8,813 ERLING BRAUT HAALAND, 20 Borussia Dortmund, Forward
Norway were almost certain to miss out on the knockout stages of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland when they faced minnows Honduras in what would turn out to be an inconsequential group stage game. Despite the result having no bearing on the later stages of the tournament, the game made headlines around the world. Followers of the sport who hadn’t yet heard of Erling Braut Haaland, son of former Leeds United and Manchester City player Alf-inge Haaland, would be sure to remember the name now.
The then-18-year-old forward scored, quite incredibly, nine times in a 12-0 win for Norway. “I think I should have scored 10,” Haaland told reporters after the game. It was the world’s first glimpse into the kind of devastation the young Norwegian could wreak on opposition defences.
Now 20, Haaland is already feared across Europe. There is talk of potential bids of over 150 million Euros from the continent’s elite clubs. Averaging almost a goal per game in over 50 games for Borussia Dortmund, at a time where the club has struggled for form, tells only part of the story.
The secret behind the meteoric rise of the prolific forward lies, perhaps, in resisting the temptation to sign for Europe’s most famous clubs and choosing instead to focus on getting as much game time as possible.
Moving from Bryne to Molde in Norway and then to RB Salzburg in Austria while snubbing bigger names, and then reportedly turning down the likes of Manchester United to move to Dortmund, has certainly worked for Haaland.
“It was up to me and my team to try to find the right club for him. We visited Salzburg and some other clubs as well, more glamorous clubs if you would like to say that. But Salzburg is the perfect match for Erling,” Haaland Sr said, explaining his son’s move to Austria in an interview with Sky Sports in 2019.