Norwegian Haaland

Norwegian Halland | Erling Haaland

When Erling Haaland marked his Borussia Dortmund debut by completing a hat-trick within 23 minutes of being introduced as a second-half substitute at Augsburg, all eyes were on him.

He allowed himself the briefest of celebrations but then it came – the point to team-mate Marco Reus, the player who had provided the pass that put him through on goal.

These moments have become almost as much of a feature as the relentless scoring that has seen Haaland establish himself as one of Europe's most ruthless goalscorers.

There was the finger jabbed in the chest of Gio Reyna for a goal at Leipzig, a gesture that he repeated more vociferously with the young American against Freiburg.

Julian Brandt received a bear hug before Haaland attempted to wrestle him to the ground. Jadon Sancho was once treated to a wild jig after assisting a goal against Borussia Monchengladbach. It was a simple point in his direction when he repeated the feat in a derby against Schalke.


It might not sound particularly significant but for Jesse Marsch, Haaland’s former coach at Red Bull Salzburg, it is indicative of what he regards as one of the Norwegian's defining characteristics. A quality that is helping to elevate him above just about everyone else.

Goal celebrations are just part of it. When Salzburg won a penalty against Admira Wacker, it was Hwang Hee-Chan who took the spot-kick. Against Rapid Vienna, in one of the biggest games in Austrian football, a teenage Dominik Szoboszlai was entrusted with the task.

"He was giving penalties to the other players," Marsch tells Sky Sports.

"When there was a great assist he would point to that player as if he had scored the goal. I kept saying to him that the more you give to the group, the more you will get back."

Haaland is 6'4" with broad shoulders. He can overpower centre-backs with his strength, outrun them with his speed and outwit them with his skills. At 21, he might be the next best player in the world.
All the more remarkable then, that for those who have worked closely with him, it is his character that makes him stand out from the crowd.

"I always say about Erling, if you just talk about his talent, his physical abilities as a footballer, he is right away in the top one per cent of professionals, of the best players in the world," adds Marsch. "But when you add his mentality, his joy, his commitment to improve, his work ethic, his fearlessness, right away, it is clear that there is no ceiling for this young man.

"He already had a lot of these positive traits but I kept encouraging him and feeding him that idea that his character was the most important thing and that was going to define what the group was and who he is. Obviously, players always need to be steeped in talent but it ends up being much more about their mindset and mentality than their actual talent."

Over in Bryne, a sleepy town in western Norway, a broad smile flashes across the face of Alf Ingve Berntsen as these reflections about Haaland are recounted to his childhood coach.

"That means more to me than Erling winning the Golden Boy award," he tells Sky Sports.

"You must appreciate your team-mates and if you don’t have the best chance to score, give it someone else. You gain more from being a team player than just thinking about yourself.

"But I also think that Erling is just like that. He is not playing a game. He really loves it when someone on his team does well. He will always be happy for a team-mate to score.

"I am proud of Erling and what he has achieved but especially how he behaves as a human being. He is just like he was in Bryne and that pleases me very much. He is a good guy."
It was in Bryne that the Haaland story began. It is an unlikely location for a football phenomenon. Even now, the town’s role in his development is a little understated.

"In Madeira, they have the airport named after Cristiano Ronaldo," says Berntsen. "Bryne is not like that. It is a hard life. It is windy and wet. You have to work hard to make a living. The mentality is still like this. But we have posters of him at the club. That is a huge thing in Bryne. That means we hugely appreciate him.

"But we do not have statues."

Haaland's father once played for Manchester City but it was no fancy academy that propelled him to the top. His formative years were not spent alongside fellow elite talent.

Instead, he played with friends within his own small community, one boy among 40. Others are now pursuing alternative careers. Haaland took a different path.

It is a story so unusual that Berntsen fields calls from all over the world. The biggest clubs in Norway and beyond want to know how it was possible the man now regarded as the best young striker in the game was lurking in Bryne at the age of 15.
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"We have to adapt to where we are living," he says. "Academies are a very good thing but it would not have worked in Bryne so we had to do it in a different way."