Arsenal had to beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday night to fight with Manchester City for the league gold. Instead, Taiwo Awoniyi ensured a Nottingham victory, and thus a new Premier League contract, after an attack that started with an ugly wrong pass by Arsenal’s Norwegian captain, Martin Ødegaard. See the highlights from the match at the bottom of this article. HAD TO SURRENDER: Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard hit the wrong pass that made Erling Braut Haaland the league champion on Saturday. Photo: Reuters Thus, Manchester City are league champions even with three games left to play, thanks in large part to another Norwegian: ** 52 goals in all competitions – so far. ** The scoring record in the Premier League has been smashed. Erling Braut Haaland has had a season for the history books, and the FA Cup and Champions League finals still await. “The Treble” is a feat only Manchester United has managed before. Erling Braut Haaland is the top scorer of all time in the Premier League. See all his goals. But how did he get here? news has spoken to four people who in one way or another have been part of Haaland’s wild journey. This is Erling Braut Haaland – and his historic journey from Jæren to the top of the Premier League table. The start A young Erling Braut Haaland in the Bryne era knew little about what life would offer a few years later. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP Alf Ingve Berntsen was Haaland’s coach during his childhood at Jæren. Berntsen looks back on those years with pleasure. – You could see that something special was going on, and that he would have a good career was on the cards quite early on. But you could not imagine that it would explode in this way, says Berntsen to news with a smile. He was Haaland’s coach from the time he was eight to 15 years old and has followed the Norwegian forward closely. Berntsen is on his way home to Norway after being in England. Where he has followed another impressive step in Haaland’s career. He was in attendance at the Etihad to watch his old pupil reach the Champions League final after thrashing Real Madrid. When asked if he can describe Haaland’s journey, he sighs, admits that “it’s not that simple”, but gives it a try: – It’s both fun and enjoyable, very impressive and a little surreal. I was pretty sure he would score a lot of goals for Manchester City, because he has scored a lot everywhere else. But I might not have thought that it would turn out the way it has. That’s understandable. Alf Ingve Berntsen was involved in the start of a special career. Photo: PETTER BERNTSEN / AFP Now Haaland is in a very exclusive club: The fourth Norwegian to win the Premier League, after Henning Berg, Ronny Johnsen and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He is the first Norwegian Premier League champion since the latter in the 2006/07 season. – It was time, says Berntsen. But there is little doubt that the 52-goal man has always had a nose for the goal. A former Ranheim player can sign for that. Senior football at a young age All players have to deal with being relegated to the bench during their careers. Photo: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg / NTB Kristoffer Løkberg, news expert and current Viking player, played against Haaland in both the first division and the Eliteserien for Ranheim. Løkberg remembers that the City striker actually made his debut against them for Bryne in the second-highest level. On 12 May 2016, Haaland was substituted against Løkberg and Ranheim in a match Bryne lost 0–1. – I remember a little kid who was technically good and a bit like that typical, exciting young player. Even then he knew where the goal was, but I think you’re lying if you say you were confident that he would become the world’s best striker, says the current Viking player. Løkberg reveals that Haaland became so notorious early on that the opponents looked at the lineup to see if the great talent would start. – We were happy in Ranheim when he started on the bench. That says a lot, when a youngster had made such a name for himself that people feared him, recalls Løkberg. Kristoffer Løkberg remembers the meetings with Haaland well. Photo: Trond R. Teigen / NTB Løkberg played against Haaland several times, both when he was in Bryne and in Molde. In the latter club, he showed signs of what was brewing for Jærbuen. He really made his mark with four goals in 20 minutes against Brann. – It was something very special, says Løkberg. The news expert believes Haaland has become so good because he has taken the right steps and club choices throughout. – And with the physical power package, with both power and speed, he has developed to become almost unmanageable for the vast majority of defenders. And it has taken him from talent to the world’s best striker. And there is more to come, he believes. Erling Braut Haaland flew high in Dortmund. Photo: Martin Meissner / AP The shock start in Germany Eivind Bisgaard Sundet was a Bundesliga commentator for Viaplay when Haaland played for Borussia Dortmund. Little did he know what he was going to experience when he prepared to comment on the match between Augsburg and Dortmund on 18 January 2020. Dortmund were 1-3 down when the Norwegian youngster was substituted. When the match was over, Dortmund had won 5–3 and Haaland had scored a hat trick. – It’s just completely sick. He has done much better than it was possible to imagine. He has taken such great strides and found a level that I didn’t think was possible. I thought he could be a great success in the Premier League, because he averaged a goal per game in Dortmund, even though the team there was not that good, says the Viaplay commentator. Here, Haaland celebrates scoring on his debut for Salzburg. Photo: MICHAELA REHLE / Reuters Sundet commented on almost all the league matches Haaland played for the big German club. There were not only a number of games, but also many scoring calls, because Haaland recorded 86 net recognitions in 89 games, games and goals from the Champions League included. It was in Germany that he established himself as the world’s most sought-after striker. And from there he has, in Sundet’s eyes, developed into the world’s best player. – It is absolutely fantastic. It is a player Norway has never seen before. The margins in football seem to be very small. There are so many people doing it, so many people doing everything right, and yet he comes in and is so far ahead of everyone else, so early in his career. It is absolutely exceptional, I think Norwegian football will never experience a player like that again, he says, and adds: On 10 May 2022, a long transfer saga came to an end. Manchester City confirmed the signing of the then 21-year-old striker, who became the most expensive Norwegian of all time. Just over a year later, and it has proven to be a good investment. It is easy to be captivated by Erling Braut Haaland. Photo: OLI SCARFF / AFP Entry into England Kasper Wikestad is a Premier League commentator for Viaplay and has seen Haaland’s adventure unfold up close. Wikestad is speechless with admiration for what he has seen. – Nobody could have imagined that someone would break Dixie Dean’s record of 63 goals. That has not been done with anyone else, Wikestad points out. From a commentary position, Wikestad has followed Haaland closely at Manchester City. From the huge boom in the Charity Shield match against Liverpool, to two goals in his Premier League debut and to chipping in the goal that took the league’s scoring record against West Ham. – He is the second player in the history of English football to score over 50 goals, and the first to do so after the war. That speaks for itself. He has set record after record, and has in many ways redefined the way we think and look at football, says Wikestad. Kasper Wikestad is beside himself with excitement for what Haaland has shown in England. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB – I can’t remember any other players where you almost get disappointed if he only scores one goal in a match, he adds. Wikestad himself said before the season that 20 league goals, 30 in all competitions, would be a fantastic debut season. Haaland now stands with 36 league goals, 52 in all competitions. Now he is about to crown an adventurous debut season. He is the league champion – as top scorer. In addition, Manchester City can take the treble if they beat city rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final and Inter in the Champions League final. – There is a danger of becoming historyless when talking about Haaland, but it is difficult to imagine a better debut season ever. Erling Braut Haaland has impressed enormously for a good City team this season. Photo: Jon Super / AP And Wikestad is sure of his case: Regardless of how this season ends, this is just the beginning for Norway’s crazy goal machine. – The trophies will flow in. He will become the highest-scoring Norwegian in the Premier League and in the Norwegian national team. He can actually take the records that are in front of him, says Wikestad. And states with the exact same sentence that probably 90 percent of all Norwegians have said about Haaland in the last year: – It’s just completely wild.
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