The Four “Dwarves” Move Up a Grade

BODO, TUESDAY - Four "dwarf" teams will face a tough home match in the first game of the knockout stage of the Champions League round of 16, Thursday (19/2/2026) early morning WIB. The seemingly impossible mission to advance has become a test for them to enter the elite level of European competition.

Bodo/Glimt (Norway), Club Brugge (Belgium), Olympiacos (Greece), and Qarabag (Azerbaijan) are four mid-tier clubs in the Champions League competition. They will face teams from more established leagues that fall into the top category of Europe. Each of these dwarf teams will be up against Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, and Newcastle United.

Specifically for Bodo/Glimt and Qarabag, they are making their debut in the knockout stage of the Champions League. This is an impressive achievement for both teams, as they were eliminated in the qualifying round last season.

Olympiacos has returned to the knockout stage of the Champions League after a 12-season wait. In the round of 16 of the 2013-2014 season, the Greek giant's journey was halted by Manchester United. The furthest achievement of Olympiacos was reaching the quarter-finals in the 1998-1999 edition.

Meanwhile, Club Brugge is experiencing its third season in the knockout stage of the 2020s decade. In the previous two seasons, namely 2022-2023 and 2024-2025, Brugge managed to reach the round of 16.

In the history of the continental stage, they still hold the prestige as the only Belgian team that has ever reached the final match of the Champions League in the 1977-1978 edition.

The opponents they face are not easy teams. Bodo/Glimt, for instance, will challenge last season's finalists, Inter Milan. On paper, it is difficult for Bodo/Glimt to eliminate Inter.

In terms of performance, Inter has reached the peak of its display this season under the management of Cristian Chivu. Inter arrived at Aspmyra Stadium in Bodo, Norway, on Thursday at 03:00 WIB, with a record of six consecutive victories across all competitions. "I Nerazzurri" is already eight points ahead at the top of the Serie A standings.

Bodo/Glimt is still in the preseason period of the 2026 Norwegian League. This is because the latest season competition in Norway will only take place starting in March.

Despite this, Bodo/Glimt entered the playoffs with a strong showing, judging by their final two Champions League group stage matches. These were Bodo/Glimt's first two matches after the turn of the year. They defeated Manchester City 3-1 in Norway, then took home a 2-1 victory away to Atletico Madrid.

Bodo/Glimt's strong capital is based on the impressive performance of striker Kasper Hogh, who scored three goals that helped his team break into the top 24 of the group stage of the 2025-2026 Champions League. Another interesting aspect is that Bodo/Glimt's coach, Kjetil Knutsen, employed a classic yet effective tactic, 4-4-2, which is quite unusual in the modern era.

"Children have played at the level required to reach this stage. We will continue to perform in a way that demonstrates our improvement after achieving this historic journey," said Knutsen, who is from Norway.

Inter coach Cristian Chivu is reluctant to underestimate Bodo/Glimt. According to Chivu, Champions League matches, especially in the knockout phase, always hold traps if his team is not vigilant.

"Bodo/Glimt have proven that they are capable of causing problems for the big teams," Chivu said, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Tofiq Behramov Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, will be the first Transcaucasian country to host a knockout stage match of the Champions League. Transcaucasia refers to countries located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. This record applies after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

In addition to Azerbaijan, other countries in the region include Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Armenia. The first match between Qarabag and Newcastle United, on Thursday at 00:45 WIB, will be warmly welcomed by the Azerbaijani public.

In the midst of an unfavorable situation, the players of Qarabag want to prove that Baku is not a friendly place for "The Magpies." The surprise of defeating Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt in the qualifying round is evidence that Qarabag should not be underestimated.

"Newcastle is a strong team. However, we have prepared for this match as best we can," said Qarabag coach Gurban Gurbanov, as reported by Azerbaijani media outlet Medianews.

On a separate occasion, Olympiacos Coach Jose Luis Mendilibar and Brugge Coach Ivan Leko are determined to help their teams achieve positive results in the first home match. For them, the most important thing is to perform at their best in the two playoff matches.

Olympiacos welcomes Leverkusen to the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece, while Brugge hosts Atletico at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium.

"What must we do to achieve a positive result? From the kickoff, we played with intensity and made them feel the difficulty of facing us in this stadium," said Mendilibar as reported on the club's website.

Compared to the three coaches of the mediocre team, Mendilibar is the figure with the most notable name in European club competitions. The Spanish tactician has delivered the 2023-2024 UEFA Conference League trophy for Olympiacos.

The previous season, Mendilibar helped Sevilla win the 2022-2023 Europa League title.

Brugge, on the other hand, are looking to continue their tradition of qualifying for the round of 16. Last season, they advanced from the playoffs after a 5-2 aggregate victory over Italian side Atalanta.