Erling Haaland's arrival in Manchester City as the No.1 striker could reward him with another success. However, his performance is so indestructible that it significantly haunts Premier League defenders.
Many might view that Premier League is too aggressive, ruthless, and fast for Haaland to fit in in the first stage, but the truth is that the Norwegian beast unceasingly sets new records.
Many fail to notice that Haaland can burst into any league with incredible feats, whether it is Norwegian, Austrian, German, or even Premier League.
Let's shoot with Main Stand to find out what is behind this Norwegian player's beastly form.
Influencing and coaching from Haaland senior
You might be aware that many world-class players, especially those from South America, were born into low-income families, so they needed to survive poverty and hardships since childhood so hard that they eventually succeeded in their careers.
However, Erling Haaland's background is the opposite. He was born into a wealthy family with care and parenting from childhood.
Haaland was born in England when his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, collectively known as Alfie, played for Premier League clubs Leeds United and Manchester City.
His parents are both former professional sportspersons. His father was a footballer while his mother was a heptathlete. Thanks to his parents' athletic background, he has enjoyed a quality life with regular exposure to the sport. But believe it or not, Haaland's original dream was not football.
During childhood, he always followed his mother to her training grounds and got a chance to try the long jump for the first time. As a result, Haaland still holds the world record for any five-year-old's longest standing long jump. Haaland jumped 1.63m on 22nd January 2006.
Later, he embarked on football with his father's support and gradually grew up in Norwegian side Bryne, which is also his father's debut club.
Young Haaland only considered football a form of fun because there were also many other sports he played, for example, handball, track and field sports, and golf.
Not only was he born into a wealthy family, but he was also nurtured and cared for by his parents. Aside from proper diets that resulted in his muscular physique, his parents never made him play football. Instead, they only attempt to provide him with regular sports exposure.
Alf-Inge Haaland always took his son, Erling Haaland, to his training sessions or matches when he was a child. And his mother took him to work out through track and field sports. Therefore, it is impossible that Haaland wouldn't be into the sport and possess freakish athleticism.
His parents allowed him to learn various sports to find what he liked the best. Finally, when he was around nine or ten, he realized he wanted to play football more.
Once he set a concrete goal, his parents supported him, resulting in him being the beast he is today.
Haaland is viewed as a beast-like footballer because of his robust physical appearance, mastery, fantastic skill set, and, most importantly, hunger for challenges.
One against two is not a dirty trick
Having been cultivated by two professional athletes, Haaland was due to do it on his own. But, as he decided to play football, he needed to devote his whole life to it.
Alf Ingve Berntsen, Bryne national academy team, affirmed that Haaland himself made all informed decisions himself.
"I saw Erling for the first time when he was five when he joined indoor training with a group one year older," Berntsen told Goal.
"His first two touches led to goals. He was very, very good from the first moment, even though he hadn't played in the club before.
"He started playing in his year group, but because he was so much better than the others, we immediately pulled him up to under six. Erling and around 20 others always met on weekends and played for hours.
"He was a little smaller than his opponents because he was a year younger. But even if his opponent was significantly taller, he kept netting goals. When he was 11 or 12, we knew he would go far. We already knew back then that he had what it takes to be a youth international," said Berntsen.
Haaland's childhood coach also stated that the young lad's attributes did not solely stem from parenting but also talent.
As expected, Haaland became part of the 2015 U-15 national squad. At that time, agents across the nation came here to see how he genuinely was a prodigy.
When he was only 15, he was selected to be part of Bryne's reserve team. It was as if he had joined a weight-lifting competition with no weight limit.
There was no age limit for players in the reserve team, and Haaland smashed 18 goals from 14 games!
In addition to his talent, another uniqueness is the way he handles his opponents and rising pressure. When he was around 10 or 11, he was only an underdog. But when he played in a professional league at 15, more agents and football fans flocked to the stadium, hoping to witness Haaland's prodigy, as rumor had it.
Whether at 11 or 15, Haaland was able to burst onto the scene with impressive form, regardless of pressure, expectations, and opponents. This is because he focused on himself and what he could do.
"He didn't care who was watching. He didn't care whether he played against his friends just for fun or for the national team. He was never afraid. He always had respect for his opponents. He just never cared who they were," said Gunnar Halle, Molde's assistant coach, Haaland's second club.
