There are away trips, and then there is the kind of week Borussia Dortmund are facing now. Before the Champions-League-Spiel at FK Bodö/Glimt in Norway, Sport-Geschäftsführer Lars Ricken made the tone clear: there would be no excuses. Not with three away games in seven days, six flights, and roughly 11,000 kilometers already built into the schedule. In other words, this is less a standard test of quality than a test of how well a top team can function while living out of a suitcase.
That matters because the football itself is only part of the challenge. Dortmund played at 21.00 Uhr in Bodö, then the BVB group was due to fly back to Dortmund for one night before heading to Union in Berlin on Saturday. After another night in Dortmund, the team was set to fly to Aserbaidschan for the match at FK Sabah on Tuesday. Ricken’s message was simple: the players are used to being on planes, including the recent stretch with national teams, so travel cannot become an excuse now.
A cold, awkward setting in Norway
The conditions in Bodö add another layer to an already compressed schedule. Ricken said he had heard the felt temperature could be minus seven degrees, and he also pointed to the artificial turf at Aspmyra-Stadion. Dortmund’s players have experience with that surface from their youth days, but experience does not make it easier. It just means the adjustment is familiar. That distinction matters in a game like this, where the setting can influence tempo, footing and the margin for error.
There is also a competitive reminder in the background. In the previous season, Dortmund drew 2:2 at home against Bodö after leading twice. So while the Norwegian side may not carry the same reputation as Europe’s biggest names, Ricken pushed back against any suggestion that the opponent should be reduced to home advantage alone. He called it a huge challenge and said Dortmund would need a top performance.
That is the right framing. A demanding run of travel can explain fatigue, but it cannot excuse poor structure, slow decision-making or loose concentration. Dortmund’s task in Bodö is not just to survive the calendar. It is to show that a team facing six flights, cold conditions and artificial turf can still look organized enough to handle the football.
If they do, the week becomes a statement of resilience. If they do not, the travel will only sharpen the questions that come with any difficult European away night.
