He hits and hits and hits. Erling Haaland is a real goal machine and saves BVB week after week. So also in the cup against second division Paderborn. But how did the Dortmund superstar become?
Bryne is a small town in southwest Norway. It has 12,000 inhabitants, a cinema, a few small shops, a pizzeria, a gas station, a football stadium – comparable to the second division site in Sandhausen in Germany.
From there it has Erling Haaland made it to the top of European football. And about a year ago, on January 18, 2020, he scored three goals in his Bundesliga debut for BVB. He’s been unstoppable ever since. A success that was already apparent at a young age.
“His mentality was special”
“He laughed a lot, he trained a lot and he scored a lot of goals,” said his youth coach Alf-Ingve Berntsen to t-online. He was the Norwegian coach from 2006 to 2015 and added: “Erling was one of the best, even if the other players were a year older than him. He had a decent competition in every training session and game. I think that was a good thing for him.”
Even then, the offensive man stood out. In a team photo from 2011, Haaland is sitting on the lawn with his older teammates. Today’s Dortmund player is the only and then youngest player to wear a white shirt and grins into the camera. “His style of play and his movements today are still very similar to back then,” says Berntsen.
October 2011: The young Erling Haaland, far left and the only player in a white jersey, with his coach Alf Ingve Berntsen (right outside) and his 1999 youth team. (Source: Alf Ingve Berntsen)
Gaute Larsen, the coach who brought him to the pros at Bryne, confirms t-online: “His mentality and enthusiasm were special. Football was the most important thing in his life. He trained every day – and always with a happy one Face. He worked hard on himself. “
And not only when there was official training. “When he was free, he played with his friends. There wasn’t a day without football for him. And in training he always asked what he could do better,” said Larsen.
“When he came into the dressing room, everyone had fun”
A football trip that Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also part of. He coached Haaland at Molde in the Norwegian first division. “It was very good to work with him, to see his potential and it makes me proud to have contributed a small part to the success,” said Solskjaer on the website of the Premier LeagueClubs announced.
Gaute Larsen: He took Erling Haaland to the pros at Bryne. (Source: Digital Sports / image images)
“In Molde he took football more seriously, it grew and his muscles formed. He became more precise with regard to his diet and sleep,” said his first professional coach. But he was always able to differentiate between having fun off the pitch and being professional on the pitch. “He was a sunny boy. When he came into the dressing room, everyone had fun. But he was serious in training. He could always flip the switch,” says Larsen enthusiastically.
And his youth coach also enthused: “Erling never disappointed me. Now and then he was frustrated after the games when he didn’t win. When he was twelve, he behaved just like today. He had no ritual, but he did always loved to celebrate his goals. ”
Erling Haaland cheering: Here the BVB star shows a yoga pose while teammates come running for joy. (Source: Action Picture / imago images)
No matter whether with crossed arms, clenched fist, in a yoga seat, with a peace sign, in a shear jump or with a wink, the 20-year-old masters the cheering poses after his hits just as well as scoring goals himself.
The father as a role model
A key person in this: his father Alf-Inge Haaland. “Mentor, friend, father”, Erling Haaland called him on Instagram. The former Premier League player kept a low profile in the early years and let his son do it. It wasn’t until his career took off that he got involved. “His father and his family prepared him for the life of a professional footballer,” said Alf-Ingve Berntsen, “for what is waiting for him in the dressing rooms and competitions.”
“Alfie Haaland was the perfect role model for his son. He let Erling go his own way,” adds Berntsen. A path that takes him to RB Salzburg Borussia Dortmund has led.
Father and son: Alf-Inge with Erling in 2018 when he played for Molde. (Source: Digitalsport / imago images)
“Of course we followed his further path at Dortmund. It is very nice for everyone at our club to see that he has adapted so quickly to the next level. Regardless of his mentality or quality, he simply brings everything with him, is one great player and a great guy, “said Jesse Marsch to t-online. He trained Haaland in Austria, in the 2018/19 season RB Salzburg won the championship with the attacker and was cup winner.
Speculation about a change
Since then he has scored 35 goals in 34 games at BVB and has already made six assists. A performance explosion that even Christoph Freund, sports director of RB Salzburg, would not have expected: “At the beginning he wasn’t used very much and had enough time to get used to our special style of play and to the new environment. After that, Erling is like that really got off to a good start and caused a sensation. We were aware that he had enormous potential. That so many things would be so successful for him afterwards could not be foreseen at the time. “
RB Salzburg: coach Jesse Marsch and Erling Haaland in October 2019 during training. (Source: GEPA pictures / imago images)
Just recently, Erling Haaland received the “Golden Boy” award from the Italian sports newspaper “Tuttosport” for the best European player under the age of 21. And it currently looks like his career could be even steeper.
“His X-factor is his strength and his speed,” says Larsen. But his first professional trainer Haaland currently advises against a transfer to the Premier League or Real Madrid. “In Norway there is a lot of speculation about a change. But everything went very quickly for Erling and I hope he stays with Dortmund this year and next.”
Larsen also sees the reason for staying in the fact that the players’ schedule in the Premier League is too full. “Dortmund trains regularly and the professionals there have had good training over the week. I think that’s important for him.”
Perhaps Haaland will also recognize that Dortmund is the right station for him at the moment. The fans would certainly be happy about more goals from the Norwegian.
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