Latest news with #ThanassisStavrakis
Toronto Sun
13-06-2025
- General
- Toronto Sun
Earthquakes damage centuries-old monasteries in a secluded religious community in Greece
Published Jun 13, 2025 • 1 minute read FILE - Monks carry baskets of supplies to the Simonopetra, or Simonos Petra Monastery, home of the all-male autonomous community of Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain, on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northern Greece,, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Photo by Thanassis Stavrakis / AP THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Centuries-old monasteries have been damaged by an ongoing series of earthquakes in a secluded monastic community in northern Greece, authorities said Friday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck the Mount Athos peninsula on June 7, followed by a series of both undersea and land-based tremors that continued through Friday. The quakes caused 'severe cracks' in the dome of the Monastery of Xenophon, which was built in the late 10th century, and damaged religious frescoes at that site and several others, the Culture Ministry said. Mount Athos is one of the most important religious sites for Orthodox Christians, and is often referred to as the Holy Mountain. It is a semi-autonomous monastic republic and is home to 20 Orthodox monasteries. The self-governing community still observes strict traditions under Greek sovereignty, including a ban on all women entering the territory. 'We are fully aware of the immense archaeological, historical, and spiritual significance of Mount Athos, and we are ensuring that all damage is addressed according to scientific and ethical standards,' Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said. The restoration work — including structural reinforcement and the repair of artwork — will be expanded and accelerated, Mendoni added. A more detailed assessment of the damage is expected next week, the Culture Ministry said. Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA World Sunshine Girls
Winnipeg Free Press
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
The ultimate leveler: Giantkilling Bodø/Glimt has a secret weapon to bring down Europe's giants
Located north of the Arctic Circle and needing to deal with brutal weather conditions, Norwegian soccer team Bodø/Glimt has an artificial playing field that's built to handle just about anything. Including much bigger rivals. That could be bad news for Premier League giant Tottenham Hotspur when the teams meet in the Europa League semifinal second leg on Thursday. FILE - Bodo/Glimt players celebrate their qualification to the next phase after the end of the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) Spurs leads 3-1 after the first game, but that advantage could look slender once play gets underway at the Aspmyra Stadion in the fishing town of Bodø, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of Oslo. Despite the town having a population of around 55,000, Bodø/Glimt – unheralded outside of Norway – continues to pull off shock wins against famous opponents on home turf. And it is that artificial surface that seems to be such a leveler for teams unused to playing in sometimes Arctic conditions and away from traditional grass. Evangelos Marinakis, president of Greek team Olympiacos, was critical after a 3-0 defeat in the Europa League in March, saying 'we played on a pitch that is not like other European stadiums' and claiming one of his players 'got injured due to the pitch conditions.' Olympiacos won the second leg 2-1 at home, but was eliminated 4-2 on aggregate, with Marinakis lamenting: 'what truly matters is what happened in the first match.' Banned It is certainly unusual to see a high level match like the semifinal of a major European competition played on artificial turf, which is criticized for the way the ball rolls and bounces in comparison to to grass. Sometimes called plastic pitches, they were banned in England in 1988 due to higher rates of injuries and inconsistent playability. But UEFA allows approved artificial pitches to be used up to and including the semifinals of its competitions – the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. 'High level football in (a) plastic pitch is not high level football,' Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho said after a Champions League qualifying game against Lugano last July, which was also played on artificial turf. 