Bodø/Glimt, the Norwegian minnows catching Europe’s elite cold

There is an image in the lobby of the striking Stormen library, perched on the edge of the harbour in cosmopolitan Bodø, that speaks to the Norwegian city’s past. An old family photograph shows an elderly couple from Nordland but what is not instantly recognisable is that the man’s Sami footwear, traditionally made from reindeer hide to cope with subzero temperatures, has been purposefully scribbled over and hidden.

Bodø is the northernmost city in the world – it is 200km north of the Arctic Circle and among the best spots to spy the aurora borealis – and while skrei cod fishing represents the historical currency in the area, it now has a modest football club turning heads on the European stage on the equivalent of a healthy League One budget.

Bodø/Glimt are riding the crest of a wave and visit Roma on Thursday hoping to advance to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League after a 2-1 first-leg victory in a spiky contest on their artificial pitch.

Uefa is investigating clashes between coaching staff long after the final whistle, which could result in the Bodø head coach, Kjetil Knutsen, and the Roma goalkeeper coach, Nuno Santos, being suspended for the return but that humbling was another remarkable chapter in an extraordinary story. Bodø are hunting a hat-trick of victories against Roma this season, having trounced them 6-1 earlier in the competition, the heaviest defeat of José Mourinho’s career.

Bodø were prevented from playing in Norway’s leading domestic division until 1972, with north Norwegians more than geographically isolated from society (the nearest major city, Tampere, in Finland, is a 15-hour drive); north Norwegians struggled to book hotels in the south. Bodø won the Norwegian Cup three years later –