Zach Lowy has a candid conversation with Norwegian winger, Jens Petter Hague, and shares their time together with Protagonist Soccer. From Bodø, to Milan, to Frankfurt and back, Hague discusses the challenges of making the 2026 Norway National Team as it prepares for the World Cup and let’s us know what he’s up to these days.

It has been a season to remember for Bodø/Glimt, who narrowly snuck into the UEFA Champions League knockout round in their first-ever participation after beating Manchester City and Atlético Madrid, before demolishing Scudetto winners Inter Milan. Whilst they were unable to maintain their first-leg advantage and fell to Sporting in the quarterfinals, Bodø/Glimt nevertheless made their mark on European football’s biggest stage thanks in large part to Jens Petter Hauge.

The Norwegian left winger established himself as one of Scandinavia’s most talented players alongside the likes of Jesper Karlström, scoring 6 goals and 2 assists in 12 Champions League appearances and earning a recall to the Norway national team after a year out. Protagonist Soccer spoke to Hauge about a number of topics, including:

You’re competing against some very gifted players for a national team spot, players like Antonio Nusa and Andreas Schjelderup…do you think you have what it takes to beat them out to a roster spot in the World Cup?

“Both Nusa and Schjelderup are really good players. Schjelderup is from the same town as me, so we know each other really well, and we see each other when he’s back home from Benfica. I also spent time with him at last month’s national team camp. They are all amazing players, they are really young, and they've been through a lot already. I'm sure that they will keep improving, and that's also putting a lot of pressure on me because I still want to be in the national team, and I have to fight for my minutes there. In the end, it's going to be really tough to even make the squad, so that's a big motivation for me. Of course, I always believe in my attributes and qualities, and I've shown recently against big European clubs that I still have my level. Maybe I'm a little bit different from those two, and I can improve and help the team in other situations, so maybe that can be my argument to be included in a 26-man squad.”

What was it like helping Bodø/Glimt win their first-ever league title in 2020? Even though you had joined Milan by the time they won, it still must feel like one of the proudest moments of your career?

“Of course, it was special winning the league there, but whether it's the proudest or biggest achievement in my career, I'm not so sure. I think maybe I would put the Europa League title above that. But the period was amazing, and the feeling that we did it with a small Bodø team back then. Of course, now everyone expects Bodø to win the league, and we have won 4 out of the last 6 times, although I wasn’t there for 2020 and 2021, but yeah, it was special.”

One year before you eliminated Inter from the Champions League, you knocked out Lazio en route to the Europa League semifinals. What was your mentality going into that match?

“We didn’t think so much about making history, and that no other Norwegian team has ever done it before. We knew it was going to be two fantastic matches, and if we made it past Lazio, we’d have another two beautiful games where we could develop ourselves and let the fans enjoy a top European. It was just important for us to keep playing those matches, because those are the matches where we grow.”

Lastly, what has it been like to live in your hometown after a few years of living abroad in Italy, Germany and Norway?

“Here I have my network outside of football, I have friends that I went to school with, and they don't know anything about football. So that's obviously great. I’m living alone, but I also have my family close here, and the nature is beautiful. It’s good to go out in the fresh weather and do stuff outside of football like playing chess.”

- by Zach Lowy