Geir Hasund

Football player infobox| playername= Geir Hasund


fullname = Geir Hasund
nickname = Super-Hasund and Euro Hasund
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1971|7|3|mf=y
countryofbirth = Norway
height = 190+ cm
currentclub = Retired
position = Midfield/Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs = Hødd
years = 1993
1994-1998
1998
clubs = Viking FK
SK Brann
Åsane
caps(goals) = 14
110 (34)
N/A

Geir "Super/Euro" Hasund (born July 3, 1971) is a former Norwegian football player. After scoring an immense number of goals for Hødd in the Norwegian first division plus performing well for the Norwegian U21 team, he was targeted by major clubs Viking and Brann before the 1993 season. Brann, however, decided to pass on him. After flopping in Viking in the 1993 season, Brann's manager of sports Anders Giske still found the player to have improved, and signed him for the club.

His somewhat laid-back style and his sometimes awkward involvements initially made him unpopular with the Brann fans. The fans, however, after a few months started chanting his name constantly and cherishing him as if he were a cult figure. Considering his poor performances until that time, there was probably some degree of sarcasm involved - (though not necessarily, as the chanting part of the Brann fans in this particular period were known to be uncompromising in the backing of their struggling club). After this, Hasund's performances suddenly took a steep upward turn as he became more confident on the ball and scored a number of extremely important goals. This increased his already boosting cult status, and his fairy-tale rise to fame and glory after being labelled useless made him an icon for Brann fans to this day. One can actually still hear the odd "Geir Hasund" chant on Brann stadium or after dark in Bergen. There is even a local amateur club in Bergen called "Hasunds hund" ("Hasund's dog"), honouring his memory.

Amongst his cult-creating achievements is scoring the last and deciding goal in the Norwegian Cup semi-finals of 1995, in a match over two legs where Brann were three goals down but scored four times during 15 minutes in the last half. He is also famous for his achievement in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, where his goals were an important factor when Brann advanced to the quarter finals. He also scored Brann's equaliser in their drawn home-leg of the quarter finals against Liverpool F.C.

Hasund was a great technical footballer, but he was also slow and could sometimes look uninspired in duels. And despite being very tall, Hasund wasn't a particularly good header. Troubled with allergies, Hasund was always best during the autumn part of the season. After being sacked from Brann in 1998, Hasund had a short stint in Åsane before he retired.

Hasund compares in some respects to England and Liverpool player Peter Crouch.

Persondata
NAME= Hasund, Geir
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Hasund, Geir
SHORT DESCRIPTION= footballer
DATE OF BIRTH= July 3, 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH= Norway
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=