Artificial turf and 11,000 kilometers: Dortmund begin travel marathon in Bodø
Borussia Dortmund play at Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League on Wednesday, the first of three straight road games covering more than 11,000 kilometers.
Archive image · Photo: Lars Røed Hansen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped and resized)
Borussia Dortmund are starting an unusual week on the road in Norway. On Wednesday (2100 local) they visit Bodø/Glimt in the second round of the Champions League league phase, followed by a Bundesliga game at Union Berlin and a match against Sabah FK in Baku. Media reports put the total travel at more than 11,000 kilometers. Because Bodø plays on artificial turf, the team will hold its final training session at the stadium. Asked when he last played on a synthetic surface, defender Waldemar Anton said: "Long time ago."
Dortmund feel they have unfinished business with the Norwegians. The teams drew 2-2 in the league phase in December 2025, when Julian Brandt scored twice. Managing director Lars Ricken called Bodø/Glimt "an old acquaintance with whom we still have a score to settle." Dortmund opened this season's league phase with a 3-2 win over Villarreal.
On Friday, Dortmund blew a 2-0 lead in a draw with Werder Bremen. Coach Niko Kovač, whose contract the club extended through 2029 on Tuesday, hopes his side learned from it: "Hopefully we will draw our lessons from the last eight minutes."