Sportsklubben Brann is a Norwegian professional football club based in Bergen. Founded on 26 September 1908, Brann has played in the first tier of Norwegian football for 67 out of 80 seasons, the second most of any club. They play their home matches at Brann Stadion where they had a record-breaking average attendance of 17,310 in the 2007 season, the season in which they won their first league title since 1963.
History
As the biggest club in Norway's second-largest city Bergen, Brann are historically one of the major clubs in Norway in terms of public interest, and hence there are high expectations for the club every season. Brann won their first Norwegian top flight titles in 1961–62 and 1963 Norwegian First Division, but after this Brann was only sporadically involved in the league title races. In 2007 they finally reclaimed the league title and thus ended a 44-year-long waiting period.
Despite their limited success, the club has never failed to spark considerable interest from the Norwegian media and the local population. Moreover, Brann have regularly been winners and runners-up of the Norwegian Cup. The club reached the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup in the 1996–97 season. The club has also earned a reputation for instability and drama both behind the scenes and on the pitch. Although the club has played the 2nd highest amount of seasons in the top flight, they have also been relegated from it 11 times, a feat only surpassed by Start.
Early years (1908–1959) On 26 September 1908 Christen K. Gran gathered nine other young men to meet in a local café in Bergen. Due to dissatisfaction of the current state of the local sport clubs in Bergen, they decided to form a new football and skiing club. They called it Ski- og Fodboldklubben Brann (lit. The Ski and Football Club Fire), on the suggestion of Birger Gjestland.
Brann played their first match against Bergens Fotballklubb (at the time the biggest local team) on New Year's Day 1909, drawing 1–1. Brann recorded their first ever win in August of the same year, winning 3–2 against Stavanger IF away.
On 25 May 1919, with funding contributed by fans and investors, Brann Stadion was opened on a plot of land the club purchased in 1917. The opening match was against the Norwegian national team, losing 2–6, and the stadium also hosted the 1919 Norwegian Athletics Championships. In 1923 Brann reached the cup final for the third time, where they again faced an eastern team, this time finally winning. They beat Lyn 2–1 in the newly built Odd stadion, and secured the club's first ever national title. Two years later Brann again faced Sarpsborg in the 1925 cup final, this time winning 3–0 and securing their second national title.
Brann faced a period of stagnation during the 1930s. In 1937 Brann played in the first ever national Norwegian football league, but did not make it out of the local division. During the German occupation of Norway official sports activities were boycotted en masse after the occupying government seized control of the national sporting confederation, and club activities were thus reduced to unofficial gatherings for the duration of World War II.
Brann continued to play in the now smaller and more competitive national top division in the years after the war, until they were relegated for the first time in 1949. They were immediately promoted, and only months later they qualified for their fifth cup final after a 25-year absence, where they lost 0–3 to Fredrikstad. Brann won their division in the 1951–52 Norwegian Main League, and therefore qualified for the league championship final for the first time. They once again faced Fredrikstad and lost, this time 1–3. In the 1952–53 season Brann finished second to last in their division and were relegated from the top flight for the second time, but were once again immediately promoted the season afterwards. They were relegated for a third time in the 1955–56 season and were yet again promoted after a season's absence. The 1959–60 season saw the debut of 17-year-old future club legend Roald "Kniksen" Jensen, but Brann were nonetheless relegated for a fourth time and were as usual immediately promoted.
First league wins and long stay in the 2nd tier (1960s) The 1960s saw two of Norway's most prolific players playing for Brann. With Roald "Kniksen" Jensen and Rolf Birger "Pesen" Pedersen on the team, Brann won their first league trophy in the so-called 1961–62 "marathon league", where all 16 top division teams played in a single league for the first time, with half being relegated. Brann defended their title in the first regular season of single-division top flight football in 1963, adding a second league trophy to their cabinet. During the 1963 season, Brann had an average attendance of 15,486, which was the league record until 2003, when Rosenborg finally beat it with an average of 15,582.
In 1964, Brann were among the favourites to win their third consecutive league championship, but due to many injured players the team only won one of the first nine league games. Brann continued to struggle with injuries throughout the season, and were soon firmly stuck in the relegation battle.
Brann would not play in the top division again until 1968, the last with club legend Oddvar Hansen at the helm.
Cup finals, title races and the "yo-yo" years (1970–1990) After some mediocre seasons Brann once again reached the cup final after more than 20 years of absence in 1972. They faced Rosenborg and won 1–0, securing their third cup title. This led to Brann qualifying for the 1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup, their first qualification for a European tournament. They beat Gzira United 9–0 on aggregate before being eliminated by Glentoran in the second round. In 1974 the club's athletics department was disbanded. In each of the seasons 1974–1976, Brann narrowly missed out on the league title, attracting an average attendance that was unheard of in Norway at the time. Although they missed out on the league title Brann won their fourth cup title in 1976, beating Sogndal in the final. Brann reached the final again in 1978, but lost to Lillestrøm.
