Erling Braut Haaland - The future of football

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Ok so is it me or are teams as I predicted starting to work him out a bit. He is a phenomenal goal scorer but I'm starting to think the folk who were telling all the other EPL sides not to bother turning up as they can not be stopped have shown themselves to be footballing illiterates.
 
Ok so is it me or are teams as I predicted starting to work him out a bit. He is a phenomenal goal scorer but I'm starting to think the folk who were telling all the other EPL sides not to bother turning up as they can not be stopped have shown themselves to be footballing illiterates.

He doesn’t suit City. He isn’t a incredible striker but he plays on the shoulder, he is perfect for counter attack teams and teams that cross. City don’t don’t either much.

Pep wanted Kane and you can see why he is smart and plays between the lines. Kane, Foden, De Bruyne would have been brutal.

Haaland will do well at City when they get a manager who is a bit more direct.
 
He doesn’t suit City. He isn’t a incredible striker but he plays on the shoulder, he is perfect for counter attack teams and teams that cross. City don’t don’t either much.

Pep wanted Kane and you can see why he is smart and plays between the lines. Kane, Foden, De Bruyne would have been brutal.

Haaland will do well at City when they get a manager who is a bit more direct.
32 EPL goals (+12 CL goals) so far seem pretty darn well to me :cool:
 


ERL WITH THE PEARL EARRING

Erling Haaland fan immortalises Man City striker in famous masterpieces and iconic film scenes​


  • Published: 21:00, 21 Apr 2023
  • Updated: 21:38, 21 Apr 2023
ERLING Haaland’s masterpiece goals inspired an artist to immortalise him in scores of classic images.
Self-taught Rory O’Keefe even portrayed the Manchester City striker as Johannes Vermeer’s famous Girl With A Pearl Earring.
Erling Haaland as Johannes Vermeer’s famous Girl With A Pearl Earring
10
Erling Haaland as Johannes Vermeer’s famous Girl With A Pearl EarringCredit: Deadline
The striker is painted like Vincent van Gogh
10
The striker is painted like Vincent van GoghCredit: © RoryPaints - http://www.redbubble.com/people/RoryPaint
Haaland in the style of Jack & Rose from the movie Titanic
10
Haaland in the style of Jack & Rose from the movie TitanicCredit: Deadline
The City ace in the Obama-style poster
10
The City ace in the Obama-style posterCredit: Deadline
Others are in the style of Van Gogh, Barack Obama’s Hope campaign poster and a church stained-glass window.
The record-breaking Norwegian, 22, is also shown as both Jack and Rose in the bow scene from Titanic.
Rory, from Cardiff, said: “Erling Haaland is my muse. I’ve painted him over 100 times in many different ways.”
Asked why pick him, he added: “Why does anyone paint anything?


"Why did Monet paint water lilies? Why did da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa? Why did cavemen paint animals with faeces in caves?”

He added the works were not for sale.

Refusing to give more details, he said: “My reasons will remain a mystery”.

Haaland, 22, has so far scored 48 goals in his first Premier League season.

Haaland as master complete with hounds
10
Haaland as master complete with houndsCredit: Deadline
The footie player as the iconic cherub
10
The footie player as the iconic cherubCredit: © RoryPaints - http://www.redbubble.com/people/RoryPaint
Haaland is painted in a church stained-glass window
10
Haaland is painted in a church stained-glass windowCredit: © RoryPaints - http://www.redbubble.com/people/RoryPaint
Haaland in the style of a religious painting
10
Haaland in the style of a religious paintingCredit: Deadline
Haaland has so far scored 48 goals in his first Premier League season
10
Haaland has so far scored 48 goals in his first Premier League seasonCredit: Getty
Rory O’Keefe said: 'Erling Haaland is my muse. I’ve painted him over 100 times in many different ways'
10
Rory O’Keefe said: 'Erling Haaland is my muse. I’ve painted him over 100 times in many different ways'
 


ERL WITH THE PEARL EARRING

Erling Haaland fan immortalises Man City striker in famous masterpieces and iconic film scenes​


