Why Odegaard fell short at Real & thrived at Arsenal

A full Norway international aged 15, Martin Odegaard was used to the hype. But as photographers circled and film crews jostled at his Real Madrid unveiling, there was a sense the awkward kid in a stripey jumper was a teenage superstar struck by the galactico glare.

More than 30 clubs around Europe made enquiries for Odegaard while he was a youngster at Stromsgodset in Norway, and he visited the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and, of course, Real.

"We got flown around in private planes and were made to feel special," Odegaard later wrote in the Players' Tribune., external

Stian Lund, Stromsgodset's academy director, accompanied the teenager, his father and two other young players from the club on one trip to Manchester City in 2013.

"We stayed there for 10 days," Lund tells BBC Sport. "I the report after he trained and played an Under-15s match, even though he was a year younger. The last sentence was: 'We need to sign this player!'"

European champions Real Madrid eventually won the battle for the 16-year-old's signature, with Odegaard telling the assembled media at his first news conference in the Spanish capital the La Liga giants represented the best opportunity for him to "develop as a footballer".

But five-and-a-half years later, when Odegaard left Madrid permanently to Arsenal in August 2021 for £30m, he did so having appeared in just 11 first-team games for Real, totalling 489 minutes, without a goal or assist and having been sent out on four different loan spells, including to north London.

On Tuesday, in the Champions League quarter-finals, Odegaard will face his former side for the first time since leaving the Bernabeu on a permanent basis four years ago, proudly flexing the captain's armband when he leads the Gunners out at Emirates Stadium. He has been such a success at Arsenal, it begs the question as to why it did not work out in Madrid.

Lund first saw Odegaard when he was 10 years old and re a "very tiny" kid with "amazing ball control". "I could see he was an extraordinary talent," he adds.

Just three years later, aged 13, the youngster began gaining wider attention after impressing during a first-team friendly for Stromsgodset during Ronny Deila's side's summer break as well as when training with the senior side.

"He did well," says Lund. "In the 50-50 duels he was way too light, but he had very good vision and his first touch was unbelievable, so he played good es and kept the ball. The club really saw we had a special talent."

Lund was also struck by his obsession with football. Odegaard would be at the clubhouse every day asking for a bag of balls to train with.

Then, when he suffered a three-month injury setback aged 14, Odegaard proved his dedication and professionalism by meticulously following a recovery programme set by his uncle, Thomas, who was also the physiotherapist for the national team.

"He came every day to the clubhouse, riding on his bike from school," recalls Lund. "I was amazed. He never took any easy options. He didn't cheat on any exercises, did the exact number of repetitions. It was like watching a full-time international player. Not that he lifted that much, but he was so professional."

Odegaard also had the backing of his father, Hans Erik, who spent a decade at Stromsgodset as a player and became a coach after his retirement.

He would watch in the background "in the stands or behind the trees", until it was time to sign Odegaard's first professional contract at 15.

"I one clause," says Lund. "That was nobody in the club was going to tell Martin how much or how little he can train - that was the only demand, he didn't care about salary or anything.

"Just if Stromsgodset are going to put all their effort into making Martin good, we need this in the contract that nobody, not the physical coach or fitness coach or physio, is going to tell him he can't train late today or the day after a game or anything - he will train as much as he wants.

"I have never heard of that before or since!"

The young Odegaard just wanted to play football. And for his part, that never changed even when returning from his many trips to train with top European clubs.

"He was very down to earth," adds Lund. "Not a big shot or having high thoughts of himself. He was back in training and being the same kid."

In pre-season 2014, Odegaard was handed more minutes with the first team - coming on late in games to gain experience.

Yet when Lund and his staff crunched the numbers for goals, assists and pre-assists, they realised the 15-year-old's output was double that of the next best player.

"It was like 'what the hell is happening here">