Erling Haaland

Erling Braut Haaland (born 21 July 2000) is a Norwegian professional footballer renowned for his prowess as a striker. He currently plays for Premier League club Manchester City and the Norway national team. Haaland has gained recognition as one of the world's premier players, celebrated for his exceptional speed, strength, strategic positioning, and clinical finishing within the penalty area. Notably, in his inaugural Premier League season, Haaland shattered records by scoring an unprecedented 36 goals, setting a new standard for individual goal-scoring achievements.


Having risen through the ranks, Haaland began his football journey with Norwegian clubs Bryne and Molde before making a move to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria in January 2019. His standout performances there attracted the attention of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, where he contributed to their DFB-Pokal victory in 2021. In the summer of 2022, Haaland made a high-profile transfer to Manchester City for a fee of €60 million (£51.2 million). In his debut season with the club, he played a pivotal role in securing a continental treble, amassing a remarkable 52 goals across all competitions, a record-breaking feat for a Premier League player. Haaland's outstanding contributions earned him both the Young Player and Player of the Season awards in the league, making him the first player to achieve this dual recognition in the same year.


Throughout his career, Haaland has earned several individual accolades, including the prestigious 2020 Golden Boy award. In 2021, he was honored as the Bundesliga Player of the Season and earned a place in the FIFA FIFPro World11 for three consecutive years (2021, 2022, and 2023). He has also etched his name in Premier League history by setting multiple records, including most goals in a season, fastest to score two, three, four, and five hat-tricks, and becoming the first player to achieve hat-tricks in three consecutive home games. In 2023, Haaland clinched the Premier League Golden Boot, the European Golden Shoe, and the Gerd Müller Trophy, further solidifying his status as a prolific goal scorer. The same year, his stellar performances led to prestigious honors such as UEFA Men's Player of the Year, IFFHS World's Best Player, and a runner-up finish in the Ballon d'Or.


Haaland's international journey includes representing Norway at various youth levels. His standout performance in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he secured the Golden Boot with a record nine goals in a single match, marked a significant milestone. Haaland made his senior international debut in September 2019 and currently stands as Norway's second-highest all-time top goalscorer.


On 1 February 2017, Molde made an announcement regarding the signing of the 16-year-old prodigy, Haaland. He marked his debut for the club on 26 April in a Norwegian Cup match against Volda TI, making an instant impact by scoring in a 3–2 victory. Haaland's introduction to Eliteserien occurred on 4 June when he came on as a 71st-minute substitute against Sarpsborg 08, receiving a yellow card in just over a minute of play.


On 6 August 2017, Haaland secured his first league goal for Molde, netting the winner in the 77th minute against Tromsø IL. His second goal of the season came on 17 September, contributing the decisive goal in a 3–2 victory against Viking FK. However, Haaland faced criticism from teammate Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson for his goal celebration towards Viking supporters after the game. Haaland concluded his inaugural season at Molde with four goals in 20 appearances.


Moving on to 1 July 2018, Haaland delivered a stellar performance by scoring four goals in the opening 21 minutes against Brann, securing a 4–0 victory over the previously unbeaten league leaders. Following the match, Molde manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær likened Haaland's playing style to that of Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku and revealed that the club had rejected numerous bids for the striker from different clubs.


In the subsequent match a week later, Haaland continued his scoring streak with a brace against Vålerenga in a 5–1 win. He marked his first goal in UEFA competition on 26 July, converting a penalty in Molde's 3–0 Europa League qualifying victory against KF Laçi. Unfortunately, Haaland had to sit out Molde's last three league matches of the season due to a sprained ankle. Recognizing his standout performances in the 2018 Eliteserien, Haaland was honored with the Eliteserien Breakthrough of the Year award. He concluded the 2018 season as Molde's top goalscorer, finding the net 16 times in 30 matches across all competitions.


On 19 August 2018, Red Bull Salzburg, the reigning Austrian Bundesliga champions, officially announced Erling Braut Haaland's signing, revealing that he would join the club on 1 January 2019, with a five-year contract in place. Before securing the move to Salzburg, Phil Hay from The Athletic disclosed that Leeds United, his father's former club, had also presented an offer for Haaland.[34] Haaland marked his debut for Salzburg on 17 February in the 2018–19 Austrian Cup quarter-finals against Wiener Neustädter, and he notched his first goal on 12 May in the Austrian Bundesliga, securing a 2–1 victory over LASK.


Continuing his remarkable run in the Champions League, Haaland scored in the next two matches against Liverpool at Anfield and two more against Napoli. This feat made him only the second teenager in the history of the competition, after Karim Benzema, to score in each of his first three appearances. His six goals also set a record as the most scored by any player in their first three Champions League matches.


By converting a penalty in Salzburg's return fixture against Napoli, Haaland extended his streak to scoring in his first four matches, becoming the first teenager and the fourth player of any age to achieve this feat, following Zé Carlos, Alessandro Del Piero, and Diego Costa. On 10 November, he scored all three goals in Salzburg's 3–0 victory at Wolfsberger AC, marking his fifth hat-trick of the season and his second against Wolfsberg.

References

1.  "Derfor byttet han fra Håland til Haaland" [The reason he changed from Håland to Haaland]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 19 September 2019. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
2. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: Norway" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
3. ^ "Erling Haaland: Overview". ESPN. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
4. a b c d e f "Erling Haaland: Overview". Premier League. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
5. ^ Berulfsen, Bjarne (1969). Norsk Uttaleordbok (in Norwegian). Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 144. ISBN 9788257300890.
6. a b "Haaland breaks Premier League goalscoring record". Manchester City F.C. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
7. ^ Cross, Beren (9 July 2018). "Wonderkid Haaland would pick Leeds United over Man Utd every time". Leeds Live. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
8. ^ Hansen, Ole Jonny Eriksrud (29 November 2018). "Erling Braut Haaland: – Har sagt til meg selv at jeg vil bli verdens beste spiller". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
9. ^ Rose, Gary (2 October 2019). "Erling Braut Haaland: Is Red Bull Salzburg striker really 'the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic'?". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
10. ^ "Erling Haaland: "I clicked with Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and Thorgan Hazard straight away"". bundesliga.com. 14 February 2020. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
11. ^ Arora, Mudeet (19 February 2020). "Stunning Report Reveals Erling Braut Haaland is a World Record Holder in Athletics". 90min. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.