Haaland: The next big thing is here

He is without doubt the most discussed football player this month. Erling Braut Haaland is living a  movie-like life as it’s in fast-forward mode. Before even turning 20 he’s regarding as the next big thing in world’s football, as he’s proving to everybody that his style of play is of best quality. In his first two matches in German Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund he has already made an impact setting an unbelievable record: No other player in more than 60 seasons in Germany managed to score 5 goals in two matches. Which is more difficult to happen if he’s coming off as a substitute.

Haaland has a definite football pedigree; His father, Alf Inge Haaland, is a former Norwegian international defender, and his pick seasons were spent with English clubs: Nottingham Forest (1993-97), Leeds United (1997-2000) and Manchester City (2000-2003). Actually, Erling was born in Leeds, during his father’s stay there.

Having a flying start due to his father’s knowledge, Erling started to impress even at a youngest age: He joined the academy of this hometown Bryne FK and at age 14 he made it to the reserve side Bruyne FK 2. His bulk (the tallest guy in his class) helped him compete with older players. There he showed his exceptional scoring talent by making 18 goals in just 14 games with the team. At age 16 he joined the A-team of Bryne FK. He was also called to Norway’s U15 national team, where he scored 4 times in 4 matches.

Despite scoring no goals in his 17 matches with Bryne FK, fellow Norwegian club FK Molde rushed to sign him. He continued to score like a machine-gun in lower age national teams. His pick was the total 11 goals in only 5 matches with Norwegian U20 national team, which impressed Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg to acquire him in January 2019 for a five-year contract. In this level also he has set a world record: He scored no less than 9 goals in Norway’s impressive 12-0 victory over Honduras in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, held in Lublin,Poland.

So far, Haaland had a reputation of a promising youngster, but no one could expect what was coming next. The start of the 2019-20 season was a dreamy one for both the Austrian club an Haaland himself. The tall, young guy from Norway proved with his style of play that he’s ready to face the toughest of competitions: UEFA Champions League. He’s the first player in Champions League history to score six goals in first three matches of the group stage. He also scored three hat-tricks in Austrian Bundesliga.

After signing with Borussia Dortmund a couple of weeks before, everybody expected to make a slow start, as almost every youngster does when facing high-level competition. Instead, as already mentioned, Haaland has scored 5 times in only 56 minutes of actual play, as in both matches he came off the bench.