Manchester City has been one of the English Premier League‘s most dominant teams in recent years. However, this summer they added emerging superstar Erling Haaland to their star-studded squad, and his impact in just eight games has been extraordinary. 5aSide.com takes a detailed look into the rise of the man nicknamed “The Terminator”.
Is Alf Inge Haaland related to Erling Haaland? (is Alf Erling’s dad?)
Yes, the former Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, and Manchester City midfielder and right-back, Alf Inge, is Erling’s father. Alf Inge retired in the summer of 2003 due to ongoing issues related to a knee injury. He’s best remembered for his feud with former Manchester United player Roy Keane.
Erling Haaland was born in Leeds in July 2000. He’s the youngest of three children. After Alf Inge’s retirement, the family completed by his wife, Gry Marita Braut, and Erling’s brother and sister, Astor and Gabrielle, moved back to their hometown of Bryne in Norway.
Where did Erling Haaland start his football career?
Erling comes from a family with a strong sporting background. Not only was his father a successful footballer, but his mother was also a former Norwegian heptathlon champion.
Erling’s footballing journey started at age 5 when he joined the academy at his local club, Bryne Fotballklubb. Coincidentally, it was at this time when he became the world record holder for the longest-standing long jump for 5-year-olds with a distance of 1.63 metres.
Which clubs did he play for in Norway?
Erling spent 11 years at his hometown club, working his way up through Bryne’s youth academy eventually scoring 14 goals in 18 games for the senior reserve team in the 2015-2016 season.
By May 2016, youth coach Alf Ingve Berntsen became Bryne’s caretaker manager. He soon promoted Erling up to the first team, giving him his full debut later that month, just three months before Haaland’s 16th birthday.
After making 16 appearances for Bryne, Erling caught the attention of Molde and their manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He would join the Eliteserien (Norwegian Premier League) club in February 2017.
At Molde, Erling experienced a sudden growth spurt leading to growing pains. However, due to the support of Solskjær and fitness coach, Børre Steenslid, Haaland progressed technically breaking into Molde’s first team. After scoring two goals before the end of the 2017 season, he followed it up with 16 goals over 30 games in all competitions in 2018. This included four goals in 21 minutes against Brann (below)
and his first European goal against KF Laçi of Albania in the Europa League qualifying round. Erling also received the Eliteserien Breakthrough of the Year award.
Where did Erling Haaland break through?
After his emergence in his native Norway, Haaland began attracting the attention of several clubs throughout Europe including his dad’s former side, Leeds United. Nevertheless, on January 1st 2019, Erling joined the Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg. Haaland hardly featured for Salzburg during the 2018-2019 season, but by the end of 2018, he was a player who couldn’t be ignored.
Salzburg began the 2019-2020 season in outstanding form with Haaland scoring hat-tricks against Wolfsberger, and TSV Hartberg. He also burst onto the European stage in the UEFA Champions League after scoring a hat-trick against Genk of Belgium, as well scoring goals against Liverpool and Napoli during the Group Stage. It was no surprise that he was attracting the attention of major European league clubs.
Erling Haaland in the German Bundesliga
Just a year after joining Red Bull Salzburg, Haaland moved again this time to Borussia Dortmund Dortmund. He quickly made his mark in the German Bundesliga, scoring a hat-trick on his debut against FC Augsburg within 23 minutes of coming on as a second-half substitute. Erling would end the 2019-2020 season with 16 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund.
His first full season in Germany saw the Norwegian add a further 41 goals, including 27 league goals. Haaland was also the UEFA Champions League’s top goalscorer with 10 goals.
While the 2021-2022 season was somewhat hampered by injuries for Haaland, he still added 29 goals as well as eight assists to his Dortmund record.
In May 2022, Borussia Dortmund agreed to a deal with English Premier League Champions, Manchester City, for Erling Haaland. It has been stated the transfer fee was £51m after City activated Haaland’s release clause. Haaland signed a five-year deal with Manchester City.
