"I don't think we've had that type of goal scorer since Lewandowski. " Comparing Erling Haaland with the prolific Polish striker, the captain of Borussia Dortmund, Marco Reus, was not mistaken. The young Norwegian striker, poached this winter in Salzburg after flying over the group stage of the Champions League (eight goals in six games), seems to be the caliber of the very best.
Its incorporation at the forefront of the team is an addition of weight for the Schwarzgelben (black and yellow). Already the author of nine goals in six games since his arrival, he should weigh against Paris-Saint-Germain in the round of 16 in European competition, the first leg of which takes place on Tuesday February 18 (return March 11).
" He continued. At each level he reached, he stacked the goals ", Alf Ingve Berntsen
"From the start, he planted two goals. " The first time that Alf Ingve Berntsen saw Erling Haaland, the Norwegian winter was in full swing. 5 and a half years old, the boy had participated in an indoor test, sheltered from the frost, with one year old children his elders. " He continued. At each level he reached, he stacked the goals ", the former trainer from Bryne, in the south of the country, who coached the player for almost ten years, remembers on the phone.
"From around 12 years old, he decreed that he would become one of the best, continues Berntsen, who quickly realizes that the young man is a nugget to polish. He worked to achieve it. " In addition to club training, Erling Haaland multiplies with a group of players – several of whom will also reach the highest level – games of three against three on a small indoor court. "They worked a lot on their technique, almost like the street football that we find in certain districts in France or in England", adds the technician.
Rhythm modeled on professionals
The son of a former international defender, Alf-Inge Haaland, who notably played for Leeds – where Erling was born – and Manchester City, the young man adopted from a young age a rhythm modeled on professionals, especially in terms of food and recovery.
Everything is going very fast in the galaxy of the Norwegian, now 19 years old. If he does not take steps, Haaland is determined, as a Kylian Mbappé may be, to achieve the goals – very high – that he has set for himself. Outclassed all his childhood, and having toured Bryne, he leaves his cocoon in the south of Norway at 16 for the Molde FK, much further north. There, coached by former international striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he progresses, and pierces in his second year.
"It was crazy, he told me he had to eat three dinners every day", Tord Salte
He also grows physically, reaching 1.94 meters, he who had remained lanky until his 14th birthday. He gets muscle, too. "In six months, he gained almost 15 kg, reported in January his former partner (and former resident of the Lyon training center), Tord Salte. It was crazy, he told me that he had to eat three dinners every day. But that's how he became this huge monster. "
Fast, technical and physical, the great Scandinavian caught the attention of the Red Bull galaxy, whose scouts scanned talents from around the world. In winter 2018-2019, he left Norway for Salzburg, Austria, the flagship club of the energy drink firm. After six months of adaptation, he began to score more than one goal per game.
At the U20 World Cup, he stood out at the end of May 2019, with nine goals in the Norwegian victory against the modest Honduras in the group stage. "Frankly, I should have scored ten", he declares with a smile, after this match. Always hunting for the opportunity to score, he ensures "Keep this state of mind" as soon as a balloon drags across the surface.
Dortmund, "the best option"
A year and then leaves. Courted by the biggest clubs on the continent, including Manchester United, whose coach, his former mentor Ole Solskjaer, moved to try to convince him, the young striker chooses the Ruhr – "The best option" to continue its progression.
" Shit ! " This was immediately announced by Max Eberl, the coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach, direct competitor of the other Borussia for the first places in the Bundesliga, the German championship, when he learned of the transfer of the young Norwegian. "This is the missing piece of the puzzle, they have had a hell of a shot. "
Because if Lucien Favre’s attacking play was licked, thanks in particular to the hatching of the Englishman Jadon Sancho (12 goals and 14 assists since the start of the season), Dortmund often sinned in the finish. Much less since the new number 17 landed – scoring a goal on each of its first seven shots on target.
American coach from Salzburg, Jesse Marsch, is hardly surprised by this success. “Erling has always been a great player. If Dortmund continues to supply him with balloons near the cages, he will score with spades. " he estimated, after the first match of the Norwegian in his new colors.
Parisians are warned. This tall blonde with red shoes intends to continue his harvest.
