2009 SK Brann Season

2009 SK Brann Season

The 2009 season was SK Brann's 101st season and their 23rd consecutive season in the Norwegian Premier League. Steinar Nilsen took over as head coach after the six-year tenure of Mons Ivar Mjelde. The club didn't see the big signings or sales in the January transferwindow. Local-lad Erlend Hanstveit left the club after 10 years, while thought-to-be star striker Njogu Demba-Nyrén was sold only one year after signing with the club following a season where his performance was below expectations.

The season started horrific for the "pride of Bergen". In the first premiership match of the season, Brann lost 1-3 against newly promoted Sandefjord, followed by two ties, a loss and another tie. Brann didn't win a game until the sixth round where they beat Bodø/Glimt 2-0 away.

The club's form improved as the season went by, but they were never a serious contender to the league title. After being knocked out in the Quarterfinals of the Norwegian Football Cup by Odd Grenland), the season seemed to end up as a total disappointment for the fans. One of the few highlights of the season was the performances of Erik Huseklepp who had his definite breakthrough as a player. In his first season as a striker, Huseklepp scored 15 goals in the league, only two goals shy of the top scorer Rade Prica. The technical striker had previousy played as a right winger, scoring 4 goals in 4 seasons for Brann. He also became a regular in the national team squad, scoring his first goal for Norway in the World Cup qualifier against Scotland on August 2, 2009.

Before the last games of season, Brann found themself in a situation where they had a legitimate chance to snatch the bronzemedals, but in the end they had to settle for a fifth place, which didn't qualify for a spot in the Europa League.