– I think there are good chances that Molde can make it, says Carl Henrik “Calle” Indbjør to news. He has followed Molde closely for over 30 years as an expert and commentator for both Romsdals Budstikke and radio channel 1FM. On Tuesday, he will comment on the drama that will unfold in Istanbul when the Norwegian team will try to turn around the 2-3 loss from the first playoff game and take the step into the Champions League. – Will be a disaster Not since Rosenborg took part in the 2007/08 season has a team from Norway played a group stage in the world’s best and most prestigious tournament. But: Although a group stage guarantees Molde over NOK 150 million, and a new 27 million for each win and 9.2 million for each draw in the group stage, Calle Indbjør believes that the focus should be on the Eliteserien this autumn. – If Molde enters the Champions League now, but fails to secure a European Cup place until next year, it will be a disaster. A club like Molde must be in Europe every single year, says Indbjør to news. Norwegian teams’ attempts to reach the Champions League since 2007: In 2007, Rosenborg qualified for the Champions League group stage after beating Astana and Tampere in the qualifiers. Since then, there have been 15 Norwegian downturns. Just look here: 2008: Fire broke out against Marseille in the third qualifying round. 2009: Stabæk went out against FC Copenhagen in the third qualifying round. 2010: RBK went out against FC Copenhagen in the playoffs. 2011: RBK went out against Viktoria Plzen in the third qualifying round. 2012: Molde went out against Basel in the third qualifying round. 2013: Molde went out against Legia Warszawa in the third qualifying round. 2014: Strømsgodset lost against Steaua București (now FCSB) in the second qualifying round. 2015: Molde went out against Dinamo Zagreb in the third qualifying round. 2016: Rosenborg went out against Apoel in the third qualifying round. 2017: Rosenborg went out against Celtic in the third qualifying round. 2018: Rosenborg went out against Celtic in the second qualifying round. 2019: Rosenborg went out against Dinamo Zagreb in the playoffs. 2020: Molde went out against Ferencváros in the playoff. 2021: Bodø/Glimt went out against Legia Warszawa in the first qualifying round. 2022: Bodø/Glimt went out against Dinamo Zagreb in the playoffs. 2023: Molde in the playoffs. Must beat Galatasaray on Tuesday night to qualify. In the Eliteserien, Molde is currently in fourth place, five points behind Tromsø, with eleven games remaining. Only the top three in the Eliteserien are guaranteed a place in the European Cup. We have to go back to the 2016 season to find the last time Molde ended up outside the top 3 in the Eliteserien. Unless the cup champion ends up in the top three, or Norway does not capture enough points in the European Football Association’s coefficient ranking this season, there will not be a European Cup place in fourth place. – You use words like disaster? – Yes, I mean it. Molde as a club will survive just fine, but not playing in Europe will affect many things, such as player logistics, finances and sporting challenges, says Indbjør. MOLDE EXPERT: Few have seen more of Molde than Carl Henrik “Calle” Indbjør. Photo: Private Can cause a particular dilemma He now fears that the blue shirts may end up in a remarkable sporting dilemma in the autumn. – If Molde gets to the Champions League now, we could end up in the special situation of meeting Barcelona in the middle of the week, but having to prioritize the league match the weekend after because it is so important for the club to grab a top three position which gives a place in the European Cup, he says. Indbjør points to the importance of playing regularly in Europe as a success factor for Molde. – We see that Molde, both Erling Moe, his support staff and most of the players, have gained enormous experience from participating in Europe in recent years. They know what is required, and many of them played a part in knocking out Hoffenheim two years ago. That experience means that the chances of success in Istanbul are probably greater than many people think, he says. Mauro Icardi (TV) and Martin Bjørnbak in a duel at Aker Stadion. There will be more duels at Ram’s park. Photo: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg / NTB news is present in Istanbul to cover Tuesday’s fateful match at Rams Park, the stadium which holds just over 50,000 spectators and is notorious for its high noise level. Moe: We want both At the press conference before the match, which according to Uefa’s strict regulations had to take place in English, Molde coach Erling Moe firmly stated that he is doing like Ole Pooh and saying yes thanks to both parts. – We want to do both, it is just as important that we do well in the European tournaments, whether it is the Champions League or the Europa League, as that we get as high in the table as possible and qualify for Europe next year. I can’t say one is more important than the other, this is football, it’s about winning the next game. We have a desire to do equally well on both fronts, says Moe to news. – Not a situation we want to be in. If Molde is to ensure a football feat of the rare kind, the defense must be tightened up. Both in the Eliteserien and in Europe this season, the late goals have come so cheaply that one could suspect the blue jerseys of having a discount and open warehouse doors. Galatasaray, for example, had an XG of 1.61 and scored three goals in the first playoff match. That is to say, they created chances big enough for them to expect to score 1.6 goals, but they still ended up with three. Klaksvik in the Faroe Islands had an XG of 0.43 and scored two goals. – Of course, I want us to be difficult to score against, and hopefully we can be in the game tomorrow. It is not a situation we want to be in, says Moe to news about the defense problems. Erling Moe and Martin Linnes met the press in Istanbul before Tuesday’s match. To the left, media manager Per Lianes. Photo: Egil Sande / news Hope Icardi has been in the sun While the interpreter translated his answer into Turkish, Moe took the opportunity to add: – Hopefully Icardi has been in the sun a lot before the match, he said with a smile. Knowing that Mauro Icardi, the two-goal scorer from the first leg, has so much quality that on a good day he can cause trouble for any defence. Indbjør is looking forward to Tuesday’s fateful match for the Romdals. He believes that Galatasaray are far less favorites than many would like them to be. – It will be important for Molde to get the first score, then Galatasaray will come under enormous pressure from the home supporters. Then they have to come forward, and there will be a lot of room for Molde. In such a scenario, I wouldn’t be surprised if Molde decided the match with a goal towards the end when the home team was standing tall and pressing, he says. Kick-off is 21.00 on Tuesday evening.
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