"He is not afraid of anything. He often trained alone as a child, doing exercises over and over again because he always had this big goal in mind to make it to the top. He is someone who never had to be pushed by his coaches or the people around him. He always knew: I will become a professional footballer," continued Halle.
When he was 17, the Norwegian league was too small for him, so Haaland moved from Molde to Salzburg.
Brilliance and superb decision-making
Besides parenting, talents, self-discipline, and attitudes, "brilliance" is another key to becoming the world's best footballer.
Haaland's position, the classical No.9 poacher, is less instrumental in modern football as the position is not versatile enough to work with modern football's difficult tactics.
So to be a prolific number nine striker, you are supposed to create more than goals. You are required to be able to interpret the game, run throughout the match, build a link-up play with fellow players, seek more space, or even drive the ball to the attacking zone. These qualities are also possessed by Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, and Karim Benzema. Haaland is on the way there, thanks to his consistency.
Haaland's football technique, which always works, is that he maintains his demonic performance, whether inside or outside the penalty area. And whether he is gaining possession of the ball or not, he focuses on the game all the time.
He bagged several goals for Manchester City this season: mainly tap-ins in the six-yard box. They might seem easy, but they resulted from his interpretative skills and the team's offensive game.
Haaland always ghosts behind the defensive line. Let him slide for a second, and Haaland appears in space and unbelievably gains possession of the ball.
His skills outside the penalty area are also impressive. He was instrumental in the team's offense during his stints in Molde, Salzburg, Dortmund, and City.
In particular, when defensive players kick the ball to the opposition's half, Haaland will employ his perception of the game, footballing skills, and physical attributes to possess the ball.
The Bundesliga website once analyzed Haaland's performance with Borussia Dortmund, "We can see Haaland use the 'Hollow Out' technique to pin the defender even if it is a technique used more frequently by smaller players. He lowers his body position so that the defender can't gain leverage as his center of mass is lower, which makes it harder for the defender to push him off balance.
"Given that he is bigger than the defender, it's harder for him to push his hips back, so he uses his back to hold the defender off. He does this by lowering his position even more, as seen by his leg being bent at almost a right angle, and he uses the defender like a wall to lean on. The 20-year-old's passing tends to be hit or miss, and this is reflected in his pass accuracy percentage, which is just above average for strikers at 72.3%."
The point is that Haaland can switch on his "beast mode" anytime as a City player, with his physicality, intelligence, and personal skills. So playing for a team whose focus is on the offensive game throughout the playtime, like Manchester City, enables him to use his skills even better as his teammates will run and create more goal-scoring chances for him. Of course, the more his teammates run, the more space Haaland has to score.
The young 22-year-old Haaland is going to give another definition of a striker.
Bulky strikers are not always slow or able to play only in the penalty area. However, he proved that physical strength, capabilities, and perspectives could overcome traditional beliefs.
Apart from his outstanding physical abilities and superb techniques, attitude plays a crucial role in his consistently remarkable performance.
Many young successful players' rapid rise to fame stagnates their performance as they are associated with such notoriety as tattoos, luxurious cars, and girls. It doesn't mean such things are destructive, but they can impact footballers' progress based on the saying, 'you get what you focus on.'
Contrary to many young famed footballers, Haaland still has a burning passion for football and leads a simple life. He considers football challenging and fun, not merely a way to earn a living. Such attitudes make him formidable.
If Haaland has more fun with football, he can surely transform into a much more intimidating beast.
Sources:
https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/premier-league/2021-2022/he-is-a-real-beast-erling-haaland-is-a-really-good-signing-for-manchester-city-says-liverpool-boss-j_sto8919641/story.shtml
https://www.sportbible.com/football/alfinge-haalands-response-after-being-handed-son-city-shirt-20220614
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/erling-haaland-man-city-alfinge-24211247
https://www.nottinghamforest.news/2019/11/06/nottingham-forest-alf-inge-haaland/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7517371/Alf-Inge-Haalands-son-Erling-quickly-risen-fame-famous-kids.html
https://www.goal.com/story/erling-haaland-unstoppable-rise/
https://touchlinetheory.com/how-to-make-your-strikers-play-like-erling-haaland-part-one/
https://breakingthelines.com/player-analysis/player-analysis-erling-haaland/
