RIED IM INNKREIS (VG) Erik Botheim (22) and his agent Jim Solbakken are keeping silent about the club’s future after the striker’s overseas adventure is turned upside down.
– No, nothing, thank you. The striker answers questions about what he wants to say about the future.
Boothem’s agent Jim Solbakken was also present during Norway’s under-21 match against Austria on Tuesday, but did not want to speak to a VG journalist about the player’s future.
During an under-21 rally, the national team management made it clear that Bothheim did not want questions about the club’s future in interviews. The tip was sold to Krasnodar from Bodo / Glimt for large sums, but everything ended up in limbo after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Bothem’s contract was suspended and he returned to Norway. Since then, FIFA has decided that players in Russian football can find another employer for the rest of the season, but they must return to Russia from June 30. UEFA has decided that players can also participate in other teams’ European club competitions during this period.
Prior to meeting U21, Botheim was noticed in Bodø/Glimt training, and the club made no secret of the fact that they wanted the scorer for a few months.
– Is it up to me, I really hope he plays in a Bodø / Glimt shirt, at least part of this season, says Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen Discovery.
As his colleagues in the North welcomed him again:
The choice about the future gave Botheim a lot to think about, and ideas he does not currently wish to share.
– I don’t feel for him, but I follow him, U21 coach Liv Gunnar Smerod tells VG.
– I’m testing that Eric handles this very well and is very rational. Of course, this is not the situation that anyone could have expected a few months ago. This means that he will probably go and think about finding the solution he should be looking for, he continues.
The national team rally helps not only keep the football machinery going at Bothem. Here he also meets his peers and like-minded comrades, who provide a long-awaited break from the club’s unknown future. Here he finds a unique unit, according to Samrud.
If you travel, as many of those do, it will be a very professional, challenging and exciting process, but it’s rare to get the same loneliness you have in the national team. They appreciate it very much. They play cards, they sit and enjoy themselves, and they enjoy meeting each other as some separate their daily lives. The coach says he’s an important component of the national team – to create that environment – and they’re reaching the top score here.
Although Bothheim has been silent about the club’s future, he has answered sporting questions after Norway’s 2-1 loss to Austria. The boys under 21 are third in the group, four points behind Croatia and one point behind the Austrians.
The winner of the group goes to the European Championship, and the runner-up gets a chance in the playoffs. The next match will be at home against Croatia in June.
It’s going to be an exciting ending, so we have to keep fit and be good when those matches come along, says Bothem.
Butheim was not the only Norwegian player who ended up in a difficult situation after the Russian league was suspended.
Rostov player Magnus Knudsen has opted to use his residence in Russian football on loan to Lillestrøm – the club he left last Christmas.
Nizhny Novgorod professional Lars Olden Larsen has signed a short-term contract with Per Matthias Hojmos Haken.
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