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Just at the front here.
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Thank you.
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Hi there, Thomas.
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Can I ask for the team news?
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Just want to check on Dom and Calumani.
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And I think Romero maybe wasn’t training today?
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Yeah.
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Start with Dom.
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Dom, you know, got that...
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ankle issue that’s been boring him for a little while.
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So now we decided to make a minor surgery.
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It’s a small procedure.
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So that will mean he’s not ready for today, of course.
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And of course, Leeds is out as well.
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We will have more news about time frame after the international break,
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but I don’t expect it to be long.
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Kulmoani,
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I think now we’re finally on top of his dead leg,
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so that is also progress there,
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so that’s good.
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I encourage you as just precaution.
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I can’t imagine you generally look back at matches from previous seasons,
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but it wasn’t really that long ago that Tottenham won here in a big match in their
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Europa League campaign last year.
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Have you looked at it and what can you take from it going into tomorrow’s game?
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Yeah, I’ve looked at that game, of course, but also looked at a lot of other games of Porto.
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I think they are a fantastic team.
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I think the club is fantastic.
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I think the story is unique in many ways.
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I’m pretty sure that the whole Europe knows about Bordeaux because I think it’s a
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little bit of a fairy tale.
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I like, of course, that Scandinavian link between Denmark and Norway, maybe a tiny bit closer.
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And the background I’m coming from,
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to see how they have built that club through years of some...
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Corp group of people,
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aligning strategy,
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structure,
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hard work over years,
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and then just build a smaller club suddenly to be the absolutely force in Norway
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and now competing Euroval over many seasons.
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That’s extremely impressive.
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I think Kietel Knudsen and his staff are remarkable what they’ve done.
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Their style of play is amazing.
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is quite unique in many ways.
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Extremely well-coached team.
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So, big praise.
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I admire them a lot.
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Which one?
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That’s one performance.
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That’s the game.
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How many months is that?
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Four months ago.
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With all due respect, I was not the coach.
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Some group of players.
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They have some group of players.
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This is a new game.
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This is a new...
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New situation.
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We go into it with huge respect for Bordino.
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It’s going to be very difficult.
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Their home record here in European games,
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you know,
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all that’s unique with,
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I think,
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31 wins out of 39,
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something like that.
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Apparently haven’t scored in more or less every home game in 46 games in a row.
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So we know what we are facing, but of course we also have trust in ourselves.
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Gentleman in the middle, please.
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Mr. Frank, you choose not to train here tonight despite you talk about their home advantage.
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Can you describe a little bit about how
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Why did you choose not to train here tonight?
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Because we have one training and if we have training here and we want to do a
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little bit of tactical,
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I would all do respect.
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I think it would be a little bit more obvious what we will do.
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So that’s the thing we’d like to keep for ourselves.
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And then yes,
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you can say if we train here for how long we’re allowed,
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45 minutes,
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is that going to make the difference?
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I know the surface is different.
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So if you really want to get used to it,
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I think you need to train here day in,
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day out as Bordeaux do.
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We were ready for that challenge, but for me mainly, it was tactical for reasons.
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Hi Thomas, we’ve spoken to your old mate Stole Solbakken.
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You coached together in Denmark.
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He calls you the nicest man in the world.
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He also says you had some disputes while coaching in Denmark.
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How would you describe your relationship to him?
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when we are coaching at Copenhagen you can have a few infights in that area but Stoli is a
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He’s a man and football coach I admire a lot.
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What he built in Copenhagen was also incredible over many, many, many years.
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And now he’s here representing his country.
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And they’ve started very well, so I’m very happy on his behalf in many ways.
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So, no, a good colleague and good friend in the football environment.
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I guess to both of you, considering your background in Scandinavian football,
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How unique is what Bodeglimp has achieved building a squad of almost only Norwegian
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players and getting to this level?
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Yeah, start, yeah?
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Do you want to start?
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Yeah, I can go.
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As Thomas mentioned, it’s great.
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They’ve done great things in Europe.
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Like last season when we played against them in the semifinal.
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So, yeah.
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Great, great, great work.
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A little bit on that,
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on the,
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as you say,
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more or less Norwegian players,
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a few Danish players as well,
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of course,
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just to add a spark.
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No,
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jokes aside,
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that makes it even more impressive,
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I think,
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that you do it more or less Norwegian players build from this country.
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It’s remarkable.
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Yes, Thomas.
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What do you consider Bodeglim’s biggest weakness and how do you plan to exploit it?
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And also, what is the best team in Scandinavia?
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Is it Copenhagen or Bodeglim?
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You put me on the spot there.
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I think, let me put it this way, I would like to see a match between the two teams.
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There was a lot of talk about Malmö and Copenhagen when they played each other in the qualifier.