'The ball is slow, the players cannot dribble, they run with the ball and the ball stays behind. The game is slow, so honestly I don't understand why UEFA allows Champions League in (a) plastic pitch.' Scottish Premiership clubs have voted to ban artificial pitches in the top flight from the beginning of season 2026-27. World governing body FIFA also allows approved artificial surfaces, but is relaying synthetic pitches as grass for the men's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year. Advantage Bodø/Glimt's record at its 9000 capacity stadium would certainly seem to point to an advantage and it has played a major role in it becoming the first Norwegian team to reach the semifinals of a top European club competition. As well as Olympicos, it has won home games against Lazio, Porto, Besiktas and FC Twente this season. It beat Red Star Belgrade in a home Champions League qualifier earlier in the campaign, but went out on aggregate. It also thrashed Roma – then managed by Mourinho – 6-1 at home in the Conference League in 2021. A source of encouragement for Tottenham is the fact that Bodø/Glimt has lost all four of its games against English opposition – including a 3-2 defeat at Manchester United this season. Tottenham manager Ange Postcoglou, however, lost 5-1 on aggregate against the Norwegians when in charge of Celtic in 2022. That included a 2-0 defeat at the Aspmyra Stadion. 'It is on artificial grass, but it's still a game of football and I've been there, I've played there with Celtic,' he said after. 'I know the experience and what is important for us is that we need to replicate what we did today (in the first leg). 'Irrespective of the surface, if we're as disciplined and organised as we were today, with and without the ball, it won't matter what the surface is, I think it will make it really difficult for us to be stopped.' Why artificial? Bodø/Glimt's stadium is one of the most northernly in world soccer at 67 degrees latitude. The town, on the west coast of Norway, is known as a destination to see the northern lights. But the climate, which can see temperatures dip as low as 4C (39.2F) in May during long winters, and less than an hour of sunlight on its shortest days, makes maintaining the playing field expensive and difficult. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up Bodø/Glimt's underground heating and synthetic turf allowed it to stage its quarterfinal against Lazio last month despite heavy snowfall completely covering the ground on the day of the game, which would have been unlikely on grass. ___ James Robson is at ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How a fighter pilot's mental techniques helped tiny Bodø/Glimt reach the Europa League semifinals
FILE - Glimt's head coach Kjetil Knutsen follows an Europa League soccer match between Nice and Glimt at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, southern France, Thursday, January. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani, File) FILE - Twente's Naci Unuvar tackles Glimt's Isak Dybvik Maatta during the Europa League play-off match between Twente and Bodo Glimt in Enschede, Netherlands, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File) FILE - Glimt fans cheer before the Europe League quarter final second leg match between Lazio and Bodo Glimt in Rome, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File) FILE - Glimt's Andreas Helmersen celebrates after scoring during the Europe League quarter final second leg match between Lazio and Bodo Glimt in Rome, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File) FILE - Glimt's goalkeeper Nikita Haikin punches the ball during the Europe League quarter final second leg match between Lazio and Bodo Glimt in Rome, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File) FILE - Bodø/Glimt's Ulrik Saltnes, center, celebrates with teammates Jens Petter Hauge, left, and Patrick Berg after scoring his second goal of the game during the Europa League quarterfinal soccer match between Bodø/Glimt and Lazio at Aspmyra Stadium in Bodø, Norway, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB via AP, File) FILE - Glimt's Jens Petter Hauge, front, Olympiacos' Costinha, rear right, and Olympiacos' Gelson Martins, left, vie for the ball during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) FILE - Bodo/Glimt players celebrate their qualification to the next phase after the end of the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) FILE - Bodo/Glimt players celebrate their qualification to the next phase after the end of the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) FILE - Glimt's head coach Kjetil Knutsen follows an Europa League soccer match between Nice and Glimt at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, southern France, Thursday, January. