(NLĐO) – Many fans wait for each Premier League round to witness more masterpiece goals, Erling Haaland talks about how he developed into one of the most classy strikers today.
Haaland has been praised and given many nicknames since the beginning of his career. This Norwegian striker was called a “monster” by former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger and a “supernatural force” by current Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp. while European media compared him to a “cartoon superhero” or “Mike Tyson in his prime”.
This 22-year-old striker was described as a “robot” by Spain’s Marca newspaper < a i=3>New York Times called “a glitch in the system” and British newspaper Guardian compared it to “aggressive, goal-hungry Vikings”.
Haaland’s scoring videos spread at breakneck speed, including when the Norwegian international scored 9 goals against Honduras in the U20 World Cup – an achievement that made many opposing players burst into tears. The hat-trick in his debut match in the Champions League or the situation of almost breaking the 60m sprint world record in the match against PSG are also watched over and over again.
Haaland was the best player in Norway at the age of 18, and was elected the best player in Germany at the age of 20. A year later, FIFPro ranked Haaland in the top 11 players in the world. Such potential at a young age is difficult to predict. Haaland is so good that the developers of the video game Football Manager had to adjust the stats to prevent him from breaking them!
When arriving in the Premier League – the world’s toughest national championship, Haaland continued to conquer video game scoring records: 18 goals through the first 13 matches, including 3 consecutive hat-tricks at home. He currently has 25 goals in 20 matches in the Champions League – a statistic that no one has touched.
Coaches, teammates and even opponents struggle to put into words when talking about the Man City striker’s goal-scoring ability and physical strength. Peter Crouch – a former English striker who played for Liverpool – said simply: “I have never seen such parameters in a player of Haaland’s age”.
Haaland quickly settled into life in Manchester. The $63 million transfer from Dortmund to Man City in June was like a homecoming. Haaland was born in England. Haaland’s father, Alfie, played for Man City in 2000 and retired in 2003. At that time, Haaland was just a toddler, too young to remember much. “I remember a little when I looked at the pictures, but not much” – Haaland said.
Moving with his family back to Norway when he was just 3 years old, Haaland still feels connected to Man City. “My parents know England, so that’s a good thing. For me, being able to play at the same club as my dad is special” – he expressed.
The quick integration at Man City comes partly from his successes on the field – where Haaland’s impact is both strong and terrible. After a not so smooth start in the Community Shield match, the Norwegian striker scored a double in his Premier League debut and now has 28 goals in 25 matches, achieving an average performance of more than 60 minutes. got a goal. At one point, Haaland alone scored more goals than half of the Premier League clubs.
Not only his stats, Haaland also possesses a special scoring style. He pushed away 1.91 m tall midfielder Adam Webster and then scored into the empty net, opening the score in the 3-1 win over Brighton in October 2022. With his goal against former club Dortmund in September 2022, when receiving a pass from Joao Cancelo, Haaland did not head but instead threw himself to touch the ball with the outside of his left foot.
Countless comments and articles have dissected everything about Haaland – why is this striker more fit and healthier than many other players, at such a young age? Is it Haaland’s innate athletic qualities, his natural finishing instinct? Many people briefly say that Haaland is a comprehensive striker, agile, strong, skillful when holding the ball as well as when turning his back to the goal. Even among the world’s top strikers, Haaland is still a rare goalscorer. He can always find a space beyond the reach of the goalkeeper’s outstretched fingers, or shoot in a strange position that makes the opponent unexpected.
If you watch the matches closely, what is truly remarkable about Haaland is his ability to hide and wait for the opportunity. Throughout the 90 minutes, he wandered next to the opposing midfielders, lurking in blind spots and patiently waiting for an opportunity before suddenly reappearing like a ghost. At that time, Haaland was often half a step faster than his opponent to put the ball into the goal. Many top strikers also have this style, but Haaland has raised this technique to almost perfection. Many high-class midfielders were shocked to see Haaland, as if they forgot the tall Norwegian striker was still on the field.
As a child, Haaland obsessively watched other strikers. He imitated their movements, finding what made them unique and different. “From Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Van Persie. From Jamie Vardy to Sergio Aguero, Lionel Messi. Also Alvaro Negredo, Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli”, he listed and shared a few qualities from each person. Haaland does not start as a striker. With natural talent and diligence, Haaland only plays with children one year or more older than him. Unlike many other former professional athletes, father Alfie avoids putting pressure on his son’s developing football career.
At the age of 15, Haaland developed dramatically physically, developing both on the field and playing his first professional match for Bryne FK. A year later, he signed a contract with Molde – a club in Norway’s first division. At that time, Molde was led by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – one of the best strikers in Norwegian history. Here, Solskjaer helped Haaland develop the habits of a top predator, focusing on the smallest details in finishing and movement. After a slow start, Haaland scored 16 goals in 30 matches in his second season with Molde. Not long after, he was on the radar of top European clubs.