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Not the playoff, but the one run before, I think it was.
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I think they’re going to be very interesting between the two styles.
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I think they’re very close to each other, I must admit.
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I think... What was the first question?
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I forgot it because you put them on the spot.
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What is their biggest weakness in how to plan this play?
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Yeah.
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I’d rather like to say about their biggest strength is their structure and the way they play.
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They’re so well coached, so their patterns are so clear, which I think is a huge strength.
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I’m very aware that we are coming from the Premier League and so on.
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that we had to defend very well.
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No doubt about that.
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They are so good and clear on how they want to do things.
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And also they play very, very, very quick on this pitch.
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Question for Lukas.
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You’re coming here as Europa League winners,
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but can you tell me what’s the big difference between the Europa League and the
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Champions League?
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Yeah, it speaks of a difference.
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It’s the best thing for me as a player who can achieve to win the Champions League.
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So yeah, I would say it’s next level.
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But yeah, it’s going to be a good game tomorrow.
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A tough game.
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Bodø Glimt is a good team.
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So we need to go out there and perform, yeah.
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Hi, Thomas.
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We’ve seen a lot of improvements already in the defense of this team since you arrived.
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I just wonder what you think of the kind of creativity in the last few weeks and
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how you see maybe where improvements can be made in that department.
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I think in terms of the, how can you say, creativity or...
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Maybe creating more chances of dominating a bit more.
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I think the Brighton game was a very good game.
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I think first half against Wolves were good.
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We didn’t score, but I think all the right signs were there.
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So I think it steps forward.
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I said before that, I think it’s natural last year.
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Most of the game was Kulsevski, Madison, Sonny and Dom who played more or less the front four.
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Now we have more or less a new front four.
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are doing very well.
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One of them sitting next to me is doing very well, have a very good start to the season.
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So I think they’re gelling more and more together and we try to give them the best
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patterns and principles.
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Thomas,
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I just want to ask you if you feel like it’s been a bit of a wasted month almost
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with Dom because of kind of trying to get him back into training.
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I think if you can look from two ways, that’s the easy answer.
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But it’s not that easy.
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If we knew we could have done the surgery a month ago, we probably would have done it.
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So for me, I’m always like to imagine, oh, it is what it is.
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We deal from it now.
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No doubt that the way we dealt with this was because we thought that was the right way.
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Because I think in general, no one wants a surgery, no matter how small it is.
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Lucas,
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I just want to ask you,
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Thomas was speaking the other day about he and his coaches and what they’ve been
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working with you this season and the various things.
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I just wondered what you feel you’ve kind of improved on this season.
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It’s a great question.
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No, but I feel like I’m getting better every day.
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I’ve played a bit of an 8 in the beginning and now more often 10 in the end and it
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feels like I’m adding more and more to my game every day.
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So yeah, I try to help the team with contribution, with goals and assists as well.
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So just getting better every day and improving, yeah.
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Mr Frank,
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Bode goalkeeper Nikita Haykin said earlier today that it was unusual to see a team
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like Spurs going for long throws and set pieces everywhere on the pitch.
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What do you make of... Who said that, sorry?
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Bode goalkeeper Nikita Haykin.
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Okay.
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I personally think that set pieces are an extremely important part of the...
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The football,
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I think there is,
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isn’t that a status,
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33% or something like that,
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that all goals scored from set pieces.
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So I think it’s okay, clever to utilise a third of your opportunities to try to score a goal.
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So, but I’m happy, that’s a fine comment.
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If you think that’s a strength of ours, I’m happy with that.
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Oh, sorry, Jonathan, just there.
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Thomas, how big a difference does the pitch make?
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I know everybody always talks about it,
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but would you actually change a tactical approach according to the pitch?
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No, not a tactical approach.
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Of course we are aware.
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It’s the same in Denmark.
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When I was a coach for Bromby, we were facing North Zealand at that time.
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There’s also a different surface.
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It’s the same today.
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It’s fine.
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They’re good here.
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They’re very good at home.
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I think that’s, for me, they’re
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I think there’s a lot of talk about the pitch.
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I rather want to praise the team,
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the body team and their coach,
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what they do,
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because they do it quite consistently home and away,
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the way they play.
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So I’m pretty sure they get the answer or the question sometimes,
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can they play on grass when they go away from home?
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Of course they can.
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So it’s an official pitch.
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Players like Lucas have played on them his whole life.
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Lots of players have played there.
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So I think...
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I know we need to speak about it,
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but I think I’m pretty sure all journalists,
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Kietil,
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myself,
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all the players just want to talk about football.
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Final question, just down the front head, please.
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Sorry, Thomas, just following up on Romero, what was the issue specifically?
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Just precaution.
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Is it muscle or knock?
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Just precaution.
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Okay, thank you.
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Thank you.
