The performance of Erling Haalandforward of Manchester Cityit’s so huge that his numbers are interpreted with labels such as “cyborg”, “monster” or “beast”, the only ones that serve to define a 22-year-old striker who is much more than that. Because behind the irrationality of being the leading scorer at his age since Skinthere is a perfectly structured career, where his father, also a former ‘citizen’ Alf-Inge Haaland, has been finding the perfect context for the development of what will be the best striker in history “if injuries, but above all boredom, do not prevent it”.
That is the only limit that Alf Ingve Berntsen places on him in conversation with The Newspaper of Spain, from the Prensa Ibérica group, the first coach Haaland had. He was in Bryne (Norway), the city he moved to when he was three years old. “Erling is still the same in many ways: he loves to train, score and smile. Anyone who watches his videos as a child will notice,” explains this technician, one of the people who knows him best.
Haaland, ahead of his age
They had to put the Norwegian to play almost from the beginning with older children, says Ingve Bernsten, who says that in the Scandinavian country there are no training schools. Still less in Bryne, a town of barely 12,000 inhabitants, “the ideal context for its growth, away from the media and pressure“, something that, according to his first coach, Haaland has never had from his environment.
“His father, who was also a professional at the first level, He always knew how to respect his development and the coaches who accompany him. In addition, he has been key in his adaptation in all the clubs”, says the coach. When Erling began to play at a national level in Norway, Molde, one of the historical clubs in his country, was quick to get his hands on him. He met there for a few months with the Spanish of Belgian descent Álex Craninx, today goalkeeper for Fuenlabrada of 1RFEF.
“Back then, recently reached the age of majority, he showed a sovereign ambition. He had a lot of character for being so young and his desire to see the door was incredible, “says Craninx about the birth of a voracious instinct that has led him to break all records. At his age, 22, Erling has scored 180 goals among all the competitions in which he has been a professional. The striker who comes closest to this figure is Ronaldo Nazario (179), followed by Maradona (167) or Neymar (151).
top scorer of all
also has a major gap with Mbappe (121)the contemporary with whom he aspires to maintain an even fight like the one that Messi (80 goals at his age) and Cristiano Ronaldo (61) had in their day. To find such an early scoring rhythm, you have to go back to Pelé, who at his age had reached the barrier of 300 goals. Puskas averaged numbers similar to those of Haaland (188), although these two in very different contexts than current top-level football, where the demand is maximum in each game.
The current season is assuming, in addition, that of the great baptism of fire of the Norwegian, because the city of Guardiola It is the first team that offers him the possibility of winning everything. “It’s the best club you can be in, just like Dortmund, Salzburg or Molde were before. Those of us who have known him since he was little are not surprised at how well he is taking advantage of opportunities”, defends Ingve Bernsten, with the data of this course in hand.
Haaland has not noticed the vertigo with the jump to the Premier. What’s more, he currently ranks as the outstanding scoring leader in the major leagues, which positions him as the favorite to win the Golden Boot for the first time. He has 45 points, 14 more than Mbappé (31) and 17 more than Marcus Rashford (28), while double several members of the ‘top ten’ of the ‘big five’. Combined with stats, he is also unrivaled.
Among the multiple brands that it has been surpassing, Haaland is also the player who has scored the most goals in his first 25 games in Champions: 33 goals, well above the second, Del Piero (20) and the third, Van Nistelrooy (33) in a statistic where he once again beat historic ‘killers’ such as Drogba, Lewandowski (both with 15 in the comparison) or Benzema (13). Guardiola has the perfect artifact to give Manchester City the first Champions League, but for that must beat the Real Madridthe incomparable King of Europe -if the return matches confirm the advantage of the first leg of the quarterfinals-.
“He is not afraid of Madrid”
“If anyone is capable, it’s Erling, because he’s very difficult to cover. He’s tremendously intelligent in the tactical aspect. He scores a lot of first-touch goals (he has the highest shot-to-score ratio: 0.61) not because he’s fast or strong, but because he spends the game watching inside the area. He demonstrated it against Bayern, in the play of his assistance to Bernardo Silva, turning his head 360 degrees. He always goes further, it’s a virtue he was born with”, explains his first coach in Norway.
But if Real Madrid demands something in the Champions League, it’s a supernatural mental fortitude. “Erling hates losing. Of course, you will not see him hitting a locker room locker. He hardens from respect. That is what allows him to not be afraid of anyone on the first level. For example, you will never see him throw in the towel or refuse to take a decisive penalty”, assures Ingve Bernsten, who insists on making it clear that Haaland is someone historically different. A supine individuality, but incapable of giving up the collective.
“There are many strikers who score two or three goals and are satisfied, regardless of what happens with their team. He will leave much happier with a 1-0 win for his club than with a great individual performance.. He is a team player who makes the rest happy and better”, analyzes the Norwegian coach, revealing a dimension that Haaland develops in his daily life.
What can stop Haaland?
“If Erling meets a group of children playing on the street, he will join them.. Nobody here considers him a hero, he is one more of the school we had and from which other footballers have come who have not reached his level, but also truckers, carpenters, mechanics… With whom he follows wearing. Having his feet on the ground allows him to do the rest”, emphasizes Ingve Bernsten, who only withdraws when talking about Haaland when he is asked the question that motivates this report.
Will Erling become the best in the world?
That is something that cannot be predicted. It is clear that Haaland has been very good at 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 years old. But Messi and Ronaldo, for example, were at this level for many seasons. There is no doubt that he has not reached his peak, something that, by evolution, could occur between the ages of 26 and 30.
So what can stop Haaland? On the one hand, injuries. “In the Mold he suffered a lot from his back, but he had an individual program to take care of his development“, recalls Craninx, his former teammate. In Salzburg he suffered knee problems that he dragged in Dortmund, where he also suffered a complex hip ailment. At City, so far, they are respecting these drawbacks. He has only missed a few games due to a foot problem and more recently due to a groin injury that prevented him from playing, among other games, the Norway international against Spain.
However, for Ingve Bernsten, there is a higher reason that could stop the best striker of the moment. “Everything will depend on whether he continues to have fun. Right now he is delighted at City and at Manchester. He is part of a team that generates many opportunities thanks to Guardiola’s brilliant method. But if he ever gets bored, he won’t be the special player he is anymore.because his way of understanding football involves running as hard as he can, scoring with every shot and, above all, smiling as much as he can”, he says. Happiness as a state of fitness, the core of the success of a ‘child’ who scares away adults with their irremediable desire to win.