  • Published: 21:00, 21 Apr 2023
  • Updated: 21:38, 21 Apr 2023
ERLING Haaland’s masterpiece goals inspired an artist to immortalise him in scores of classic images.
Self-taught Rory O’Keefe even portrayed the Manchester City striker as Johannes Vermeer’s famous Girl With A Pearl Earring.
Erling Haaland as Johannes Vermeer’s famous Girl With A Pearl Earring
10
Erling Haaland as Johannes Vermeer’s famous Girl With A Pearl EarringCredit: Deadline
The striker is painted like Vincent van Gogh
10
The striker is painted like Vincent van GoghCredit: © RoryPaints - http://www.redbubble.com/people/RoryPaint
Haaland in the style of Jack & Rose from the movie Titanic
10
Haaland in the style of Jack & Rose from the movie TitanicCredit: Deadline
The City ace in the Obama-style poster
10
The City ace in the Obama-style posterCredit: Deadline
Others are in the style of Van Gogh, Barack Obama’s Hope campaign poster and a church stained-glass window.
The record-breaking Norwegian, 22, is also shown as both Jack and Rose in the bow scene from Titanic.
Rory, from Cardiff, said: “Erling Haaland is my muse. I’ve painted him over 100 times in many different ways.”
Asked why pick him, he added: “Why does anyone paint anything?


"Why did Monet paint water lilies? Why did da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa? Why did cavemen paint animals with faeces in caves?”

He added the works were not for sale.

Refusing to give more details, he said: “My reasons will remain a mystery”.

Haaland, 22, has so far scored 48 goals in his first Premier League season.

Haaland as master complete with hounds
10
Haaland as master complete with houndsCredit: Deadline
The footie player as the iconic cherub
10
The footie player as the iconic cherubCredit: © RoryPaints - http://www.redbubble.com/people/RoryPaint
Haaland is painted in a church stained-glass window
10
Haaland is painted in a church stained-glass windowCredit: © RoryPaints - http://www.redbubble.com/people/RoryPaint
Haaland in the style of a religious painting
10
Haaland in the style of a religious paintingCredit: Deadline
Haaland has so far scored 48 goals in his first Premier League season
10
Haaland has so far scored 48 goals in his first Premier League seasonCredit: Getty
Rory O’Keefe said: 'Erling Haaland is my muse. I’ve painted him over 100 times in many different ways''Erling Haaland is my muse. I’ve painted him over 100 times in many different ways'
10
Rory O’Keefe said: 'Erling Haaland is my muse. I’ve painted him over 100 times in many different ways'
I think erling is going to have to be checking the bushes outside his house at night.
 

jb-haaland-comp.jpg



CALVIN DECLINED

Fans ask ‘how do I unsee this?’ as Erling Haaland poses with Noel Gallagher in underwear after win over Woolwich​


FANS fear they will "never unsee" a snap of Erling Haaland in just his wonder-smalls with Noel Gallagher.

Manchester City were celebrating pulling Woolwich's pants down in a 4-1 win.
 



ERLING Haaland was once a “little guy” with a buzz cut who couldn’t score for the first team of his home town side in Norway.

Now the 6ft 4in Manchester City striker is football’s most deadly predator, breaking the Premier League goal-scoring record with seven games to spare.

Ering Haaland is football’s most deadly predator and has broken the Premier League goal-scoring record
7
Ering Haaland is football’s most deadly predator and has broken the Premier League goal-scoring recordCredit: Getty
With his long blonde locks lapping his shoulders, he fired home against Woolwich on Wednesday to notch up 33 Prem strikes.

In all, he’s scored 49 times on his debut season in England.

On Twitter, former Five Live presenter Peter Allen branded City “a petrodollar powered juggernaut driven by a Nordic goal monster easily beating everyone”.

But even those who aren’t fans can admire the work that has gone into his transformation from a lanky teen to Viking marauder.

Here, Grant Rollings looks at how the 22-year-old became a goal-scoring machine.

Calorie-controlled killer​

It is hard to believe now but as a baby Erling was a small, thin boy.

Over the years he has worked hard to bulk up his 6ft 4in tall frame.

