Roger Helland

Helland hails from Austrheim Municipality and was a part of the various youth teams in SK Brann. He first represented Norway in two under-15 matches in 1989. He made his first appearance on the senior team in the Norwegian Premier League in 1993 when he came on as a sub in the 88th minute in a game against Rosenborg BK at Lerkendal, as Brann won 4–0. He only played one more game in the spring season but from the twelfth game of the season he played all the remaining games, for a total of 13 league games in his first season. He also played 22 matches for the under-21 team between 1994 and 1995. In 1997, Helland helped Brann finish second in the Norwegian Premier League, Brann's best league position since 1975, and he made his debut and played his only two games for the Norway national team that year. Helland played in Brann until 1999 and played a total of 206 games, scoring 21 goals for the club. In the Norwegian Premier League he played 154 games scoring 15 goals. As Helland's contract with Brann ran out in December 1999, he was offered a contract by a number of Norwegian clubs. Helland eventually chose to move abroad, as he signed a half-season contract with Danish club Brøndby IF, where fellow Norwegian Åge Hareide had just become head coach. Helland was a part of Hareide's Scandinavian venture in that transfer window, and arrived at Brøndby alongside Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Magnus Svensson, Krister Nordin, and Mattias Jonson. He was brought in by Hareide to replace…