Everything you need to know about Norwegian goal-machine Erling Haaland!
Erling Haaland is a professional footballer from Norway who currently plays as a striker for Manchester City in the Premier League and the Norway national team. Haaland was born on July 21, 2000, in Leeds, England, while his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, was playing for Leeds United. He grew up in Bryne, Norway, and started playing football at a young age.
In 2017, Haaland joined Molde FK, where he made his professional debut in the Norwegian Eliteserien. He quickly made an impression, scoring four goals in his debut match. He was then snapped up by Austrian giants Red Bull Salzburg, where he made swift progress.
In December 2019, Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga after turning down a transfer to Salzburg's sister club RB Leipzig….and after smashing five past them in midweek, Leipzig supporters will be ruing the one who got away!
He made an instant impact on his arrival at Signal Iduna Park, scoring a hat-trick on his debut against FC Augsburg. Since then, he has gone from strength-to-strength as he continued to impress with his remarkable goalscoring exploits.
Haaland's performances during the 2020-21 season saw him announce himself as one of the best strikers on the planet. He scored 27 goals in 28 Bundesliga outings, finishing as the league's second-highest scorer behind Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski.
He also scored 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League, finishing as the competition's joint-top scorer alongside Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe. His stellar form in Germany earned him a high-profile move to Premier League giants Manchester City in the summer of 2022, and his performances at the Etihad have since been mind-blowing.Haaland's playing style is a unique blend of traditional and modern target-man, underlined by his exceptional physical abilities and precision finishing. He stands 6'4 tall and boasts amazing speed, strength, and agility, making him a nightmare opponent for any defence. He's also a great finisher with both his feet and his head, and is capable of scoring goals from nothing.
To conclude, Erling Haaland is an incredible young footballer who is on course to be remembered as one of the best strikers the world has ever seen, while breaking numerous goalscoring records along the way.
With his talent and potential, Haaland is sure to rule the world of football for many
Here are 15 fun facts aboutErling Haaland you need to know…!
imago images / DigitalsportBorn to be an athlete! 🏃
Haaland has a very stong family background in the world of sports. His parents were both excellent athletes. Haaland's father, Alf-Inge Haaland, was also a professional footballer who played for some renowned English clubs like Leeds United and Manchester City during his career.
However, Haaland Sr. became famous for being a subject to one of the most infamous challenges in the history of football when Roy Keane produced a disgusting tackle in a feisty Manchester derby back in 2001.
His mother, Gry Marita Braun, meanwhile, is also recognised as a national champion in heptathlete in the 90s, while his grandfather was a well-known long-distance runner in Norway.
No wonder the kid's a monster!
AdvertisementCould've been a professional handball player 🤾
While Erling followed his father’s footsteps and became a footballer, Alf-Inge revealed in an interview that he ensured his son would try a whole host of other sports before choosing football. By 14, Erling had already had a taste of handball, athletics and cross-country skiing.
A natural athlete, Haaland excelled at a variety of sports growing up, he was an exceptional handball player, and was told by many coaches that he could make a career in that sport. His father later revealed that Norway's handball manager wanted him to play handball.
Thus, had things turned out differently for him in his formative days, he could have been a famous international handball player for Norway by now.
Getty ImagesA prolific jumper at five
Are you aware that Erling Haaland set his first world record at the age of five?
Now, we're trying hard not to believe the rumours about him being a Terminator, but these facts doesn't help in any way!
At five, most of us were busy watching cartoons, and playing video games..but not Haaland.
Despite his tender age, he was already training, taking part in multiple sports, and building himself to be a phenomenal athlete.
On 22nd January 2006, he produced a standing jump of crazy 1.63 metres!
It turned out to be a new world record, and 17 years later, that record still stands tall!
A world record-breaking jumper: at least, this explains some of the insane towering headers and freakish side-volleys we've come to see from him time and again.
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Was eligible to play for England
Needless to say, Haaland is the future of Norwegian football.
He has scored 21 times in just 23 games for the Drillos, and is the face of a young and competitive Norwegian side that narrowly missed out on qualification to the recent Qatar World Cup.
However, Haaland was born in Leeds and so could have been eligible to play for England. However, he emulated his father at both club and country levels by picking City and Norway, a decision that came naturally to him since he spent most of his youth in the Scandinavian country.
If the stars had aligned differently, Haaland and Kane would have lined up as a strike-pairing upfront, potentially firing Gareth Southgate's team to the elusive World Cup triumph. Defenders legs' would be shaking at that sight, wouldn't they?