With the 1980s came Brann's "yo-yo" era. Brann were relegated in 1979 and subsequently won the 2nd division in 1980, before being relegated again in 1981. The club would continue to alternate between the 1st and 2nd division every season until they finally avoided relegation in 1987. This was the world record for consecutive relegations and promotions from a top tier division until it was beaten by Aris Limassol in 2006. While in the 2nd division Brann won the cup for a fifth time in 1982, beating Molde in the final. In 1987 the skiing department disbanded, making Brann a club dedicated solely to football. Brann reached the cup final two consecutive seasons (1987 and 1988), where they lost to Bryne and Rosenborg respectively.
Brann had not had any real challenge from local rivals since the 1950s, being Bergen's only representatives in the top tier. In 1989, however, Bergen-based Fyllingen were promoted to the first tier for the first time.
Derbies, medals and brief European success (1990s) In 1990, Brann were involved in a decisive match against Rosenborg in the final round where they had the chance to clinch the league title, but lost and ended fourth. They lost out on their first medals since 1976 as local rivals Fyllingen conceded two vital goals against Molde in stoppage time. Only weeks prior to this, Fyllingen had beaten Brann in the Cup semi-finals, and their outspoken ambitions to take over the football hegemony in Bergen had by now become a major annoyance for Brann.
In 1991, after a shock resignation of manager Teitur Thordarson, Brann once again struggled, and needed a win in their last game against Strømsgodset in order make the play-off spots against two second-tier teams and avoid direct relegation. Losing the game would send Brann down, while securing play-offs for equally struggling local rivals Fyllingen. There were also fears that a relegation would spawn another long-term "yo-yo era". A panic-stricken crowd saw Brann win the game 2–0. In the play-offs, though beating Strindheim at home, Brann still needed to beat Bryne away in a deciding match. A goal by Sten Glenn Håberg gave Brann a 1–0 win over Bryne, securing their survival.
In 1993 Brann got their two first-ever wins against their local rivals Fyllingen. A 6–1 thrashing in the penultimate league round sent Fyllingen down, while securing continued top division status for Brann. After the season, Brann purchased Fyllingen's key player Per-Ove Ludvigsen, and this put an end to Fyllingen's adventures in the top tier and the derby matches.
In 1996, as in 1990, Brann were denied bronze medals in injury time of the last game, after a terrible blunder by keeper Birkir Kristinsson. Only days later, however, Brann beat PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands to advance to the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners' Cup, thanks to world-class goalkeeping by the same Birkir Kristinsson. This was the second time a Norwegian team had qualified for the last eight in Europe. In the quarterfinals, Brann first drew 1–1 at home against Liverpool, before losing the away match 3–0 and thus being knocked out. The 1997 season saw Brann finish as runner-up in the league, their first finish in the top 3 since 1976. Due to Rosenborg's dominance of Norwegian football at the time a silver medal was given high apprecation.
In 1998, as in 1995, Brann found themselves at the bottom of the table halfway through the season. Kjell Tennfjord was replaced by Harald Aabrekk as head coach, and a host of quality players were purchased. This saved Brann from relegation, but combined with the construction of a new stand on Brann Stadion it also caused significant financial issues for the club. Brann faced German giants Werder Bremen in the first round of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup, where they won a strong 2–0 victory at home in the first leg, only to concede four goals in the second leg and be sent home. In 1999 Brann once again faced Rosenborg in the cup final, and for their third cup final in a row saw themselves beaten by the club from Trondheim.
First title in decades and an end to 44 years of waiting (2000s) Teitur Thordarson returned as manager in 2000 after the departure of Harald Aabrekk. For the second time in four seasons, Brann became runners-up, secured after defeating Molde 4–0 in the last game of the season. Thorstein Helstad became the league's top goalscorer in 2000 and 2001.
The 2002 season was the worst season for Brann in twelve seasons. They finished third from the bottom and had to face Sandefjord in a play-off to stay in the top tier. Brann narrowly avoided relegation thanks to a 2–1 home win after the first leg had ended with a 0–0 draw. A third-place finish in the 2004 season saw Brann qualify for the newly formed and short-lived Scandinavian Royal League.
In their struggle to reclaim the glory of the 1960s, Brann over the years gained a reputation for inept leadership, unfounded enthusiasm or optimism and almost continuous internal unrest, deservedly or not. After former Brann player Mons Ivar Mjelde took over as manager in 2003, however, this image changed, as the leadership embraced continuity and down-to-earth principles. Brann were now considered one of the best-run and harmonic clubs in Norway.
Being one of the biggest clubs in Norway in terms of public interest, it is generally agreed that Brann have underperformed compared to their potential at least since the mid-1970s. However, on 7 November 2004, Brann won their first title in 22 years, defeating Oslo side Lyn 4–1 in the Norwegian Cup. Bengt Sæternes scored a hat-trick within the first 35 minutes, becoming man of the match.