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani, File) FILE - Twente's Naci Unuvar tackles Glimt's Isak Dybvik Maatta during the Europa League play-off match between Twente and Bodo Glimt in Enschede, Netherlands, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File) FILE - Glimt fans cheer before the Europe League quarter final second leg match between Lazio and Bodo Glimt in Rome, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File) FILE - Glimt's Andreas Helmersen celebrates after scoring during the Europe League quarter final second leg match between Lazio and Bodo Glimt in Rome, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File) FILE - Glimt's goalkeeper Nikita Haikin punches the ball during the Europe League quarter final second leg match between Lazio and Bodo Glimt in Rome, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File) FILE - Bodø/Glimt's Ulrik Saltnes, center, celebrates with teammates Jens Petter Hauge, left, and Patrick Berg after scoring his second goal of the game during the Europa League quarterfinal soccer match between Bodø/Glimt and Lazio at Aspmyra Stadium in Bodø, Norway, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB via AP, File) FILE - Glimt's Jens Petter Hauge, front, Olympiacos' Costinha, rear right, and Olympiacos' Gelson Martins, left, vie for the ball during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) FILE - Bodo/Glimt players celebrate their qualification to the next phase after the end of the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) How did an unheralded Norwegian team from a tiny town north of the Arctic Circle become one of the fairy-tale stories of European soccer? For Bodø/Glimt, the transformation has been underpinned by a fighter pilot who developed mental techniques for his squadron before bombing missions in Libya. Advertisement Bjørn Mannsverk discovered a group of players exuding negative energy and prone to 'a collective mental breakdown' when he was asked in early 2017 to join the backroom staff of a team that had just been relegated to Norway's second tier. His task as 'mental coach' at Bodø/Glimt? To make players talk openly about their feelings, lower stress levels, change their attitudes and routines about things like preparation and nutrition, and remove the stigma around mental training. Winning or losing no longer mattered. It was all about following a philosophy and culture established by Mannsverk, a former Royal Norwegian air force squadron leader whose military duties took him to Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and to Libya for a NATO-led intervention in 2011. The results have been extraordinary. Advertisement After securing an immediate return to Norway's top division, the team — based more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of Oslo in a fishing town, Bodø, with a population of around 55,000 — has captured four of the country's last five league titles. It started in 2020 with a first in the history of a club founded in 1916. Bodø/Glimt has also had some big results in Europe in recent seasons — a 6-1 thrashing of Jose Mourinho's Roma in the Conference League 2021 stands out — and this year it has become the first Norwegian club to reach the semifinals of a major European competition. The first leg against Tottenham in the Europa League takes place in London on Thursday. It's Bodø/Glimt's biggest ever match. 'It is a fairy tale, almost a miracle,' Mannsverk told The Associated Press in a video interview. 'How can you actually come from (Norway's) second division in 2017 to playing a Champions League playoff and teams like Arsenal five years later? Advertisement 'But I think it's possible ... if you have the right mentality and you work hard over time.' An active air force pilot for more than 20 years, Mannsverk and others in his squadron were the subjects of a mental training project in 2010 where the focus was on meditation and 'every day repeating boring stuff, but with 100% attention.' It meant that when he was in Libya the following year, he had the mental capacity to handle the dangerous missions he was asked to perform. His squadron's mantra — 'train as you intend to fight' — worked. 'Even though I got strong feelings when my first bombs hit the target and it was in infernal flames and fragments and everything," he said, "it was like, 'My training said that it's OK, this is happening, recognize that, but know I have to return and do my job.'' Advertisement With Bodø until recently having a NATO air base, it was simply a happy coincidence that Bodø/Glimt's leadership came across members of the squadron at the same time as it was seeking a 'silver bullet' — as Mannsverk put it — to improve the team's mental conditioning. A project was born and fully embraced by manager Kjetil Knutsen following his appointment in 2018. Bodø/Glimt has never looked back. Mannsverk's fingerprints are all over the team's behavior, though he acknowledges there has been such a buy-in by the players that they now take decisions by themselves. Like having a rotating cast of eight captains to share leadership duties. Like when the players gather into a circle — Mannsverk calls it the 'Bodø/Glimt Ring' — after conceding a goal to discuss what happened and maintain solidarity. Like the players having no specific targets, apart from being the best version of themselves. Advertisement Inge Henning Andersen, Bodø/Glimt's chairman, told the AP that midfielder Ulrik Saltnes considered retiring because he used to suffer from stress-related stomach issues that flared up around matches. Saltnes opened up about his problems to Mannsverk and 'finally found a way out of it,' Andersen said. The team plays at an intensity that far exceeds its rivals, which players attribute to Mannsverk. 