How Norway’s love for Martin Odegaard has evolved since he left

Ahead of Arsenal’s Europa League game away against Bodo/Glimt in October, The Athletic asked the locals about Odegaard’s standing in Norway and the hopes that the country has for him.

To one side of the airport is the Norwegian Sea. The other hosts the snow-topped mountains of the Arctic Circle.

This is Bodo, a northern Norwegian town of 55,000 people which is also home to Saltstraumen, the world’s strongest whirlpool. Closer to town, however, the local supermarket is prepped for the arrival of the Premier League leaders and one of their own northern stars in Martin Odegaard.

As the strong gusts of wind throw rain onto the shore and drive everybody inside, the vendors put their whale and moose meat on full display below black-and-yellow Bodo/Glimt flags, while mobile phone salespeople even try to sell to English visitors. Some just want to get through another day, but are well aware who is returning for his first club match back home after eight years.

When Odegaard played his final club game in the country for Stromsgodset in 2014, Norwegian giants Rosenborg saw an opportunity. They advertised the game as a “unique chance to see Martin Ødegaard live” despite sitting in second place, with Odegaard’s side in fourth. 

Eight years on, however, it is clear there have been developments across Norwegian football in how to deal with the excitement that has surrounded Odegaard since he was 15 as he arrives in Bodo.

Adjacent to Bodo/Glimt’s 8,270 capacity Aspmyra Stadion is an astroturf pitch (below).

The day before the game, it is filled with children who had heard Odegaard would be at a press conference that night. They were clinging to the pitch’s fence waiting for the midfielder at least half an hour before he was due to arrive. 

The kids are duly greeted before the assembled media by Odegaard, who requested to speak in Norway instead of in London before the first leg. Even if he likely would have been asked by Arsenal in any case, it’s not an insignificant gesture.

“That’s Martin Odegaard summed up,” Daniel Austerheim, a Norwegian journalist for Nettavisen, tells The Athletic. 

“He knows what his talent means to Norwegian football. I don’t think he does it for the media. You saw the fans outside, it’s Erling (Haaland) and Martin who count in Norway. To be a bigger name now joining the press conference, saying hello to the kids, he cares about Norwegian football. 

“It’s a good time right now, not just with Bodo/Glimt but we have a lot of talent coming up as well. They use Martin and his career steps as an example for their futures.”

For the older generations who have watched those steps, however, the attention on Odegaard has varied over the years. 

“Norwegians are very picky about their football,” fellow Norwegian sports journalist Adrian Aagesen says.

“We are weird people. We follow the Premier League like it’s our own blood. We have a huge ocean between us, we cannot drive (to games), we have to fly, take boats, go through security, but we say ‘we’. 

“We have this big love for English football and whenever there’s Norwegians playing in the Premier League, they have always been at the top of minds and hearts. That has dictated how Norwegians follow football.”

Even in one of the smallest cities in the country, that sentiment of Premier League dominance in Norway was evident.

After walking past the crowd of children for his press conference, Odegaard admitted “I saw a lot of Arsenal shirts”. While most of the city were proud of Bodo/Glimt’s achievement of reaching the Europa League group stages, with club flags hung from most houses near the stadium (pictured, below), it was no secret some would have split allegiances.

To stop an invasion of red and white in their own stadium, the official club website asked their fans not to wear any Arsenal-branded clothing — a stark contrast to Rosenborg’s pre-match build up.

Marius Krogstad, a 41-year-old project manger for a window manufacturer, and a Bodo/Glimt and Arsenal fan, laughs when the statement is brought up. He obliged, not wearing the colours of the London club to the match, but is an embodiment of how influential the Premier League is in Norwegian football culture.

“It’s difficult because at first it was a loan. For me, this was heaven but it was only a loan so I couldn’t get too excited. That first period was OK but not too good, but when they signed him permanently I was so glad. 

“Norwegian people were so happy because, finally, it had been so many years since a Norwegian was at a big Premier League club.”

With such an appetite for the Premier League, it was mainly Norwegian “football nerds”, in Aagesen’s words, who kept up with Odegaard’s career when he meandered through loans at Heerenveen, Vitesse and Real Sociedad.

His presence in the news cycle tended to be conditional, but that would soon change.

“If he scored for Sociedad, he was top news. If he started for Real Madrid, he was top news. There were very different levels of attention,” Aagesen adds.

“When he signed for Arsenal, it was always Arsenal on the national paper.”

With all eyes on him, even during Odegaard’s initial loan at Arsenal it was becoming clear he had earned the trust of manager Mikel Arteta.

Despite not influencing games to the level he is now, he was still having an effect. 

Arteta was impressed by his intelligence and the way he pressed. Alongside this, Odegaard was one of the players instructing his team-mates during games. It was during this period that he was named Norway captain (in March 2021).

In the 18 months since, his personality has increasingly shone through. Rather than being a leader that always barks orders, he is someone who sets the example. That has made him a suitable figurehead for Arteta as Arsenal captain, but it is a dynamic that goes beyond just football.

“After five years in the spotlight, he was only 20,” Jorn Broks, a Bodo/Glimt and Tottenham Hotspur fan says. “It was a bit unfair to expect so much from such a young guy. 

