Erling Haaland


Erling Braut Håland is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Norway national team. A prolific goalscorer, he is recognised for his pace, athleticism, strength and precise off-the-ball movement, and he has been heralded as one of the best young footballers in the world.
Haaland started his career at his hometown club Bryne in 2016, and moved to Molde the next year where he spent two years, before signing with Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg in January 2019. With Salzburg, he won the Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup.
In the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, he became the first teenager to score in five consecutive UEFA Champions League matches. In December 2019, Haaland completed a transfer to Borussia Dortmund for a fee reported in the region of €20 million. He carried on his goal-scoring success in the 2019–20 Champions League campaign, becoming the second teenager to score 10 goals in the competition.
Although eligible to play for the England national team, Haaland chose Norway. After the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, in which he won the Golden Boot where he scored nine goals in a match, another record, Haaland made his debut for the Norway senior team in September 2019.

Early life

Haaland was born in Leeds, England, as his father, footballer Alf-Inge Håland, was playing in the Premier League at the time.

Club career

Bryne

Haaland started in the academy of his hometown club Bryne. During the 2015–16 seasons, Haaland played for the reserve team Bryne 2 where he impressed scoring 18 goals in 14 matches. His performances for the reserves led him to his senior debut, 15 years of age, Haaland made his Bryne debut on 12 May 2016 in a 1. divisjon match against Ranheim. Whilst at Bryne, he also had an unsuccessful trial at German Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Haaland played 16 matches for Bryne.

Molde

2017 season

On 1 February 2017, Molde announced the signing of Haaland. He made his debut on 26 April 2017 in the Norwegian Cup match against Volda TI. Haaland scored his first goal for Molde in his debut in the 3–2 win against Volda. His league debut came on 4 June 2017 when he came on as a substitute in the 71st minute against Sarpsborg 08. He received a yellow card after 65 seconds on the pitch. Haaland scored the winner in the 77th minute, a goal which was his first Eliteserien goal. He scored his second league goal of the season on 17 September, a match-winning goal against Viking in a 3–2 win. In the aftermath of the goal, he received criticism from teammate Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson for celebrating towards Viking supporters. Haaland finished his first season at Molde with 4 goals in 20 appearances.

2018 season

On 1 July 2018, Haaland scored 4 goals against Brann within the first 21 minutes of the match, securing his team a 4–0 away win over the unbeaten league leaders at the time. The hat-trick was scored in 11 minutes and 2 seconds and all four goals in 17 minutes and 4 seconds. A Manchester United scout was present at the match. Molde FK manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær after the match compared Haaland's style of play to Romelu Lukaku and revealed the club had rejected several bids for Haaland from different clubs.
In the following match on 8 July, Haaland continued his scoring run when he scored two goals and gained an assist in the 5–1 victory against Vålerenga. He scored in Molde's UEFA Europa League victory against KF Laçi in a 3–0 win on 26 July. Due to a sprained ankle, Haaland did not participate in Molde's three last league matches of the season. For his performances in the 2018 Eliteserien, Haaland received the Eliteserien Breakthrough of the Year award. He finished the 2018 season as Molde's top goalscorer with 16 goals in 30 matches in all competitions.
The Athletic's Phil Hay revealed that prior to Haaland's move to Red Bull Salzburg, Haaland was also subject of an offer from English Championship club Leeds United.

Red Bull Salzburg

On 19 August 2018, Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg announced that Haaland would join the club on 1 January 2019, signing a five-year contract. On 19 July 2019, Haaland scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 7–1 Austrian Cup win against SC-ESV Parndorf, and followed it on 10 August with his first Austrian Bundesliga hat-trick in a 5–2 win against Wolfsberger AC. Haaland scored his third hat-trick for Red Bull Salzburg on 14 September, in a 7–2 victory over TSV Hartberg, taking his seasonal record to eleven league goals in seven appearances, and three days later, he got another in his 2019–20 UEFA Champions League debut against Genk in a 6–2 victory, his fourth overall for the club.
Haaland then went on to become only the second teenager in UEFA Champions League history to score in each of his first three appearances in the competition, after Karim Benzema, with a goal against Liverpool and two against Napoli; his six goals set a new record for the most goals by a player in his first three appearances in the Champions League. Later on, he scored a goal against Napoli to be the first teenager to score in his first four matches in the competition, and the fourth player of any age to achieve that feat, following Zé Carlos, Alessandro Del Piero and Diego Costa. On 27 November, he scored another goal against Genk to reach five consecutive matches, and joined Del Piero, Serhiy Rebrov, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski in doing so.