'I don't think it would be possible to play like that without Bjørn and the mental work we do,' Saltnes once told the BBC. This season's Europa League campaign is giving Bodø/Glimt widespread attention, notably for its location. The team's Aspmyra stadium — with a capacity of less than 9,000 — is one of the most northernly in world soccer at 67 degrees latitude. Tourists have long come to the town on the tip of Norway's west coast because it is a good spot to see the northern lights. Advertisement Bodø, named the European Capital of Culture in 2024, has less than an hour of sunlight during its shortest days, meaning players take supplements to combat a lack of sunlight. It can be bitterly cold and windy in the long winters, making for tough trips for opponents from other countries. On paper, Tottenham, one of the world's richest clubs, starts as a huge favorite against Bodø/Glimt. The crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday will be bigger than Bodø's population. Yet the English club is having one of its worst seasons in a generation and currently lies in 16th place in the 20-team Premier League. It gives Bodø/Glimt a realistic shot at an upset, like it produced when getting past Italian team Lazio in the quarterfinals. Another chance, then, for the club to write another amazing chapter in its remarkable journey. Advertisement 'We like to tell our story,' Mannsverk said. 'The philosophy is a good thing. We know it's difficult in football, where there's so much money involved, to give a coach or a team the time. And it takes time to change and drill in the mentality. 'This was not done overnight ... but I'm totally convinced that it will work more or less all over.' ___ AP soccer:
The Guardian
28-04-2025
- The Guardian
‘It was steer or they would kill me': why Sudanese war refugees are filling prisons in Greece
Former law student Samuel, 19, fled his home town of Geneina shortly after it was ransacked during one of the worst massacres of Sudan's brutal civil war, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 13 million people. After making it overland to Libya, Samuel spent two days crossing the Mediterranean in June before being rescued by a cargo ship and escorted by the Greek coastguard to Crete. He is now being held in the Avlona youth prison, 28 miles (45km) north of Athens, along with an estimated 50 other Sudanese men, most of whom, lawyers and activists say, are war refugees who have been detained and accused of migrant smuggling after seeking asylum in Europe and arriving on the Greek island of Crete. Samuel was identified by other passengers as the dinghy's pilot, a violation of several Greek laws including aiding the transfer of illegal migrants. If convicted he faces a possible 15 years in prison. He says he is no smuggler, but a refugee seeking safety in Europe. He paid smugglers 12,000 Libyan dinars (£1,660), which he says was a discounted fare on the condition that he navigate the boat. He has said he didn't know how to steer or even swim. 'It was steer or they would kill me,' he told Greek prosecutors in his testimony. View image in fullscreen Avlona prison, north of Athens, where Samuel is being held in the youth detention centre. Photograph: Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Hundreds of people have been arrested under Greece's harsh anti-smuggling law that came into force in 2014 with jail sentences of up to 25 years. Convicted migrant smugglers are now the second-largest group in Greek prisons behind those jailed for drug-related offences. Activists and lawyers have said it is often the most vulnerable who will steer the boat, including men who sometimes agree to do it in return for a reduction in the price of passage for themselves or their family members. They say the criminalisation of refugees and asylum seekers is ineffective in disrupting smuggling networks, as the real smugglers are rarely on the boat. 'The very tough anti-smuggling law has been a timeless governmental weapon to minimise illegal immigration. In reality it is completely useless, only filling up Greek prisons with people who have no record or connection to criminal offences,' says Samuel's lawyer Spyros Pantazis. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Global Dispatch Free newsletter Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion My family was torn apart. I have a mother and father and I am the eldest of six Samuel, Sudanese prisoner Pantazis, an Athens-based criminal defence lawyer, describes Samuel as 'brave and committed to a better future' and says the Greek prosecution's case rests solely on witness statements taken by the Greek coastguard with no footage, digital evidence or proof of financial gain. Pantazis also says no witnesses will have to appear in court, depriving Samuel of the right to face his accusers. 