In March last year, the poetic leading legend Jorge Valdano wrote a case in the Spanish newspaper El País where the first intermediate title was: “What a guy!” A few days before, Sevilla had been eliminated from the Europa League. – They fell victim to a man, not a team, Valdano wrote. He then described a “nightmare” for the Spaniards. Valdano had seen a “thin guy with long legs” who “thinks about how to score goals even when he is down in his own field”. – Even though he seems like an android from the future, he is furiously good here and now, Valdano wrote. The Android was Erling Braut Haaland, who today was ready for Manchester City. When Valdano wrote his case, he had scored two goals for Dortmund against Sevilla. On Sunday against Sweden, he scored two new ones. Again, it seemed like he’s come here via a time machine. If you had built a goal scorer in a laboratory, you would have ended up with Haaland. READY FOR CITY: On Monday, Haaland was presented as a City player. Photo: mancity.com Sprinting basketball player There is a lot in Valdano’s description. Haaland is not emotionally cold as a robot – he plays with will and guts, and he responds if he is provoked – but as a goal scorer it seems that he has been designed. Few if any tips this millennium have combined a height of 194 centimeters with such a speed. Haaland has the size of a basketball player and risen to a sprinter. He can score on runs in the back room, posts in the field and long passes from the defense. The goals for Norway this collection has shown how many ways Haaland can deliver the goods. He scored against Serbia with the left, then against Sweden with the right. Just when he was criticized for missing several chances against Slovenia with his head, he plunged into a new goal against Sweden. HEAD SHOCK: Erling Braut Haaland snuck in front of Swedish Hjalmar Ekdal and stabbed in 1-0 to Norway. Haaland and co. eventually won 3-2. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB If you add two penalties, there were five goals in four games this time. No wonder City has been lying flat after Jærbuen. Erling as Arnold The longer Haaland continues this form, the more a feeling spreads that he will score in every match – sooner or later. When Dortmund were relegated from the Champions League in 2020, the website Bleacher Report played on the same as Valdano should describe. – Erling Haaland will be back, they wrote on Facebook. Below, Haaland was photoshopped as Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie The Terminator. In that classic, Schwarzenegger is half human, half machine. The story takes place in 1984, but Schwarzenegger is sent on a mission from the future, more specifically 2029. Every time he fails, he reappears. “I’ll be back” is the film’s most famous line. Haaland himself could come from 2029. Before, football players could both smoke and drink, and still be the best. Even Johan Cruyff liked his cigarettes. In the future, the stars will only become more and more professional, and Haaland is already there. He has taken inspiration from the diet of Cristiano Ronaldo, he wears special glasses to sleep better, and he meditates to make his head sharper. Just about every minute is utilized to score as many goals as possible. PRESENTED: Erling Braut Haaland has now put his signature on the City contract. Here he is with the sports director, Txiki Begiristain. Photo: mancity.com «Unfair» duel And Norway should be happy about this. Much has been said about the collective steps Norway has taken under Ståle Solbakken over the past year. The distances in the team are better. The defense is more solid. The morale is brilliant. All this is true. And yet we do not escape the fact that Haaland has scored three of the team’s four goals from open play this collection, plus two penalties. When someone else finally found the net – Alexander Sørloth headed in 3-2 against Sweden – it was Haaland who hit the post. Haaland’s goal had hardly been scored by others. Among those on the field against Serbia, only he had the flair and stepped to get in position to insert the post. Away to Sweden, he had the speed to chase after a stump, and saw the technique of knocking the ball down in the corner with his weakest leg. And on the first goal against Sweden at Ullevaal, he was a good meter behind the stopper Hjalmar Ekdal as Fredrik Bjørkan struck. But Haaland had read where the ball would end up, and with his huge splits he got far enough ahead to nod it in goal. It was a duel between a striker from Manchester City and a stopper from the Allsvenskan. This is what it looked like. Play each other well It is only natural that Haaland is so important to Norway. All crews need their best, and if Solbakken had not built the team around Haaland, he would have received criticism. At the same time, Haaland’s goal would have been less valuable if Norway had failed as a team. SUCCESS DUO: Ståle Solbakken has built the team around Erling Braut Haaland. It has paid off. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB He and Solbakken have each other to thank. There is no automaticity in superstars delivering for their national teams. Especially with smaller countries, the temptation is to slip away from gatherings because you know you are unlikely to win anything anyway. There is also no automaticity in that superstars have good teams around them. Just ask Lionel Messi, who was 33 years old when he first won something with Argentina. But for Norway, the timing is ideal. As Haaland has given the team a razor-sharp sting, Solbakken has breathed new life into the squad and tightened up the defense. In the beginning, many wondered how Solbakken would get the most out of Haaland. Nobody asks about it now. On the way to the European Championships Instead, there is talk that Norway leads its group in the National League with three points ahead of Serbia, and that they play as a team that is on its way to the European Championships. It is not debated, but when Haaland will take the record to Jørgen Juve on 33 national team goals. He now has 20, which is incredible – not only because Haaland is 21 years old, but because it feels like he is just starting on the national team. Over the summer, people will also talk about whether he really wants to fit into City’s style of play. One thing is for sure: He fits in very well with this Norwegian national team. For Norway, the future looks bright. And Haaland probably knows that well.
ttn-69