Erling Haaland
Dortmund have a new world superstar on their hands. Nick Bid well reports
Erling Haaland’s remarkable productivity since arriving at Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January, with 12 goals in his first eight competitive games, has turned the 19-year-old Norwegian striker into a global phenomenon.
And his instant success at the Westfalenstadion has boosted the
Dor tmunder in every possible way: on the field, in the dressing room and boardroom, and on the terraces. Mid-term transfers can be hit-ormiss affairs, not least due to the
limited number of top
players available. But Dortmund certainly struck gold with Haaland. Often sloppy and inconsistent, Dortmund were a pale imitation of a title candidate last autumn. Now, with Haaland leading the charge, anything looks possible.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Dortmund’s swoop for Haaland was the internal HR dynamics at play behind the scenes at the Ruhr club. Only last summer coach Lucien Favre was adamant the side did not need to dip into the market for another striker, insisting he was more than happy to use the mobile and freewheeling Paco Alcacer and Mario Gotze at the point of attack. According to insiders, Favre was not at all interested in a big, bullish centre-forward such as Haaland.
Ultimately, however, it would not be Favre’s decision to make. In Germany it is the chief executive and director of sport who call the tune, and Dortmund’s HansJoachim Watzke and Michael Zorc most definitely had a soft spot for Haaland.
The teenager had been on the duo’s radar for quite some time, and with so many other clubs – among them Manchester United, Juventus and RB Leipzig – hot on the trail, Watzke and Zorc decided to go for broke, eventually
“You have to give a 19-year-old a breather from time to time. We have to be careful” Dortmund boss Lucien Favre
persuading the Norwegian to sign a four-and-a-half-year contract.
Two points need to be made. One: Dortmund remain very much the number one destination for up-and-coming youngsters in Europe. Two: here was a case of the Dortmund power-brokers tacitly confessing to past failures in recruitment policy; a clear admission that for far too long – since Robert Lewandowski moved to Bayern Munich in 2014 – they had suffered from the lack of a genuine central striker.
In an interview with Kicker magazine published in mid-January, a fortnight after Haaland signed for Dortmund,
Favre denied that he had to be sold the merits of the deal and has subsequently been unstinting in his praise of the young goalgetter. And why wouldn’t he? Haaland is the winning lottery ticket, delivering a supersub hat-trick on his debut, in a 5-3 win at Augsburg, and netting a brace in a Champions League round-of-16 first-leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
Haaland’s statistics this term speak for themselves: 39 goals in all competitions for Salzburg and Dortmund up to the end of February, including no fewer than six hat-tricks.
Amid all the media frenzy, Favre knows only too well that he must do all he can to throw a protective blanket over the teenager in order to keep a lid on the hype factory.
“He scored so many great goals for Salzburg and I don’t see why he shouldn’t continue like this in the German Bundesliga,” Favre told Kicker. “However, it’s obvious that he can’t play every match.
“You have to give a 19-year-old a breather from time to time. We have to be careful. In attack he’s not our only option.” Some would vehemently argue with the last point.
Much has been made of the club’s signing coup, with the media concentrating on the fact that Dortmund only had to stump up €20million to trigger Haaland’s release from Salzburg. But that is by no means the bottom line in the outgoings column. When transfer fee, agent bill, salary and signing-on monies are taken into account, the complete financial package comes to far nearer €100m.
While Dortmund are counting on being able to make a serious return on their investment, they will not have a licence to print money. German magazine Sport
Bild recently reported that Haaland’s contract contains a more than affordable €75m exit clause, which could come into play as early as 2022. Sport Bild’s information is that Haaland and his entourage had hoped to set the release figure at €50m but Dortmund would not play ball, insisting that the bar be set 50 per cent higher.
Normally Dortmund avoid buy-out clauses in contracts. The last player they allowed to have one was Gotze, who controversially left for Bayern in a €37m deal in 2013. Dortmund swore they would never be caught out again, yet they simply had to compromise to bring Haaland on board.
That’s Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola for you, invariably striking a hard bargain.
Dortmund do possess one magic bullet, though. In the event of Haaland leaving before the end of his contract, the club will recoup all the money they spent on him, including salary, agent commissions, special payments and bonuses – which is a pretty good insurance policy.
Needless to say, Haaland has exceeded all expectations at Dortmund these past few weeks. After watching him rack up 28 goals for Salzburg in the first half of this season, every member of the
German media knew a young star was on the way. But no one could possibly have imagined him immediately ending up in the stratosphere.
Early in January, 10 days before his debut for the club, the cover of Kicker summed up the general mood by stating: “The Great Hope. Dortmund bet on Erling Haaland. But the 19-year-old will not solve all their problems on his own.”
Yet the left-footer seems to have done just that. First and foremost he is the striker Dortmund have lacked for years: a voraciously hungry seeker of goals, a tall and muscular advanced focal point, excellent in his combination play and movement, and imbued with an impressive work ethic both on and off the ball. Deceptively quick, he is in his element when loitering on the shoulder of the last defender. Teams who aim to counter Dortmund with a high defensive line are asking for trouble.
Thanks in no small part to him, Dortmund have become a completely different attacking proposition. Going forward they were essentially a troupe of roving ball-artists prior to his arrival. These days they attack with more directness and aggression. Haaland has brought a single-mindedness to the mix, with straight-for-goal effectiveness prioritised over the decorative.
The teen has also sparked a change in attitude at Dortmund. His energy, will to win and positive body language have undoubtedly rubbed off on his team-mates and there is far less mental flakiness in the ranks. Nor is it a coincidence that the Ruhr giants are muchimproved defensively. The threat of Haaland is forcing opponents to be more conservative, sitting back in greater numbers and wary of flooding forward. The Dortmund rearguard is thus enjoying some respite. The fear factor works.
“Haaland is a full-on type who can bring others along with him through his personality,” says Zorc. “He’s the complete package and is good for us.”
Dortmund are reaping a substantial Haaland bonus on other fronts too. In the first week of January the club sold 5,000 of his number 17 shirt and at the Westfalenstadion there is a palpable buzz of excitement every time he approaches the ball. Dortmund fans, connoisseurs of whole-hearted talent, know a good thing when they see it and they sense a brave new world on the horizon.
One player may not make a team but, as Erling Haaland has shown, the right acquisition can light a fuse. Stand well back. The explosion is ongoing.