– I think I wrote that he was smart in his movements, but I don’t remember, says a wondering Magnus Johansson to news. In 2015, when Manchester City’s super striker Erling Braut Haaland was 15 years old, Johansson was one of the coaches at Haaland’s very first regional talent gathering under the auspices of the NFF. “Makan til god” news has gained access to the very first assessment the NFF system has recorded on Norway’s super striker, and on 7 October 2015 Johansson wrote the following about the fair-haired striker from Bryne: “Lur spiller. Good speed. Very good finishing skills. Good in combination play. Has struggled a bit with growing problems.” Few words, but great historical value. Two months later, at the next talent gathering, Johansson took out the assessment pen again: “This gathering – the match for good.” Trick runs, works hard, puts himself in good positions. Set up those around him. Can play both backroom and forward. Dangerous around the box.” These lines are historical. Here you see the very first assessments of Erling Braut Haaaland that were made by the NFF. Photo: Screenshot NFF (with permission) – That’s exactly how he is today. It was good to read, Johansson chuckles when he gets to read what he wrote that time. Knowing that that analysis has stood the test of time. – What is your first Haaland memory? – I go back further, because I coached Bryne in 2006 and 2007, then Erling was in Jærhallen around the clock playing football, regardless of the age of the others who were there. He has lived inside that hall. There was no doubt that he would be good, says Johansson. Best grade At both meetings he assessed Haaland in 2015, the striker was graded 1 by the NFF’s coaching team at the time. Håkon Grøttland, head of coach and player development in the NFF, states that the national team coaches operate on a 1-5 grading scale, where 1 is the best. The players who receive a rating of 1 are considered to be so good and talented that they would have been given a place in the first eleven of the current U-national team if a team were to be selected then and there. Here is Erling Braut Haaland’s profile in the NFF’s player directory for the national team school. Photo: Screenshot NFF (with permission) – No one thought he would become a world star Grøttland himself attended the talent camp where Haaland showed himself at national level for the first time. – No one walked around that gathering and thought that “he will become a world star”. But we thought he was good, very good, and especially at the things he is perhaps the world’s best at today. Finding space, positioning yourself correctly and being clinical in the finishes. But it was not obvious that he would become so good, says Grøttland to news. – When we read the assessments that were made of Haaland at the time. Did you hit pretty well? – It is pleasant to read these lines now. It is also historic in the sense that it is the first NFF assessment. And it becomes very clear to me towards player development: Point 1, it was not obvious that he would become a star, and it is a good reminder when we are now working with new 14- and 15-year-olds. And point 2, he was very good at something even then, and it has given him an international career. We can’t predict who will be the best, but those who will be the best are good early on, and they excel at something early on. And care must be taken to develop this further, Grøttland believes. Erling Braut Haaland was involved in the very first selection for a national measure for the 2000 cohort. On the list you will find several names who have now had a fine career in football. Photo: Screenshot NFF (with permission) Johansson reminds us of the same. – Few others in the world The Swedish coach, who also won the UEFA Cup in 1987 with IFK Göteborg, says that it was another striker who stole most of the attention at the time. – When Erling entered the NFF’s talent camp, he was in many people’s eyes number two behind Erik Botheim. But we coaches pretty much agreed that there was a “smartness” there. Because he was so small at the time and absolutely had to move smartly to get hold of the ball. He still has that with him, he moves so incredibly smartly. Now he has also acquired some other and unique qualities, and the mix he has is something few others in the world have, says Johansson. Magnus Johansson wrote the very first Haaland assessment. And hit the mark. Photo: news – You say you understood that Erling would be good, but did you ever think he would be this good? – No one would have believed it. The one who was talked about the most at the time was Martin (Ødegaard) from the ’98 cohort. In addition, we had Kristoffer Ajer, Sander Berge and Emil Hansson who were very forward at the time. But nobody really believed in Erling at the time when he was 15-16 years old, because he was so small, and it was only then that he was selected for the national team. But we were clear that there was something in him, because he was so smart in the game that it would have been wrong to keep him out of a national team, he says. Joking about Haaland Johansson was Bryne’s coach when Alfie Haaland was sporting director at the club and therefore knows the Haaland family well. He chuckles when he comes up with a story from when he visited Alfie at the family house in Bryne a few years ago. – Then he asked me to go down and surprise Erling, who at the time was on the G15 national team. When I walked in his door, he was sitting there with a coke and chips, which he tried to hide when he saw me. Then I just dryly said “you’re thinking about diet, yes?”. I joked further that (then national team coach) Erland Johnsen had sent me to check up on how the players were doing before the upcoming international match. He was so stressed, recalls Johansson and laughs out loud. – It has been fantastic to follow his career in recent years. Erling has always been a very nice boy who cares about the people around him, he adds. Håkon Grøttland believes there is a lot to learn from the Erling Braut Haaland story. Photo: JON OLAV NESVOLD / BILDBYRÅN NORWAY Few people in Norway devote more of their time to talent work than Håkon Grøttland. He naturally follows Haaland’s development with joy, and looks forward to following the big game between Arsenal and City on Wednesday, where two Norwegians will probably get a leading role in each team. – It means an enormous amount Grøttland believes it means more than one would think for Norwegian talent development that we have brought up two such good players. Erling Braut Haaland as a 13-year-old. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP – It means an enormous amount, but it means even more when those guys achieve something with the flag on their chest and get Norway to the championship. We want as many people as possible to enjoy football, and then it is important that they have fun at their club, but it is also important to have heroes who pave the way. Obviously it means something. Nothing gives so many such proud moments at the same time as when Norwegian footballers do well abroad or the national team wins. It means a lot, says Grøttland. Although he hopes for success for all Norwegian players, he has a small button on Haaland in the upcoming big match. – I’m a Tottenham fan, so I support City, he says with a twinkle in his eye. The big game between City and Arsenal kicks off on Wednesday evening at 9pm at the Etihad. The match is broadcast on Viaplay or can be followed on news Sport on the radio.
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