Rune Bratseth
Bratseth in 2010
Personal information
Full name Rune Bratseth[1]
Date of birth (1961-03-19) 19 March 1961
Place of birth Trondheim, Norway
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Libero
Youth career
1971–1980 Nidelv
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1982 Nidelv
1983–1986 Rosenborg 83 (2)
1987–1995 Werder Bremen 230 (12)
Total 313 (14)
International career
1986–1994 Norway 60 (4)
Managerial career
2006 Rosenborg
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rune Bratseth (born 19 March 1961) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a libero.

Nicknamed Elk due to his stature,[2] he is best known for his spell with Werder Bremen,[3] also having appeared in the 1994 World Cup with Norway.

Personal life

Bratseth was born in Trondheim. His son-in-law is Ingar Bratseth-Kiplesund, Norwegian professional long jumper.[4]

Club career

Bratseth started his career at local club Rosenborg BK. There, he would only be a part-time professional until he left for Germany's Werder Bremen in January 1987, for a mere €93.000.[5] 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 Monaco.[6] 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 Anderlecht: the Belgians led 3–0 with 25 minutes to go, and he helped to the final comeback with the 2–3.[7][8]

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.[9] Subsequently he became chairman and general manager of Rosenborg, forming a successful partnership with coach Nils Arne Eggen.[10] The club maintained its Norwegian top division superiority in the following years.[11]

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".

He was clocked at 4,69 seconds on the 40 metres sprint, which is one of the fastest times ran by a Norwegian football player.[12]

International career

Bratseth made his debut in the Norway 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, earning a further 59 caps.[13]

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

Style of play

A libero, Bratseth was known for his speed, positional play, offensive strength and cleverness in duels.[14]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total Ref.
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nidelv 1979 –– [15]
1980 –– [15]
1981 –– [15]
1982 –– [15]
Total –
Rosenborg 1983 1. divisjon 191–191 [15]
1984 211–211 [15]
1985 210–210 [15]
1986 22040–260 [15][16]
Total 83240872 –
Werder Bremen 1986–87 Bundesliga 171000000171 [16]
1987–88 3106110000471 [16]
1988–89 325616000446 [16]
1989–90 2926010000452 [16]
1990–91 311710000382 [16]
1991–92 34051821[lower-alpha 1]0483 [16]
1992–93 29550412[lower-alpha 2]0406 [16]
1993–94 261508100392 [16]
1994–95 1000000010 [16]
Total 230154044643031923 –
Career total 313174045043040625 –
  1. ↑ One appearance in DFL-Supercup
  2. ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Super Cup

Honours

Rosenborg

Werder Bremen

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Rune Bratseth" (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  2. ↑ Gieselmann, Dirk (11 February 2009). "Elch für Elch ein Elch" [Elk for Elk an Elk] (in German). 11 Freunde. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Die Legenden des SV Werder Bremen" [The legends of SV Werder Bremen] (in German). T-Online. 30 December 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Med Uskedals-aner i EM-finale i kveld". Uskedalen (in Norwegian). 16 August 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Rune Bratseth". UEFA.com. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "1991/92: Bremen shine in Stadium of Light". UEFA.com. 1 June 1992. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Bremen 5–3 Anderlecht". UEFA.com. 8 December 1993. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Wunder gibt es immer wieder" [Let there be wonder] (in German). 11 Freunde. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Golden players take center stage". UEFA.com. 29 November 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "The riddle of Rosenborg". UEFA.com. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Heimliche Sehnsucht nach den Russen" [Secretly longing for the Russians] (in German). Spox. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  12. ↑ Lasse Lønnebotn, ed. (17 January 2020). "Mystisk telefonsamtale styrket gudstroen" [Mysterious phone call strengthened the faith] (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 18 February 2020. Luggen er litt gråere og han løper neppe 40-meteren på 4,69 sekunder lenger, en av de raskeste tidene notert av en norsk fotballspiller, men han trener jevnlig.
  13. ↑ "Norway – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  14. ↑ Hess, Peter (1 May 1994). "Ein bodenständiger und beständiger Libero: Rune Bratseth ist ein Glücksfall für Bremen" [A down-to-earth and consistent libero: Rune Bratseth is a stroke of luck for Bremen]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). No. 111. p. 25.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Rune Bratseth". National Football Teams. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Rune Bratseth » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  17. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 1987/88" (in German). kicker.
  18. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 1988/89" (in German). kicker.
  19. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 1992/93" (in German). kicker.
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