Haaland shows off his milk smoothies with kale
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Haaland shows off his milk smoothies with kaleCredit: Erling Braut Haaland (@erling.haaland) • Instagram photos and videos
He eats his dad’s home-made lasagne before every home game, wolfs down cow’s heart and liver and drinks milk laced with kale, which he calls “my magic potion”, to maintain a 6,000-calorie-a-day diet.

Erling also pays for his own chef, who cooks up a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired lunch of boiled fish and vegetables.

The young player’s development was undermined by growth spurts which meant he suffered injuries.

To prevent them, he installed a £50,000 walk-in cryotherapy chamber in house in Cheshire and takes regular ice baths.

He spends hours in the gym every day honing his six-pack, earning him the nickname The Terminator.

It has paid off because defenders bounce off the powerful player when they try to bring him down.

It has paid off because defenders bounce off the powerful player when they try to bring him down.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola called the Norwegian a “machine”.

Nearly two million rival fans signed a petition calling for Erling to be deported because he’s a “robot.”

Not a Jack the Lad​

ERLING is very different from City’s most expensive-ever signing, £100million England forward Jack Grealish.

While Jack is often seen out on the town with his pals and girlfriend, the Norwegian keeps a low profile with his 19-year-old girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen.

Erling Haaland was born in West Yorkshire
7
Erling Haaland was born in West YorkshireCredit: Instagram
It was during a trip back home to Scandinavia around two years ago that he fell for Isabel, who, like him, had been part of the Bryne FK team’s football academy.

Erling is not one for partying or boasting about his exploits, preferring to do his talking on the pitch.


Ex-coach Alf Ingve Berntsen said: “In our part of the country we used to have a lot of farmers. People had to work very hard and not speak too much.

“So it’s in our genetics. It’s better to do the work than to talk a lot. So Erling is a typical person from our region.”

The player, though, thinks he’s been able to adapt to the laddish Premier League.

He said: “My father spent ten years in England so he kind of brought me up to have a bit of English banter.”

Since moving to Manchester last summer, though, pals back in Norway have apparently seen less of their golden boy.

Bryne player Robert Undheim says: “We see little of him. I think he has cut out a lot of people he knows and is halfway friends with.

“But he has a very good team around him that is easy to relate to. That makes a lot of sense, I think.”

Self-belief in his DNA​

Even though Erling was incredibly quick and skilful, few people in his home town thought he’d go on to be a superstar – apart from the player himself.


This week classmate Robert Undheim, who was replaced when a 15-year-old Erling made his debut for Bryne football club in 2016, revealed: “In high school he said he was going to be the best in the world in football.

Proud Erling as a kid with his mum, dad, brother and sister
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Proud Erling as a kid with his mum, dad, brother and sisterCredit: INSTAGRAM/Gabrielle Braut Haaland
“People made fun of him. But he meant it. One hundred per cent.”

His former coach Alfe Ingve Berntsen said: “Erling was the best when he was a little guy, but we didn’t think when I began to coach him when he was seven that he would become top scorer in the Champions League.”

Erling never scored in his 16 first team games for Bryne.

But his pace attracted the attention of Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when he was manager of Norwegian side Molde.

He saw his potential and signed him as a 16-year-old, teaching the youngster how to head the ball.

He then joined Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg in 2019.

A year later he moved to Borussia Dortmund in Germany, before joining Man City last summer.

Football farm​

THE striker isn’t the first top flight player off the Haaland production line.

He was born in West Yorkshire when his dad, Alfie, was playing for Leeds United in England’s top division.

His dad Alfie played for Leeds United in England’s top division
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His dad Alfie played for Leeds United in England’s top divisionCredit: alfiehaaland/Instagram
Athleticism and mental toughness are in Erling’s DNA.

Alfie was brave enough to get into an on-field feud with Manchester United hardman Roy Keane, while his mum Gry Marita Braut was a Norwegian heptathlon champ.

At the age of three, Erling moved to Bryne in Norway, where generations of the Haaland family are from. It is a farming community, and in the summer Erling has been known to help out his maternal great-uncle, former Norway international Gabriel Hoyland, with his pigs and potatoes.

He regularly returns to see his older brother Astor and sister Gabrielle, while his dad has helped to manage his career.

Erling’s relentless drive to improve came from a desire to be better than his footballer dad, who also played for Man City.

