– It is a disaster to miss it. Norwegian football must get hold of that money. When you stand on the outside, everything becomes more difficult. The spiral has been spinning for many years now. This has meant that the gap has become bigger and bigger, says Carl-Erik Torp about the Norwegian failure in Europe. Bodø/Glimt, Brann and Molde had an excellent opportunity to make it to their respective European tournaments this week. Both Glimt and Brann also entered their matches with a lead, 2–1 and 2–0 respectively. Molde were behind 0-1, but recovered with 1-0 in regular time in Sweden. That’s how much the clubs missed out Yet all three had to go back to their away dressing rooms disappointed as none of them managed to win the matches on aggregate. Bodø/Glimt lost 3–2 on aggregate against Røde Stjerne. Molde played 1-1, but lost in a penalty shootout against Elfsborg. Brann was beaten in Kazakhstan, and lost 3–2 on aggregate. This meant that on Wednesday night the Mesterliga dream went up in smoke for Glimt, while Brann and Molde lost their playoff games on Thursday afternoon and evening. All in about 23 hours. Glimt and Molde still get the chance in the less lucrative Europa League and Serie Liga respectively. Brann’s European adventure is over for this time. – It is quite a fateful day with exits and downgrades at all levels. One thing is the experiences they miss out on, but also the money. There are quite a few millions that they are missing out on, and for Norwegian football it is a sum that will be much smaller, Torp points out. BIG LOSS: Eirik Horneland’s Fire had a real blow and lost 0-3 against Astana in Kazakhstan. Photo: Stas Filippov / NTB The calculation is somewhat complicated, considering that you never know how well they had performed in the tournaments they missed. But the starting sum for the various tournaments looks like this: Champions League: NOK 216 million Europa League: NOK 50 million Serie Liga: NOK 37 million – It’s a little less money and maybe a little different types of teams. But that’s what we got today. We weren’t good enough in the penalty shootout, says Molde CEO Øystein Neerland to VG about the sums they miss. Also for the Norwegian clubs that do not participate in the European club tournaments, there is money to be made from the other Norwegian teams doing well. The clubs that do not participate receive solidarity funds, a pot that increases in line with the success of Norwegian clubs. – I’m getting really upset. It should be mentioned that the clubs have cashed in quite a few million for the qualifying matches they won earlier this summer. In addition, Bodø/Glimt and Molde get a share of the cake for playing in the Europa League and Serie Liga respectively this autumn. Torp believes that there is an explanation for the Norwegian clubs’ disappointment in the playoff matches this season. – There are no coincidences. Seen in isolation, it is chance that decides the matches, but at the same time you can’t say that either. For Glimt, it is about the quality of the home ground which had sent them to Serbia with completely different conditions. Molde was in Europe last year, but played two bad football games this time, he says. THE SERIES LEAGUE: Molde suffered a bitter loss after a penalty shootout against Elfsborg. Photo: Adam Ihse/TT / NTB This means that Norway will once again end up outside the best company in the Champions League. Instead, it is playoff opponent Røde Stjerne who will be visited by the Spanish big club Barcelona. As a person who follows Norwegian football closely, Torp is disappointed by what he saw from the three Norwegian hopes in Europe. – I feel sorry for Norwegian football. There are positive things that have happened with the climb in the European ranking, but these matches should be the result of the trend. I get really upset and think it’s an incredible shame on many levels, says the expert. He still understands supporters of other clubs who are not as upset. – I understand that there are many supporters who are happy that individual clubs do not reach the big gold mine. But for Norwegian football, we are completely dependent on getting a piece of that cake, he says. – Need someone who is a cynical asshole Bodø/Glimt’s Patrick Berg himself thought that the team was not tough enough in the return match against Røde Stjerne. – It is disappointing that we come out and are quite cowardly and give them energy in the way we play. It was disappointing, says Berg to news. – What is Glimt missing? – We are missing the last little bit. Deadballs … Daring to be tough enough in such an arena is alpha and omega, and we can now say that we were not. That disappointed me the most, more than us going out. We were neutral and cowardly, especially in the first half. DISAPPOINTED: Patrick Berg calls Bodø/Glimt a “coward”. Photo: BILDBYRÅN After Brann’s collapse against Astana, TV 2’s football expert Yaw Amankwah was clear that Brann missed a type like Sivert Heltne Nilsen, precisely to help ensure that they did not become too cowardly. – When it comes down to it, you need a whipper who is a general on the pitch and is a cynical scumbag, says Amankwah to news. Erik Hoftun, who is the sports director of Norwegian Top Soccer, believes that Norwegian teams struggle in the playoff games when it matters most. – We like to tear when we get to the last obstacle. Then it is like that in European football that there is a big difference between playing at home and away. Bodø/Glimt experienced that this time, and they have also experienced that before, he told news in an interview conducted on Thursday morning. Glimt is not alone in failing to qualify for the Men’s Champions League. The last time a Norwegian team was in the best company was when Rosenborg qualified for the tournament in 2007. Since then, it has been a struggle for Norwegian football clubs. Published 30.08.2024, at 06.15
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