Erling Haaland’s Unbelievable Start at Manchester City
Having joined his father’s former side, there was much anticipation about how the player nicknamed “the ManChild” would adapt to the Premier League. Nonetheless, he soon silenced his doubters with two goals on the opening weekend of the 2022-2023 season at West Ham United. By the end of August, he added two hat tricks to his rapidly growing tally against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.
The following month saw Erling score EPL goals away at Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as scoring in the UEFA Champions League against Sevilla, and his former club, Borussia Dortmund.
Haaland continued his form in early October by becoming the first Premier League player to score hat-tricks in three successive home games. Erling netted three goals in a 6-3 victory against local rivals, Manchester United.
How many goals could Haaland score this season?
Having undoubtedly made an exceptional start to life in the Premier League, Erling Haaland currently has 14 goals in just 8 league appearances. He has a ratio of 1.89 goals per 90 minutes, hitting a Premier League goal every 47.5 minutes. While his average playing time so far 83.1 minutes.
If he was to maintain that strike rate, playing 90 minutes of City’s remaining 30 EPL games, Haaland could potentially finish the 2022-2023 season with 67 goals.
This would surpass the EPL record of 34 goals set by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole in 1993-1994 and 1995-1995 respectively. Although those records were set when the Premier League consisted of 42 games per season. The highest-scoring player since the EPL became a 38-game season is Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah with 32 goals in the 2017-2018 season.
If Haaland scored 67 league goals, he would beat the record set by Everton’s Dixie Dean in 1928 with 60 goals in 39 appearances.
Furthermore, Haaland has scored five goals in the UEFA Champions League means the giant Norwegian frontman so far has 19 goals in 12 games for Manchester City. He also scored for Norway in their defeat to Slovenia in later September.
What type of striker is Erling Haaland?
Erling Haaland has been described as a “complete centre-forward”. He has the attributes that fit this description; strength, pace, finishing, positioning, and timing.
Haaland has combined his large frame with superb pace to become one of world football’s best forwards. He’s able to score goals with both feet and his head, as he did in August 2022 when he scored a “perfect hat-trick” against Nottingham Forest.
Positionally, Haaland has proven to be deadly in the penalty area, with eight of his Premier League goals for Manchester City coming inside the six-yard box. Erling has a tendency to make sharp turns, allowing him to quickly lose his marker due to his acceleration, giving him the opportunity to get into goal-scoring areas.
While his attributes primarily make him a goalscorer, Haaland has the ability to use his strength and dribble to help his teammates. He is able to provide key passes and through balls, assisting others to score.
Although Haaland is a centre-forward, he has a tendency to favour his left side, often drifting to the left channel allowing him to shoot across the goal. 12 of his 19 goals for Manchester City have been scored with his left foot.
What is the meaning behind Haaland’s goal scoring meditation celebration?
When Haaland scores, he often celebrates by sitting cross-legged, imitating a meditation position similar to the Lotus pose in yoga.
The meaning behind the celebration is Haaland’s tribute to the practice of meditation. Erling has spoken about how meditation has allowed him to remain calm before games. Meditation is part of Haaland’s pre-match routine.
Although his celebration has put the spotlight on the practice of meditation, Haaland has also been mocked by it. For example, in 2020 Paris Saint-Germain defeated Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 with a 3-2 aggregate win. In the first leg in Dortmund, Haaland scored both goals in a 2-1 win, showing off his trademark celebration after his first goal. Nevertheless, PSG overcame the defeat to win 2-0 in Paris. Following their victory, the PSG squad sat down, cross-legged mocking Haaland’s celebration.
Considerably, Haaland took the higher ground when later asked about the incident, praising them for helping him “to get meditation out in the world”.
How many goals has Erling Haaland scored for Norway?
