Just a few months ago, nobody knew the name Erling Haaland. He was just another random teenager with high hopes but low expectations. He would never make it to the top, he was going to spend his entire career bouncing around from one low league club to the next, trying to make a living. Just another unknown player from an unknown league in the Austrian Bundesliga. Few knew him, and those that did only thought of him as a player who scored a lot in one U20 match. Now he’s up with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, considered as not only one of the biggest youth prospects but one of the biggest players, period.
Erling Haaland: The Next Big Thing
Off the Mark
Erling Haaland scored with his first touch as a Borussia Dortmund player. He then went on to score a hat-trick in the same game. In that game, he came on as a substitute and led his team to a massive come-back. Haaland scored a hat-trick in the Champions League with his first three shots. He did the same in the Bundesliga. Then, he scored a brace on his home debut as a sub. He has five goals in 57 Bundesliga minutes, and he’s only 19-years-old. Erling Haaland is a human cheat-code. When he steps onto the pitch, the treble is almost automatic.
“We’ll park our team bus on the pitch to stop Erling Haaland,” said Cologne coach Markus Gisdol. Well, that didn’t work. Haaland scored a brace anyway, in only 17 minutes. It seems that no matter what you do to try and stop him, he will still find a way to score.
A Growing Career
Erling had every club after him. He could’ve joined the likes of Juventus or Manchester United, but he chose Dortmund. Haaland wants to grow his career. He is not greedy and isn’t focused on money or glory. He knows that if he joined a bigger team he would’ve just rotted on the bench, without ever getting a chance to prove himself. The clubs that failed to sign him will be kicking themselves.
When he went to Salzburg he also turned down offers from bigger clubs. The other clubs wanted him on loan, but he knew it would be a better stepping stone for his career to go to Salzburg. He made a similar decision when choosing Dortmund, a club known for their youth development. Dortmund have kickstarted some big careers including Mats Hummels, Sokratis, Christian Pulisic, Ilkay Gundogan, Mario Gotze, Ousmane Dembele, Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Haaland wants to be next on this list of big names.
He probably won’t stay at Dortmund for long. He’ll stay for a season or two, shock the world and then move up another level. His contract may run until 2024, but his agent, Mino Raiola, has made sure to include a release clause. Haaland will keep doing this until he reaches the pinnacle of football, a goal that seems entirely feasible.
A Well-Rounded Player
Haaland is a centre-forward, and just by looking at him you would guess he is a target man who has a knack for headers. This is because Haaland looks big and strong, but clumsy. In reality, Haaland has a massive skillset including speed, footwork, shooting and so much more. He is a well-rounded player who can develop to be an even bigger star. Haaland showed this off in today’s game by scoring, utilizing his speed and then showing off his clinical finishing by slotting the ball home from a tight angle.
When he joined Dortmund there were sceptics saying that he wouldn’t fit their play style, or that their attack was already full, but he has still shone. There is no one quite like Erling Haaland.
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