One of the advantages of having a father who was a former footballer at the time, was that Haaland and Alfie thought strategically about potential moves. When approached by many clubs, including Leverkusen and Hoffenheim in Germany, Brugge and Ghent in Belgium, or even Leeds – Alfie’s former club and Haaland’s birthplace – in England, the striker knew he needed to choose his next destination. in a smart way.
In January 2019, Haaland joined RB Salzburg – an Austrian club that qualified for the Champions League, gave many opportunities to many young players and happened to be missing a central striker. Here, Haaland exploded, scoring 25 goals in 23 matches in an attack that also included the Asian duo, Takumi Minamino and Hwang Hee-chan.
But the match that really changed everything came that autumn, in their Champions League debut against Genk. Haaland “opened fire”, making his debut on the biggest stage at the club level with a hat-trick right in the first half. This seems to be a sign that Haaland will destroy many records of this tournament. The Norwegian striker seemed to be “haunted” by the Champions League, even taking this tournament’s song as an alarm ringtone.
Haaland sees the match against Genk as a turning point in his career. Many players score three goals in their Champions League debut like Haaland, but the difference is that the Norwegian striker continues to do it in a new club and new tournament. In his Dortmund debut, Haaland came on in the second half and scored three goals in 23 minutes. Similarly, he scored a double in his Premier League debut. In total, he scored in seven of his debut matches in club competition.
The history of the Premier League has no shortage of expensive, famous and top-rated strikers in the world, but then they could not adapt to the new environment, struggled to score goals and then packed up and left. With Haaland, he is not afraid to face pressure.
A few years ago, Haaland “caused a storm” with a grass skating celebration then assume the lotus position and close your eyes, as if in a meditative state. This celebration was imitated by many players, appeared in the FIFA video game and made many people more curious about Haaland. In everyday life, Haaland often wears blue light filtering glasses in the evening to prevent screens from interfering with sleep, and turns off wi-fi at night. “I really focus on sleep. The most important thing in life is sleep. Not only should we sleep a lot, but we should also sleep well”, he explained.
The Man City striker also did not review the video or do in-depth analysis like many colleagues do before important matches. “I didn’t think too much about the match, before the ball kicked off,”, Haaland said. “I live for the moment, not trying to think about what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow”.
As one of the most followed players, with the highest salary, and expected by millions of fans and the whole country, Haaland always maintains a calm attitude. That is the mentality that Man City wants to add when recruiting and paying Haaland nearly 1 million USD per week, including salary, bonus, and sponsorship in the summer of 2022. The owner of Etihad Stadium dominates English football, but cannot claim the throne in England. Champions League. Appointing Pep Guardiola – one of the greatest coaches in history – since 2016, Man City could not complete this goal, with the best achievement being reaching the final in 2021.
The signing of Haaland is said to be the final piece of the puzzle – a sharp, brave striker missing in an almost perfect team of expensive stars. When asked if Man City lacks something at important moments, Haaland replied: “Honestly, I don’t think so. Like in the match against Real last season, sometimes I think there really is God in heaven and decides everything. This psychological problem, can Real get it by winning the Champions League? I don’t know if that’s realistic. Maybe”.
That, normally, doesn’t bother Haaland. “I will try my best to win titles with Man City and become a game changer,” he emphasized. “My goal is to win the Champions League, hopefully”.
Erling Haaland: Not following the beaten path to become a world star – Photo 10.
Haaland shined when Man City defeated Tottenham
Haaland currently has 22 goals in the Premier League, seven more than England captain Harry Kane – who is next. Maintaining this form, he will have an advantage in the race to win the Golden Boot and be in the voting for the Golden Ball – football’s most prestigious individual award.
As Crisiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi near the end of their great careers, Haaland and Kylian Mbappe – the two best strikers of the generation – are expected to create competition and dominate the next decade of the Golden Ball. The duo even scored more goals than Messi and Ronaldo at their respective ages. At this time, Haaland’s goal is simply to maintain top form for more than a decade.
Perhaps, the only real threat to Haaland in breaking all Premier League scoring records is injury – something the striker has experienced many times. Mr. Alfie himself had to retire from his football career due to a series of knee injuries. “I don’t think you should worry about everything,” Haaland said. “I’m not worried about getting injured. Injuries are part of football. I will probably get injured again, but hopefully not”.
Haaland says this with the same casual calm he does almost everything else, with a wry smile, eyes big and clear, hair shiny like in a ’90s commercial. That’s the power of Haaland – a smoothly functioning robot.