'My family was torn apart. I have a mother and father and I am the eldest of six. Friends told me they are in refugee camps, but I have not spoken to them in over a year,' Samuel testified to Greek prosecutors in June 2024, shortly after his arrival. Crete has recently emerged as Greece's main entry point for migrants, accounting for more than a quarter of all arrivals since January 2025, overtaking previous hotspots such as Lesbos and Samos. According to Greek officials, more than 2,500 people have arrived in Crete from Africa so far this year. Sudanese nationals make up the fourth-largest group of asylum seekers in Greece, overtaking traditional cohorts such as Syrians and Palestinians. UNHCR figures show arrivals on Crete increased more than sixfold in 2024 compared with 2023. View image in fullscreen A dinghy washed up on the shores of Agios Georgios, east of Lesbos, Greece, after a boat carrying migrants capsized on 10 January 2024. Photograph: Manolis Lagoutaris/AFP/Getty Images Gabriella Sanchez, a research fellow at Georgetown University, says the criminalisation of refugees from the civil war in Sudan contravenes the UN protocol on migrant smuggling, which 'clearly establishes that a migrant cannot be prosecuted for facilitating his or her own smuggling. The practice across EU countries of prosecuting young migrants as smugglers goes against the protocol's principles.' Another war refugee, Justin Angui, 19, who fled Sudan in 2023, was found guilty of smuggling last month but is now appealing against his conviction. He says he saw his father killed before fleeing Sudan. In his court testimony, he said: 'My mother told me to leave at any cost, so I fled to Libya. I worked in a supermarket to save up, then used those earnings – along with the small amount my mother had given me – to pay a smuggler and make the journey here.' Angui now says he longs to speak to his mother and two younger sisters 'I haven't had any contact with them since I was imprisoned six months ago. I've lost hope – it's all dark now.' Julia Winkler, a political scientist who co-authored a 2023 report on migrant criminalisation in Greece, says: 'What's happening in Crete is a brutal example of how Europe's so-called 'war on smuggling' is, in reality, criminalising the very act of migration.' The Greek immigration and asylum ministry said it did not wish to comment.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Heavy snow in Norway ahead of Europa League quarterfinal between Bodo/Glimt and Lazio
Heavy snow in Norway ahead of Europa League quarterfinal between Bodo/Glimt and Lazio Glimt's fans are seen during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Bodo/Glimt players celebrate their qualification to the next phase after the end of the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Bodo/Glimt players celebrate their qualification to the next phase after the end of the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Glimt's fans are seen during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Bodo/Glimt players celebrate their qualification to the next phase after the end of the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Olympiacos FC and FK Bodo/Glimt at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium at Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) BODO, Norway (AP) — Heavy snow in Norway has heaped some doubt on a Europa League game on Thursday between Bodo/Glimt and Lazio. UEFA said snowplows are on standby at Bodo's stadium — one of the most northerly in world soccer at 67 degrees latitude — ahead of the 6:45 p.m. local time (1645 GMT) kickoff in the first-leg quarterfinal. Advertisement 'Snowfall is expected until (2 p.m.) on matchday,' UEFA said in a statement. 'The stadium facilities team will be ready with two snowplows should the conditions require their intervention to clear the artificial playing surface.' If the game is not possible on Thursday, Lazio could be asked to stay and play Friday afternoon. Lazio is due back in Rome for a city derby on Sunday evening against Roma in Serie A. The second leg against Bodo/Glimt is at Stadio Olimpico next Thursday. Bodo/Glimt, the champion of Norway, played Europa League home games on schedule in January, February and March during its domestic offseason. Norway's league season started on March 30 and runs to November to avoid the most severe cold. Bodo/Glimt won each of those Europa games this year on its plastic pitch, by a combined score of 11-3, against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Twente and Olympiakos. ___ AP soccer:
