Roma’s 6-1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt in October 2021 instantly went into the history books as one of the club’s worst ever defeats.
It’s hard to explain exactly what went wrong – to that degree – on that fateful night in the Arctic Circle, but it became one for the history books for all the wrong reasons.
Ultimately, Roma won the competition it occurred in – the Europa Conference League – anyway, after overcoming the Norwegian side at last in the knockout phase and then progressing further.
But there have been some extremely mixed journeys for the players who were involved in that unforgettable first meeting. Here are the stories of the starting XI that night.
Embed from Getty ImagesRui Patricio – Atalanta
During his debut season at Roma, Patricio played in all but one of their matches on their Europa Conference League run, with the match against Bodo/Glimt obviously being the one he conceded the most goals in. Roma released Patricio at the end of his three-year contract in the summer of 2024, with his place as a regular starter having been prised away by Mile Svilar. He has remained in Italian football, though, after joining Atalanta in the summer to act as a backup for Marco Carnesecchi.
Bryan Reynolds – Westerlo
Although he completed the full 90 minutes, Reynolds never played for Roma again after his involvement in the Bodo/Glimt game. The American right-back has since stabilised his career in Belgium over spells with Kortrijk and his current club Westerlo, for whom he has played almost 80 times, and he has even earnt five more caps with the USMNT since.
Roger Ibanez – Al-Ahli
Ibanez was the only player who started all four of Roma’s games against Bodo/Glimt in the Conference League campaign. Furthermore, he was the only outfield player to start in the 6-1 loss against Bodo/Glimt and ultimately in the Conference League final against Feyenoord. Ibanez would also fight for Roma’s cause in the Europa League final the season after, including taking a penalty in the shootout, but it turned out to be his last appearance for the club before he was sold to Saudi side Al-Ahli, where he had a shaky debut but has retained a regular role, closing in on a half-century of appearances.
Marash Kumbulla – Espanyol
Kumbulla’s Roma career has been a bit of a bumpy ride and he wasn’t even called up for their next league game after the Bodo/Glimt calamity. He eventually regained Mourinho’s trust to an extent, but struggled either side of an ACL injury, including during a loan spell at Sassuolo. Now, though, he is finding his feet again during his next loan spell at Espanyol, where he is rating highly among La Liga defenders after his first nine appearances.
Riccardo Calafiori – Arsenal
Undoubtedly the player with the biggest redemption arc since the Bodo/Glimt game, Calafiori has become a major source of regret for Roma. The academy product only played twice again for the club after, and was loaned to Genoa in January 2022 before being sold to Basel at the end of the season. In turn, the Swiss side sold him to Bologna the following year. Back in Italy, the defender honed his skills in a more central role, becoming a full international with Luciano Spalletti’s Italy team and a €50m player when achieving a 2024 summer transfer to Premier League title challengers Arsenal. He has been starting as a left-back more again usually and even scored a rocket against Manchester City.
What a way to score your first Premier League goal, Riccardo Calafiori! 💫pic.twitter.com/TvsSpQEN1w
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 23, 2024
Ebrima Darboe – Frosinone
Like Kumbulla, Darboe is still on Roma’s books but is currently out on loan. He was one of only three outfield players – along with Ibanez and El Shaarawy – who started the return group fixture against Bodo/Glimt too, but by that point he had already made his one and only Serie A appearance for the season. An ACL injury meant he wouldn’t be involved in the following season either, and he went on loan to LASK and then Sampdoria, where he recovered some form, in 2023-24. For the current campaign, he is playing in Serie B again with Frosinone. He is starting fairly often, but his side are bottom of the table after nine games.
Amadou Diawara – Anderlecht
Fellow midfielder Diawara would only play three more times for Roma after the Bodo/Glimt game, although he wasn’t banished completely and often made the bench. By the end of that season, his third with Roma, he left for Anderlecht, whom he still plays for now and for whom he is close to achieving 50 appearances. Despite using him sparingly, Mourinho revealed in August 2023, a year after Diawara’s departure, that he was still in touch with the Guinean.
Carles Perez – Getafe
The scorer of Roma’s consolation goal against Bodo/Glimt – although it cut the deficit to 2-1 at the time – was Perez, but he would only score twice more for the club before retreating to his native Spain with Celta. The Vigo outfit bought him permanently in 2023 after a season-long loan, but for the current campaign they have loaned him to Getafe, where he is yet to score from 10 games. Still only 26, Perez previously reached eight goals for Celta before his temporary switch – as many as he got for Roma but in 19 fewer games.
Gonzalo Villar – Granada
Along with Darboe, Villar was a player who served to show just how disoriented Roma’s midfield was in the Paulo Fonseca era, given that he had at times looked comparatively decent in it before later being found out. Villar played as a number 10 against Bodo/Glimt, but was removed at half time. He only played twice for the club again – in the same competition and not the league – before he was sent on loan to Getafe in January 2023. Roma then tried getting him some Italian experience with Sampdoria, but after that spell failed to work out, he returned to Getafe before being bought by Granada, where he has settled down to get more than 40 appearances under his belt. However, he is playing in the Spanish second tier – the same level Roma bought him from back in 2020 – this season after they suffered relegation.
Stephan El Shaarawy – Roma
The last player standing from the Bodo/Glimt game, unless Kumbulla or Darboe ever make a return, and the only one still actively involved in the first team three years later is El Shaarawy, who captained the side that day. The winger has since reached 285 appearances for the club, which puts him in their top 25 all-time most-used players ranking. The 2023-24 season saw him make more appearances than ever before for a single campaign, but often as a substitute or rotation player. He is still waiting for his first goal of the 2024-25 season.
Borja Mayoral – Getafe
Mayoral enjoyed far better fortunes under Fonseca then he did Mourinho, whose game plan he was less of an ideal fit for (although Roma had already committed to having him on loan for a second season before the change of coach). The Spaniard struggled to lead the line for Mourinho, who refused to call him up for the next three league matches but did allow him to keep playing in the Conference League. Nevertheless, his loan was cancelled six months early that January so he could return to Madrid with Getafe, who later bought him too. Last season, he scored 17 goals, equalling his career-best tally from his first season at Roma, but he only has one goal from his first five games in 2024-25, having started the season injured.
Mayoral features in: Roma’s most-used loan players ever who didn’t stay permanently
Subs:
Eldor Shomurodov – Roma
Bryan Cristante – Roma
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Inter
Tammy Abraham – Milan
Lorenzo Pellegrini – Roma
Coach:
Jose Mourinho – Fenerbahce
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