Rune Bratseth

Rune Bratseth

Bratseth in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth (1961-03-19) 19 March 1961
Place of birth Trondheim, Norway
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position Sweeper
Youth career
1971–1980 Nidelv
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1982 Nidelv
1983–1986 Rosenborg 83 (2)
1987–1994 Werder Bremen 230 (12)
Total 313 (14)
National team
1986–1994 Norway 60 (4)
Teams managed
2006 Rosenborg

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Rune Bratseth (born 19 March 1961) is a Norwegian retired footballer who played as a sweeper.

Nicknamed Elk due to his stature,[1] he is best known for his spell with Werder Bremen,[2] also having appeared in the 1994 World Cup with Norway.

Club career

Born in Trondheim, Bratseth started his career at local club Rosenborg BK. There, he would only be a part-time professional until he left for Germany's SV Werder Bremen in January 1987, for a mere €93.000.[3] He was immediately cast into the starting XI, making his club debut in a 1–5 loss at 1. FC Nürnberg on 21 February after the winter break; he would also win the first of his two Bundesliga championships in his first full season.

Bratseth's finest moment came when Werder won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991–92, in a 2–0 victory against AS Monaco FC.[4] During the campaign he played in eight complete matches out of nine, adding two goals (in both legs against Romania's FCM Bacău).

After a second league title with Bremen, Bratseth began suffering knee problems, even needing injections to play. After only one match in 1994–95 he called it quits at the age of 34, having appeared in 316 games for the Hanseatics all competitions comprised and scored 20 goals. In the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, he was on the scoresheet at the incredible 5–3 home win over R.S.C. Anderlecht: the Belgians led 3–0 with 25 minutes to go, and he helped to the final comeback with the 2–3.[5][6]

Bratseth was named Norway's Golden Player – the best Norwegian footballer of the past 50 years by the Norwegian Football Association, in November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's jubilee.[7] Subsequently he became chairman and general manager of Rosenborg, forming a successful partnership with coach Nils Arne Eggen.[8] The club maintained its Norwegian Premier League superiority in the following years.[9]

Bratseth was actually registered as a player when he started his job at Rosenborg, and since the club did not have 25 players in its first team squad to be registered for the UEFA Champions League, he was included as a backup. Even though he did not want to play, he agreed to sit on the bench for one game in case of "emergency".

International career

Bratseth made his debut in the Norwegian national team on 26 February 1986, playing the first half of a 2–1 friendly win in Grenada. He was a regular in the following eight years, gaining a further 59 caps.[10]

During the 1994 FIFA World Cup, 33-year-old Bratseth was captain of the Norwegian squad. As the nation exited in the group stage (albeit with four points), their third and last game against Republic of Ireland proved to be his last international.

Honours

Club

Rosenborg
Werder Bremen

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Gieselmann, Dirk (11 February 2009). "Elch für Elch ein Elch" [Elk for Elk an Elk] (in German). 11 Freunde. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Die Legenden des SV Werder Bremen" [The legends of SV Werder Bremen] (in German). T-Online. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Rune Bratseth". UEFA.com. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "1991/92: Bremen shine in Stadium of Light". UEFA.com. 1 June 1992. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Bremen 5–3 Anderlecht". UEFA.com. 8 December 1993. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Wunder gibt es immer wieder" [Let there be wonder] (in German). 11 Freunde. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Golden players take center stage". UEFA.com. 29 November 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "The riddle of Rosenborg". UEFA.com. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Heimliche Sehnsucht nach den Russen" [Secretly longing for the Russians] (in German). Spox. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Norway – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
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