the silver winners from 2022 are charging up for a new season. Berg states clearly and clearly that the settlement that was taken last year had the desired effect. – That culture is long gone. The energy and will that has been in the group ever since we met on 3 January has been very good, says Berg. And at the same time sends a strong warning to the other competitors in the Eliteserien: – Both mentally and football-wise, we have never had a better starting point in Bodø/Glimt’s history, there is no point in hiding that. – Molde had an optimal season And then it’s worth thinking about what Kjetil Knutsen reminds us of: Last season actually wasn’t too bad for Glimt, either. – We came second in the series, took cup silver and did quite well in Europe. That is why we have started early this year, we want to be even more competitive in 2023. We think our direction is right, but we face an ambitious Molde team and several other teams. There is little doubt that there will be tough competition to be the best team. We are happy and ready to take up the fight, says Knutsen. – But 18 points up to Molde last year. Those aren’t pleasant numbers for you? – There should, of course, be less distance up, but it is just to recognize that we were not good enough to compete with them. They had, a bit like we had in 2020, an optimal season. But the good thing is that we are starting from zero again, and we had a demanding season last year with 56 games, and we did not have the strength and intensity in us to do that. We didn’t handle it as well as we had hoped, he realises. Kjetil Knutsen, sitting here talking to news at Glimt’s hotel La Finca outside Alicante, is happy that he has players like Patrick Berg to speak out when things are not as they should be. Photo: Egil Sande / news – What must Glimt achieve in 2023 for you to be satisfied? – I am very relaxed there, we dare to say that we are a club with ambitions, but we talk little about it and are preoccupied with how we can get better every single day, how we can extract the small margins, we talk about style and quality. That is the path we have, and that is the path we will continue with. If other teams have better development than Bodø/Glimt, then we have to evaluate ourselves very hard. But when I sit here, in January, I am optimistic on behalf of Glimt and think we can take some nice steps in 2023. Bodø/Glimt open the series away against Sarpsborg 08 on 10 April. But before that time, they will face Lech Poznań in the playoff match between the second-placed group from the Serie Liga and the third-placed group from the Europa League, before the Serie Liga play-off begins. The campaign will be played on Thursday 16 February, where the first match is at Aspmyra in Bodø, while the second leg will be played on 23 February in Poland.
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Berg had enough of the “sewing culture” in Glimt – settled with the players – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
