Just over a year ago, romance rumors began to swirl between national team captain Martin Ødegaard (25) and Skal vi danse profile Helene Spilling, when the duo were pictured together during the London Football Awards.
Since then, the relationship has attracted a lot of attention and headlines here at home in Norway.
The words of praise are hailing
The duo is constantly posting Instagram stories and posts on their social media accounts, but the couple has so far said little about their relationship in the media.
In the NRK series “Drømmen om EC” the protagonists themselves and their teammates on the national team tell about the relationship.
– When they started talking, I got an update on every message that was sent. There was a good atmosphere from the first stanza. Helene and “Ødda” they are a nice couple, says Stefan Strandberg, former vice-captain of the national team, in the NRK series “The dream of the EC”.
– Got a few notches better
Life is smiling both on and off the pitch for the 25-year-old who currently leads the Premier League and Arsenal have reached their first quarter-final in the Champions League in 14 years.
– I think that if we had seen him the way he feels, I think we would have seen a player who was seven meters tall. He is in the shape of his life, TV 2’s football expert Yaw Amankvah told Dagbladet about Ødegaard’s form on Wednesday.
Perhaps it is the relationship off the pitch that has given the Arsenal and Norway captain that last little something extra?
– I feel that life has become a few notches better. It’s nice to have someone to share everything that’s going on with. If you’re talking about the Scotland game, we’re talking about downs, then it’s good to have someone who knows you well and can help you back up. Yes, I think it’s positive in my life, Ødegaard tells Morten Ramm and Erik Solbakken, who meet the national team players in the series.
– Not all the credit
Ødegaard has been the talk of the town ever since he took the Eliteserien by storm as “Martin (15)” just over ten years ago. The then very young technical midfielder took the top level in Norway by storm.
It went so well that he got a dream transfer to Real Madrid.
There he was never able to play his way into the “los blancos” starting eleven. But after repeated loan spells in the Netherlands and Spain, the 25-year-old found his way to Arsenal.
Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Ødegaard stood up at a hastily called press conference after the brutal Scotland loss on Saturday evening. Video: Bård Sørø Olsen / Dagbladet Show more
The national team captain is in full bloom and excels with technical finesse, scoring and assisting on a weekly basis.
In the series, the midfield star is confronted with whether he has “become more of a man on the pitch” since he got a girlfriend.
England gapes
– I don’t know if Helene should take all the credit for that, but she has certainly had a good effect on my life and career, I feel that, admits Ødegaard.
In the documentary series “Drømmen om EC” Morten Ramm and Erik Solbakken follow, among others, Martin Ødegaard, Patrick Berg, Alexander Sørloth, Oscar Bobb and Leo Skiri Østigård.
The series can be seen in NRK TV.