“He’s a bit Norwegian. Norwegians are a bit tender when it comes to culture. We are brought up in a society where you trust each other a lot and it’s a ‘build each other up’ mentality. Maybe in other clubs and countries it’s not 100 per cent like that. It’s a bit more ‘fight for your life’ kind of mentality and that might have been hard for a young Norwegian in a competitive atmosphere.”

While that ‘tenderness’ can sometimes be seen as Odegaard being ‘too quiet’ to be a captain, it speaks to a more calculated approach which has been on display for years.

“I interviewed him when he was 15 years old and he already had this aura about him then. He had only played five to 10 games in the Eliteserien,” Aagesen says.

“He’s had to cope with an extreme amount of pressure for many years,” Austerheim adds. “From the early years he was so well spoken — almost like he was media trained at home. I remember his first media conference at Real Madrid, it was like he’d been in the game for 15 years.

“His father also coaches in the Eliteserien, so he’s had a good team around him both in terms of football and off the pitch.”

In England, that considered manner has filtered into post-match mixed zones — the area where journalists meet players for interviews after matches. When he has stopped to speak, there has been a sense he understands the value of each word he says, which makes for very balanced answers to questions.

From a Norwegian perspective, combined with more of a fascination for Premier League exports, all this makes Odegaard come across as normal rather than a football star from another galaxy, as most footballers appear to be.

Even so, there are still moments when his presence attracts unexpected reactions.

Alongside his calm nature, however, there is something else that keeps Odegaard slightly more grounded in Norway — the performance of the national team.

The assumption outside of Norway may be that they should have a presence in major tournaments because they have special talents like Odegaard and Haaland, but it’s not that simple. 

Wales and Scotland are examples to heed. They have had standout talents such as Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney for years, but it has taken time for them to start becoming collective forces. 

Wales are becoming consistent in qualifying for major tournaments, featuring at Euro 2016 and 2020 as well as this year’s World Cup. Scotland are a few steps behind, qualifying for their first major tournament since 1998 with Euro 2020 and missing out on the World Cup by losing in the play-offs. 

Norway, however, remain steps behind even that.

They were three points off qualifying for those play-offs, finishing third behind the Netherlands and Turkey in their qualification group. The last major tournament Norway played at was Euro 2000. 

“If anything, seeing how he plays for Arsenal brings a lot of expectation when he comes to Norway,” Broks says. “When he’s not equally dominant, people get disappointed, but they still love him. 

“It’s like when Haaland doesn’t score in a match — you’re disappointed, but you can’t expect him to score in every match. It’s the same with Martin. We are expecting so much from them, to carry the nation, but they have not done that yet. 

“I’m not saying it’s their fault, because it is hard. We play 4-4-2 sometimes and Martin doesn’t get the attacking midfield role that he gets at Arsenal. It’s probably something the coach should consider as well.”

The expectations that come from Odegaard’s exploits for Arsenal are likely justified. He has had a growing influence on the side’s general play since last winter and has had a bigger presence in the final third this season to help them top the Premier League during the World Cup break.

Timing could be an important factor when the discussion shifts to how both he and Haaland are viewed at international level, however.

Odegaard is 24 and has eight years (47 caps) of experience with the national team. By comparison, Haaland is 22 and has 21 goals in his 23 caps over the past three years. 

The pair will not be on their own, however, as there is a crop of Norwegian talent filtering into the national team.

Ola Solbakken (24) is a winger who impressed for Bodo/Glimt against Arsenal and also when facing Roma last season. He has since been bought by the Italian club ahead of the January window, with anticipation building on how Norway’s latest export will fare abroad.

Hugo Vetlesen (22) is another Bodo/Glimt player who impressed against Arsenal who made his Norway debut against Finland this November. He scored 19 goals and made 18 assists from midfield in the club’s 2022 season and could provide good attacking support for Odegaard.

Beyond them, Leo Ostigard (23) and Marcus Pedersen (22) provide further European experience in defence, playing for Napoli and Feyenoord respectively. 

There is also hope that 18-year-old Andreas Schjelderup can have a lasting impact. The winger plays his club football for Danish Superligaen leaders Nordsjaelland and has 10 goals in 17 games at the point of the World Cup break.

Even without carrying Norway to a major tournament just yet, the feeling of pride towards Odegaard filtered through in both London and Bodo.

“In general, people love him,” Broks says. “We gave him a big applause when he came on at the Emirates.

“Norway is a nation of footballers that never really produced technicians. We’ve been big, tall, good with long passes, headers and physical football. Then all of a sudden we get a playmaker like Odegaard, which was something totally new after 20-30 years. 

“That’s another reason why we like him a lot. You saw when he came on at the Emirates, the calm he has and how that radiates through the team. It’s good to see, not for Bodo/Glimt but it was good.”

For all the pride, there was also a sense of competitive respect consistent with Bodo/Glimt’s pre-match statements. 

There was a universal hope that he would start the match, which Arsenal ended up winning 1-0 thanks to Bukayo Saka’s first-half goal, and he did. But instead of cheering his every touch, the home crowd jeered him. A professional courtesy that underpinned that for 90 minutes; there was a job to be done. 

That was short-lived, however. He was awarded the Norwegian Professional Football League’s Kniksens Hederspris, an accolade awarded to players who have made a significant contribution to Norwegian football, in the stands after the match. 

A sense of national pride, no doubt washing back over the name Martin Odegaard.

(Top photos: Getty Images/Design: Sam Richardson)