The Norwegian Blue

Lifelong Blue Tor Solstad is a senior member of the Norway and Denmark Official Manchester City Branch, recalls our 1994 trip from a fan point of view…

“It was quite funny because for the first five days of the tour, the team were based in Horten  – and obviously Brian Horton was the manager then – but his assistant was David Moss, and they also had to catch the Bastø Fosen ferry from Horten to Moss where they trained! You couldn’t make it up!

“We had helped City arrange several pre-season tours in the past because we used to just organise friendlies against local teams around Oslo and accommodation – but Rosenborg and Bodø/Glimt were two sides who were a much better standard than the sides we usually played in Norway - they could pay more which meant more travelling that City would have usually done when they were over here - but meant tougher games, too.

“Our branch had a very good relationship with the club, and it was us that took part in arranging the game against Bodø/Glimt  - it was a totally different time, of course!

“I remember it all really well, actually. We beat Rosenborg, who were doing ever so well in the European Cup at that time, but City came over and beat them 1-0 with a goal from Michel Vonk.

“The morning after, some of us flew with the team to Bodø/Glimt but they’d had no preparation for the game at all because it was sort of added on at the end. I was sat next to Niall Quinn and Steve McMahon on the plane while some of the other City fans went by train as it was more economical.

“I had never been to Bodø/Glimt before, and I haven’t been back since. We took a flight from Oslo to Trondheim which is about 40 minutes and then another 50-minute flight to Bodø/Glimt in the north, so it’s a long haul by Norwegian standards to fly back from there to Oslo.

“It’s also so funny because one of the Mancunian City fans, Dave Gaskill, met his future wife in Bodø and Uwe Rosler met his future wife Cecile in Horten. So lots of happy memories all round about that trip!

“I don’t watch any football at all apart from City because I have so much to do with the club  through our branch – I don’t even watch our national team because it’s only City games I watch because that is like holy ground for me.

“But I know Bodø/Glimt are a very good side – a very attacking team who are difficult to face and on that pitch, we have to be very careful because you can pick up injuries on that surface. It is going to be difficult but a very special game and I wouldn’t be surprised if Bodø/Glimt scored one or two goals – hopefully we can match that at least.

“Obviously, we have a superstar coming home in Erling Haaland and the adulation for him here is massive. You see young fans with Haaland on their jerseys and if he plays, it will be a major thing for Norwegians. The interest in the match is huge and it’s a pity the game isn’t being played in a bigger stadium because we could have easily taken 500 fans from our branch, but we understand the capacity restrictions. I think a lot of City fans will go to Bodø/Glimt anyway just to enjoy the atmosphere in the city.

“The Norwegian season has ended, and Bodø/Glimt are concentrating just on this game – it is like a cup final for them and the pitch and weather can be a great leveller, but let’s see.

“The weather forecast isn’t too bad – if it was minus 10 with an arctic wind, it wouldn’t be pleasant and the game would be in doubt – but it is looking like it will be zero degrees so it should be fine. It’s so cold there this time of year and they had a big storm recently, but as I say, it looks a lot better now.  I’m just glad I can watch the game in my local pub!”

Runar Berg: The Bodø/Glimt player

Runar Berg played 315 games for Bodø/Glimt over two spells as well as winning five Norway caps – he is the uncle of Bodø/Glimt’s Norwegian international Patrick Berg and played - along with his two bothers - against City back in '94…

“I remember it well. I played against City that day, as did my two brothers, Ørjan and Arild.

“My father Harald was also a Bodø/Glimt player and was the first to represent the national team from the north of Norway as well as being one of first Norwegians to play abroad.

“My nephew Patrick plays today for Bodø/Glimt and Norway, so he is carrying on the family tradition.

“I was actually born in The Hague, when my father was playing for Den Haag, but we moved back to Bodø when I was five or six.

“Me and my brothers were raised and came through the Bodø/Glimt youth system to play for the first team, and we also returned later in our careers to play for Bodø/Glimt again.

