Football Season Guide

Rosenborg endured a truly awful last campaign in which their title challenge ended after just a month and only a late revival saw them scrape a spot in Europe, having won the title four years in a row before that. Eirik Horneland was given a vote of confidence to try and rectify the damage from last season but the coach knows well that he needs to do much better and anything but a strong start of the campaign will put him under real pressure. The Trondheim giants bid farewell to a few stalwarts in Mike Jensen and Alexander Soderlund, while the departure of David Akintola after a loan spell is a blow as well. Yet Rosenborg also signed one of the most coveted players in the league in Kristoffer Zachariassen and he has the potential to become an integral player. There is still lots of quality in the squad and, if players like Anders Trondsen and Samuel Adegbenro stay fit for the course of the season, Rosenborg should be much stronger than last season. Moreover, the squad knows Horneland’s methods and he has a bit of momentum carrying from the end of last season. Yet, the coach needs to show more flexibility and attacking commitment to really unleash a side that has undoubted talent going forward. The one real question mark is who will develop into the main striker during the season amongst the two new arrivals, Dino Islamovic and Carlo Holse, both of whom are new to the league.