Explaining his motivation, he said: “When I was young it was getting better than my father and getting as good as I can.

“Now there is something inside me that just thinks about football all the time, about what I can do better.”

Money-making machine​

THE world’s most in-form striker has enough star quality for big brands to pay big bucks so they can be linked to him.

He has a £20million deal with Nike, earned a reported £2million from Samsung and was paid around £1million by luxury watch firm Breitling.


He has spent some of that money on a string of luxury cars, including a £300,000 Rolls-Royce Cullinan and a £120,000 Carbon Black Audi RS 6.

He also flies on private jets and splashes out on good food, reportedly adding a £25,000 tip to a £400,000 bill at a restaurant in Greece.

City pay him a reported £385,000 a week, with some suggestions that bonuses are worth another couple of hundred grand.

Bryne, a coastal town of just 12,000 people, is cashing in on the association with their most famous citizen.

There is talk of building an Erling Haaland museum to attract tourists who already visit to see the mural and statue of the striker and to buy shirts from the club shop.


Local businessman Inge Brigt Aarbakke said: “Imagine a place where people can come and look at the shirts he has used in the different clubs, not least the match balls he has scored his hat tricks with.

“I’m convinced that families on holiday would want to visit Bryne. The children would want to see where Erling grew up.”

Getting some shut-eye​

THE athlete is dedicated to the trend of following the body’s natural sleep pattern – known as the circadian cycle.

He revealed: “The first thing I do in the morning is to get some sunlight in my eyes. It is good for circadian rhythm.”


The striker taking a nap with a match ball
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The striker taking a nap with a match ballCredit: Instagram / @erling.haaland
Erling won’t touch his smart phone or any other electronic device two hours before bed time and at night he filters out blue light from digital screens with special spectacles.

He said: “I see this as key to improving performance by even just a few percentages. It’s a matter of mentality.”

The striker is so wrapped up in the Champions League that his morning alarm plays the competition’s anthem.

It is having the right effect because Erling is the top scorer this season with a dozen goals so far.

He knows that City’s United Arab Emirates billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour is paying him a fortune to win the most coveted silverware in club football.

Erling said: “The club want to win the Champions League. They didn’t bring me in to win the Premier League because they already know how to win it.”
 
He doesn’t suit City. He isn’t a incredible striker but he plays on the shoulder, he is perfect for counter attack teams and teams that cross. City don’t don’t either much.

Pep wanted Kane and you can see why he is smart and plays between the lines. Kane, Foden, De Bruyne would have been brutal.

Haaland will do well at City when they get a manager who is a bit more direct.
Aged well.
 
Aged well.

Maybe not but they still had to change their system to accommodate him as he doesn’t provide the build up play for a traditional Pep striker. I didn’t think Pep would make such hard changes but he is more flexible than I thought. I still have the same basic view, Kane would be far better for City than Haaland, he would have been a monster for them with how they play.
 
Maybe not but they still had to change their system to accommodate him as he doesn’t provide the build up play for a traditional Pep striker. I didn’t think Pep would make such hard changes but he is more flexible than I thought. I still have the same basic view, Kane would be far better for City than Haaland, he would have been a monster for them with how they play.
They definitely tweaked it. I think he's fascinating. Amazing goalscorer not the best footballer I've ever seen. He has one big thing g owing for him ego not an issue. Inter played him personally very well a few sides have. But he gets it and goes fine I'll let others win it if I can't. Good lad.
 
Maybe not but they still had to change their system to accommodate him as he doesn’t provide the build up play for a traditional Pep striker. I didn’t think Pep would make such hard changes but he is more flexible than I thought. I still have the same basic view, Kane would be far better for City than Haaland, he would have been a monster for them with how they play.
They essentially play with 10 men in possession, and almost the same out of it, but because they're so insane good as a team that works out fine, especially as Haaland is atop tier finisher.

Several of City's losses to us have boiled down to just not finishing easy chances. Haaland does that for them.

As an overall cohesive implementation of a footballing idea, Haaland is not doing his bit. If Pep didn't Stones, Gundogan, KDB etc. they'd be feeling the strain of having to carry Haaland the way we feel it with Son.
 
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