“It’s hard to know why Bodø/Glimt is so special to us, because we were something of a yoyo club in the 1990s, doing well for one or two years, winning a cup, finishing runners up in the Eliteserien and then being relegated. “

“When we played Manchester City in 1994, Bodø/Glimt were a side who constantly had their best players bought by other teams – it happened to me and to my brother – but now they are the best team in Norway and also Scandinavia because we are attracting players from Denmark and suchlike because they want to play in the Champions League, before moving abroad again later.

“Rosenberg had that position in the 1990s and it wasn’t easy for Bodø/Glimt to attract players, even from Norway because they were put off by the size of the club, the weather and location, so it was a struggle, but things have changed.

“So yeah, me and my two brothers, played that day, but Arild sadly passed away in 2019, which was very tragic for  our family, but life goes on.

“English football in Norway is huge and has been for many, many years.

“I grew up in the 1980s and I was a huge Liverpool fan, and my bedroom wall was covered with posters of Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish and all their big stars, so Norway has a very strong connection with English football and even back in 1994, it was very special that Manchester City came to Bodø/Glimt.

“It was a really good day for us - and we are telling the current Bodø/Glimt players that they must beat City because as we showed, it’s easy!

“We changed from natural turf to artificial in 2006 and now most of the teams in Norway have artificial pitches, bar a few.

“Of course, nothing can beat a nice, natural grass pitch but it just wouldn’t work here because of the climate.

“Today, I work at Bodø/Glimt in the marketing while my brother Orjan works with the younger Bodø/Glimt players and also is in charge of the club’s community work.

“My nephew Patrick and his team-mates are professional and used to playing in big European matches now, but still, to have Manchester City – the best team in the world at the moment, I believe – it’s a huge, huge moment for our club.

“The team will treat as a normal game, but of course, it is special. I believe Erling played against Bodø/Glimt when he was at Molde and, of course, they won 1-0 and Erling scored the goal!

“City have quite a following in Norway these days. The kids everywhere wear his name and number on their back – I knew Alfie as well, because we are the same age – but yeah, Erling is a superstar but also a really nice person and everybody hopes he will play against Bodø/Glimt, while also hoping he doesn’t at the same time!

“The weather is cold just now, though not freezing, so not too bad – it’s a bit windy, but if it stays dry and the same, it could be quite nice. However, if it turns, it can be quite rough in Bodø with snow and strong winds, but we will see.

“It stays light here between 10am and 2pm, but it’s getting lighter and by the end of the month, we will be getting there, I think! I am looking forward to welcoming Manchester City and if we can repeat the score from 1994, I’ll be very happy!”

Brian Horton: The Manchester City Manager

Former City boss Brian Horton had just taken charge of the Blues, and the Norway tour and training camp had its ups and downs, as he explains…

“I used to love going abroad as a player and testing myself against different teams in different environments.

“We stayed in a place called Horten and we trained in a place called Moss – Brian Horton and David Moss, City manager and first team coach – what a coincidence!

“I think we trained on a prison pitch if memory serves!

“We played a local team near where we were staying, then headed off to Rosenborg where I thought we did quite well because in pre-season, you never know whether they are putting a strong team out or a bit weaker, so it’s hard to gauge the results, sometimes.

“I think the teams we faced were fitter and stronger because of where they were at in their season and we were trying different formations out, but you never like getting beat 5-1 whether it’s preseason or not and I didn’t like it. I wouldn’t have been pleased, but I let them have their night out in Oslo because I didn’t want to come across as this new, miserable manager, so I let them go and probably went with them!

“Bodø/Glimt were very good – very professional and just terrific on the day. I know they had three brothers called Berg – maybe I should have signed all three, looking back!

“I had a wonderful time at Manchester City and I think we were very close to having a very good team, but I have nothing but good memories of my time there – maybe apart from the Bodø/Glimt result.”