Eight interesting facts about Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland belongs to the league of young football stars in the world and joined the Premier League giants Manchester City in July 2022. At age only 21 he already achieved so much and is known for his lightning-quick speed, athleticism, and finishing.
Haaland started his career at Bryne before moving to Molde in 2018. He was snapped up by Red Bull Salzburg soon where he continued his impressive performances. His amazing displays earned the attention of Borussia Dortmund who signed him in 2019. And now he is close to joining Manchester City.
Below we have listed eight interesting facts about Erling Haaland.
1- Haaland copies Ronaldo
Athletes take great care of their diet to remain super healthy and fit. They eat only healthy food to remain in shape. And Erling Haaland does the same thing as well. It is said that the Norwegian star follows the diet of one of the best soccer players of all time – Cristiano Ronaldo.
The striker’s dad revealed in 2020 that his son copies his diet of Ronaldo, with Haaland only eating fish, pasta and chicken, etc.
Erling Haaland is one of the best young footballers in the current football world. He wants to achieve the same as Ronaldo and so is following the diet of his idol.
2- Debut at 15
Haaland loved football from a very early age. Therefore, he joined the Bryne academy when he was only five years old. He progressed through the ranks at the Norwegian club and earned his debut for the senior team when he was only 15.
At a time when children were thinking about bunking school, Haaland had already progressed a great deal in his career. In a short time, he had made a huge name for himself. His talent started making waves in Norway and soon the country’s biggest club Molde signed the talented footballer. At that time, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (who later managed the biggest English side Manchester United) was at the helm of affairs at the club.
3- Eligible to play for England
Haaland is only 21 years old but he has already earned several international caps. The supremely talented player has racked up 21 appearances so far, scoring an incredible 20 goals. He made his senior debut for Norway in September 2019 against Malta. He went on to score his first international goal for his country that same month.
This is the information that most people would have been familiar with. However, what is a lesser-known fact about Erling Haaland is that he also had the option of representing England. Imagine what the Three Lions team would have been like with Haaland in front! This is because he was born in Leeds, a city in the county of West Yorkshire, England. However, he moved to Bryne, Norway in 2004 at the age of three.
4- Nine goals in one match record
Erling Haaland is a goal machine which is one of the most interesting facts about Erling Haaland. He has been scoring plenty of goals at several clubs he played. The Norwegian joined Molde in 2017 and went on to score 20 goals in 50 appearances for the club.
Haaland landed a move to Red Bull Salzburg in 2018 and he also impressed there with his performances. He earned his name on the scoresheet on 29 occasions in 27 total games. That attracted the attention of Borussia Dortmund who splashed €20 million to secure his signature. And he tremendously increased his stocks there as well as he struck an incredible 86 goals in 89 total appearances. So that proves that he is a goal machine. Now he is expected to shine at Manchester City as well, where he will be surrounded by high-quality players.
You might be greatly surprised to know that he struck nine goals in a single game in May 2019. That was against Honduras when he was playing for the Norway under-20 team in the U-20 World Cup. And despite his team going out in the group stages, Haaland still won the golden boot. He can be unstoppable on his day.
5- Jumping ability
Erling Haaland is greatly praised in the world for his amazing speed and huge stature of 194cm. While his mobility and athleticism are other traits that have made him such a big football star who has been a nightmare for the opposition defenders.
However, what is distinct about the Norwegian star is his great jumping ability which also the specialty of Cristiano Ronaldo. He is a record-beating jumper. He produced a standing jump of 1.63 meters when he was only five, which was a new world record. And amazingly, that record stands to this day. This is another interesting fact about Erling Haaland.
Erling Braut Haaland still holds the world record for the longest-standing long jump for 5-year-olds. Haaland jumped 1.63m on 22 Jan 2006. https://t.co/9h5cYtx8dW pic.twitter.com/dj8spKkEEE
— André Noruega (@AndreOstgaard) February 19, 2020
6- His dad was a midfielder
Haaland’s dad Alf-Inge Haaland was also a footballer. He would play as a midfielder in England. During his career, he played for Premier League clubs like Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester City. Haaland was born when he was playing for Leeds.
Alf-Inge Haaland was famously badly tackled by Roy Keane who intentionally fouled him in revenge for an old challenge.
7- Zlatan Ibrahimovic is his idol
Erling Haaland spoke about many footballers as his idol. However, the most mentioned name is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede currently plays as a striker for Serie A side AC Milan. He has made a huge name for himself in the football world. The 40-year-old has played for some of the richest football clubs, including Juventus, Milan, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain. Even though he is 40, he is still troubling defenses with his amazing attributes.
The way Erling Haaland is performing, he doesn’t look very far from winning his first Ballon d’Or and thus leaving behind his idol Zlatan.
8- Love for the Champions League
Almost every footballer dreams of making a name for himself in the Champions League. The same is true for Erling Haaland who regards it as more than a competition and said that he has even put the Champions League anthem as his alarm clock. He is crazy about the prestigious competition. He said: “I wake up to it every day. It’s the last song I’m tired of. I always get a perfect start to the day.”