His shooting and finishing skills also caught the attention of Norway’s youth system. From the age of 15, he has played at every level from U15 to U21, scoring 30 goals in 46 appearances. This includes scoring 9 goals in one match against Honduras at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
In September 2019, Erling Haaland’s form for Red Bull Salzburg led him to be selected for the Norway senior team. He would make his international debut on September 5th against Malta. Haaland’s first international game came a year later, as Austria loss 2-1 to Norway.
At present, he has scored 21 goals in 23 international appearances for Norway.
What’s Erling Haaland’s goal per game ratio?
Erling Haaland has played 194 club matches and scored 154 goals giving him an incredible goals per game ratio of 0.793 (as of 7th October 2022) so on average he has scored approximately every 108 minutes of his club career!
Erling Haaland’s Career Timeline
- May 12th 2016 – Made his senior debut for Byrne aged 15 years old. 3 months before his 16th birthday.
- February 1st 2017 – Haaland joins Eliteserien (Norwegian Premier League) club Molde.
- June 4th 2017 – Scores his first goal for Molde after coming on a substitute against Sarpsborg 08.
- March 27th 2018 – Scores a hat-trick for Norway’s U19 side as they defeat Scotland U19 5-4.
- July 26th 2018 – Scored his first UEFA European competition goal for Molde against KF Laçi of Albania
- January 1st 2019 – Haaland joins Austrian Bundesliga champions Red Bull Salzburg.
- May 30th 2019 – Haaland scores 9 goals in Norway U20’s 12-0 win against Honduras at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.
- August 10th 2019 – Scores first league hat-trick as Red Bull Salzburg beat Wolfsberger AC 5-2.
- September 5th 2019 – Makes senior international debut for Norway.
- September 17th 2019 – Scores first UEFA Champions League goal and hat-trick as Salzburg defeat Genk 6-2.
- December 29th 2019 – Haaland moves to Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
- January 18th 2020 – Marks debut for Borussia Dortmund with a hat-trick within 23 minutes against FC Ausburg.
- February 1st 2020 – First Bundesliga player to score seven goals in their first three games.
- September 4th 2020 – Scores first international goal for Norway in a 2-1 defeat to Austria.
- October 11th 2020 – Scores first international hat-trick in Norway’s 4-0 win over Romania.
- March 6th 2021 – Scored his 99th and 100th senior football goals despite Dortmund losing to Bayern Munich 4-2. Haaland completed the feat in 146 appearances.
- March 9th 2021 – Fastest (and youngest) player to reach 20 UEFA Champions League goals. He also becomes the first player to score multiple goals in four successive UCL appearances, as he scored both goals as Dortmund drew 2-2 with Sevilla.
- November 27th 2021 – Scores 50th Bundesliga goal, becoming the fastest and youngest player to do so.
- May 10th 2022 – Agrees to join Manchester City.
- August 7th 2022 – Scores two goals on his league debut for Manchester City against West Ham United.
- September 6th 2022 – Becomes the first player to score 25 UEFA Champions League Goals in 20 appearances.
- October 2nd 2022 – Becomes the first player to score a hat-trick in three successive home games. He’s also the quickest player to score three EPL hat tricks.
What honours and trophies has Erling Haaland won?
Despite being only 22, Erling Haaland already has won plenty of awards, mostly individual awards.
Club Trophies:
- 2 x Australian Bundesliga titles with Red Bull Salzburg
- 1 x Austrian Cup
- 1 x DFB-Pokal (German Cup) with Borussia Dortmund
Individual Awards & Honours:
- Eliteserien Breakthrough of the Year: 2018
- Austrian Footballer of the Year: 2019
- Austrian Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2019–2020
- FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Boot: 2019
- UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI: 2019
- Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2020–2021
- 4 x Bundesliga Player of the Month
- 2 x Bundesliga Rookie of the Month
- 2 x Bundesliga Team of the Season
- 1 x Premier League Player of the Month
- 2 x Gullballen (Norwegian footballer of the year)
- UEFA Champions League Forward of the Season: 2020-2021
- UEFA Champions League Top Goalscorer: 2020-2021
- UEFA Nations League top scorer: 2020-2021
