HE’S ALREADY A MONSTER ... AND HE’S STILL GROWING
Erling Haaland had already put on 10 kilos in muscle to transform from boy to man. Now City are staggered to find he’s even become taller since signing!
ERLING HAALAND stood outside NaSa when a drone came flying straight for his head. Modelling Manchester City’s new away kit at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, he had to remain still as the club shot footage with apollo’s Little Joe II rocket as a backdrop.
The drone briefly looked like veering off course before Haaland took evasive action, nonchalantly swaying clear. Hopefully Pep Guardiola will have been impressed by the hulking figure’s aptitude for instinctual movement in small spaces.
His City career had lift-off five days later during a short pre-season tour in the crazed electrical storms of Wisconsin. It took the 22-year-old just 12 minutes to score against Bayern Munich on his first appearance — and the hoopla around him, the screaming thousands at the home of the Green Bay Packers, showed why he is arguably the most anticipated Premier League signing since Paul Pogba re-joined Manchester United six years ago. Wildly different fortunes are promised.
City waited patiently for him, knowing Borussia dortmund would not entertain bids of any amount last summer and — as Real Madrid narrowed doomed eyes on Kylian Mbappe — they had their man.
‘The dominos fell in the right place,’ Uwe Rosler tells Sportsmail. ‘I really hope he makes a big impact for our football club.’ as a family friend and someone who covered his every move as a TV reporter in Germany, Rosler is well-placed to discuss Haaland. He also happens to enjoy cult status at City after a four-year spell.
‘Nobody has ever seen anything like this,’ he says. ‘He hardly misses a one-on-one. all angles, different speeds. Players become inaccurate with their final ball at top speed but not him.
‘Look at (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo. They didn’t develop like this. They didn’t have the goals per game at this age. There is nobody who can match him — especially when we talk about the Champions League.’
Haaland has 23 goals in that competition, for dortmund and Red Bull Salzburg, at one every 64 minutes.
‘Such an intelligent player,’ adds Rosler. ‘dortmund played vertically, looking for runs from Erling in behind and his timing is a very strong attribute. He is hardly ever offside — I’ve never seen that in someone so young.’
Haaland’s national head coach Stale Solbakken, who has seen him score a goal a game for Norway, agrees: ‘Never offside. amazing, amazing.’
EXPECTATION has forever followed Haaland, from learning under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Molde to a whirlwind 12 months at Salzburg initially with Marco Rose — later to become his manager in Germany — and Jesse Marsch, who oversaw a stunning goal return.
at dortmund they talk about the physical difference in Haaland over an astonishing two-and-a-half years.
‘In winter 2020, I saw a small guy — the muscles weren’t so big, baby face, short hair — and now he is like a monster, you know?’ says one source. ‘I’d estimate he has put on ten kilos more in muscle.’
Still growing, too, with suggestions around City that he may have become slightly taller since signing two months ago. Haaland might give fitness fanatic Ruben dias a run for his money at the City Football academy gym.
John Haddad, his Lebanese personal trainer, worked him hard at the Marbella football centre over the summer as the family vacationed at their second home on the Costa del Sol. He has thrown himself into yoga. There is the strict regime of refusing to use anything electrical two hours before he sleeps and, once the sun sets, he puts on orange-tinted blue-light filtering glasses to contribute to a restful night.
Haaland admitted last week he is ‘not perfect’ fitness-wise ahead of a debut campaign, with City holding him back from the first few days of pre-season training to work individually. He missed 16 matches through various problems last term.
The other question mark is around Guardiola’s defensive shape but Solbakken offered insight into how Haaland can manage City’s relentless pressing.
‘I’ve made his defensive duties very concrete — specialised and specific,’ he says. ‘We don’t let him off because Norway will never be good enough to defend with ten men. He has this tremendous speed. I tell him if he does six or seven quick yards against the goalkeeper or defenders, it always makes a big difference. He doesn’t have to work over 20 or 30 yards if he can put pressure on quickly.’
Short, sharp bursts are what we witnessed from Haaland against Bayern, aggressive running in the opposition’s third and City regularly turning over possession — often to the benefit of Kevin de Bruyne.
at his unveiling, Haaland maintained he can improve ‘everywhere’, a definitive answer from someone eager to learn under Guardiola. at dortmund, they saw proof of his desire to better himself.
‘When you’re 1.95m, your head can be a really strong weapon,’ says Rosler. ‘I spoke to Marco Rose and they focused on that. You can see the success. Last season he made a big step with his presence in the box.’
Rose’s assistant, ex-Bayern striker alexander Zickler, spent hours on the training ground with Haaland. Movement was key, as well as honing his ability to strike off his right foot.
‘alex was someone Erling looked up to,’ a source reveals. ‘He said: “I haven’t won the championship a single time and he has won it multiple times”. alex worked on the right foot, headers and so on. If you take a look at how he scored his goals in year one, then 80 or 90 per cent come from the left foot. In year two there were far more goals by headers and with the right foot.’
In significantly fewer games, headed goals went from one to five, right-footed strikes from three to four. Some work is still required, however, after Haaland missed when going with his preferred left peg rather than simply heading home during the Community Shield defeat by Liverpool.
He hardly misses a one-on-one. All angles, different speeds. And he is never offside. There is nobody who can match him
\TEAM Haaland are a small but dedicated group who have perfectly chosen each destination since leaving the small southwestern farming town of Bryne, with a population of 12,000, five years ago.
Molde was a 13-hour drive north. His father, former City captain alfie, felt the life lessons learned from living away from home would be as valuable as the football ones learned with Solskjaer.
Juventus were rejected in 2019, with Salzburg offering a more obvious pathway. Rose made him wait for his chance in austria but he soon exploded under Marsch and dortmund saw the benefits of landing him with a £51million release clause inserted. There is at least one release clause in his City contract, too, with suggestions of at least three times that price.
Alfie is aided by lawyer Rafaela Pimenta, who worked with Mino Raiola before his passing. Friend Ivar Eggja, who Haaland calls his uncle, was also present at his City unveiling. Ex-Southampton, Blackburn and Rangers striker Egil Ostenstad, now a financial adviser, is thought to advise on Haaland’s money.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a name which continuingly crops up when discussing the Norwegian. The style, the persona in front of the cameras.
‘Sometimes I felt he wanted to be a bit like his idol, Zlatan: a little bit cool,’ a source says. ‘But everyone in the dressing room liked him.’
Haaland gifted every player and staff member a Rolex worth between €5,0006,000 when he bid farewell to dortmund in May. He also requested the club give him one final day travelling around the city to ‘create memories’ and say goodbye. The Haaland Song — written by dortmund fans with the line ‘a superboy from outer space’ — follows him around and, if you don’t know it, look it up on YouTube. City serenaded him with it on tour before he gave a short speech at dinner in Houston. His initiation song, Hero by Enrique Iglesias, went down a storm.
Solbakken has a theory as to why Haaland commands adoration: ‘What I like most with him is he measures himself in goals — but he really enjoys playing the assist. He enjoys putting team-mates into a better position and you will never ever see him shoot when he should pass. He always takes the better option. His joy for his team-mates when they score is very real. When you have a physique like one of the best galloping horses, this hair and natural charisma… he is a team player when everyone else is screaming for goals.
‘His physique is unique in that his first metres are very quick, then the height — it’s a big advantage. Especially with counter-attacks. and then when City play their small passes around the box he can explode in the small areas.’