Borussia Dortmund

Haaland completed his transfer to German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund a couple of days before the January 2020 winter transfer window for a fee reported to be in the region of €20 million, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. He made his debut against Augsburg on 18 January 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 56th minute, and scoring a hat-trick within 23 minutes in a 5–3 win. He became the second player in Dortmund history to score three goals in their Bundesliga debut, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. During his second appearance for Borussia Dortmund, played on 24 January against local rivals 1. FC Köln, Haaland came on once again as a substitute, in the 65th minute. He scored 12 minutes later, before scoring a second after 10 minutes, helping his team win 5–1. Haaland became the first Bundesliga player to score five goals in his opening two matches, as well as the fastest player to reach that tally. On 18 February 2020, Haaland scored both goals in a 2–1 home victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. The Norwegian teenager tallied ten Champions League goals in just his first eight appearances in the 2019–20 campaign, eight goals for Red Bull Salzburg and two goals for Borussia Dortmund.
Following the Bundesliga's return during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Haaland scored the first goal since German football was halted in late March, scoring in a 4–0 win over FC Schalke 04 on 16 May. It was his 10th goal in the Bundesliga campaign. On 20 June 2020, Haaland scored twice in a 2–0 win against RB Leipzig to secure Champions League football for Dortmund in the following season.

International career

Although also eligible to play for England, Haaland chose Norway, and has represented them at various age groups. With Norway U19, on 27 March 2018 he scored a hat-trick against Scotland in a 5–4 victory to help Norway secure their qualification to the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
On 22 July 2018, Haaland scored for Norway U19 in a 1–1 draw against Italy in the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
On 30 May 2019, Haaland scored nine goals in Norway U20's 12–0 win against Honduras U20 at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Lublin, Poland. This was Norway U20's biggest ever win and Honduras U20's heaviest ever defeat. This also set a new U-20 World Cup record for most goals scored by a single player in a match, and also the biggest win by any team in the history of the tournament. Despite the Norwegians being eliminated in the group stage, and Haaland not scoring in any other matches in the tournament, he won its Golden Boot.
After the impressive performance in 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, a good run of form with Red Bull Salzburg and scoring six goals in the first four matches of the 2019–20 Austrian Bundesliga, on 28 August 2019 Haaland was named by manager Lars Lagerbäck in the Norway senior team squad to face Malta and Sweden in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches, and made his debut on 5 September 2019 against Malta.

Style of play

Recognised for his explosive acceleration and pace, athleticism, strength and precise off the ball movement, Haaland's runs in behind defenders often see him in ideal positions to score. Haaland is also quick to recognise when an opponent is preoccupied or caught ball watching, leading him to pounce when a gap opens between defenders to offer a great option for his teammates. During his short career, Haaland has established himself as a versatile goalscorer, with him being able to score through powerful long-range shots, well-placed finishes, composed finishes during a one-on-one with goal keepers, headers, and dinks.
A team player, Haaland is also an instinctive and quick reader of the play, which contributes to his quick leaps to go with his large body frame in helping him win second balls or flick long passes onto runners in behind. During his time at Dortmund, his strategic pinning and drawing of markers away from space for others to use has provided players like Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi and Thorgan Hazard with space to run into to either assist or score goals. When Haaland drops deep to link play, he also acts as a good reference point through using his strength to protect the ball to hold off his opponent.
Haaland is able to turn defenders in an instant and drive past them whilst using feints and changing his direction. In addition, rather than give into fouls he often remains balanced and upright when being challenged. His precise timing of runs allows him to burst ahead to perfect locations unimpeded, and his sharp movements—including zigzag, double movements, and stop-go—makes him more elusive for his markers. This has been specifically beneficial when he is inside the box, as he's given the opportunity to get goal-side, attack the back post or peel off his man to occupy dangerous areas for cutbacks.

Personal life

Haaland is the son of the Norwegian former Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City defender Alf-Inge Håland. He was born in Leeds and supports Leeds United. In February 2017, in an interview with Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, Haaland stated that "The dream is to win the Premier League with Leeds." He moved to Bryne in Norway with his family at the age of three.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg
Norway U17
Individual