Erling Haaland is a phenomenon in the world of football. At 22 years old, he has already scored more goals in a Premier League season than anyone before him and is just the second player in English top-flight history to net more than 50 times in all competitions – and the first for 95 years. His move to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund for an initial £51.2m last summer has been a huge success, helping the champions back to the top of the league table and eyeing a Treble. Born in Leeds in 2000, the son of former Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Manchester City defender Alf-Inge Haaland and heptathlete Gry Marita Braut, Erling achieved a world record in his age category for the standing long jump with a jump of 1.63 metres when he was five years old. He was a skinny, fast and incredibly dedicated winger at youth level and grew in confidence, size and stature at Bryne, his boyhood club where he came through the academy. A spell at Molde between 2017-19 under the tutelage of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer helped him develop as a finisher and he moved to Red Bull Salzburg in 2019, scoring 25 goals in 23 matches. He then moved to Borussia Dortmund for about 20m euros, scoring 86 goals in 89 appearances before joining Manchester City last summer. His trainer Ivar Eggja works closely with his father and acts as a ‘facilitator’ for the striker, finding him a home, looking after his diet and giving him everything he needs so he only thinks about football. His trainer Mario Pafundi helps him understand his body, which has meant Haaland has so far avoided the injuries that set him back last year at Borussia Dortmund. He has gained around 12kg of muscle in the past 15 months as a result of privileged genetics, a regime involving the consumption of enormous quantities of quality food, coupled with hugely demanding training circuits and a relaxed life style incorporating periods of meditation which he uses to ensure his mind is in the right place. Haaland is never satisfied and always looking to improve, and many expect him to try his trade in Spain and Italy next, with his desire to succeed in the biggest leagues in the world.
Erling Haaland is a phenomenon in the world of football. At 22 years old, he has already scored more goals in a Premier League season than anyone before him and is just the second player in English top-flight history to net more than 50 times in all competitions – and the first for 95 years. Born in Leeds in 2000, the son of former Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Manchester City defender Alf-Inge Haaland and heptathlete Gry Marita Braut, Erling achieved a world record in his age category for the standing long jump with a jump of 1.63 metres when he was five years old. He was a skinny, fast and incredibly dedicated winger at youth level and grew in confidence, size and stature at Bryne, his boyhood club where he came through the academy. A spell at Molde between 2017-19 under the tutelage of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer helped him develop as a finisher and he moved to Red Bull Salzburg in 2019, scoring 25 goals in 23 matches. He then moved to Borussia Dortmund for about 20m euros, scoring 86 goals in 89 appearances before joining Manchester City last summer for an initial £51.2m. His move to Etihad Stadium has been a huge success, helping the champions back to the top of the league table and eyeing a Treble, with an FA Cup final and two Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid on the horizon.
Erling Haaland’s success is largely due to his trainer Ivar Eggja who works closely with his father and acts as a ‘facilitator’ for the striker, finding him a home, looking after his diet and giving him everything he needs so he only thinks about football. His trainer Mario Pafundi helps him understand his body, which has meant Haaland has so far avoided the injuries that set him back last year at Borussia Dortmund. He has gained around 12kg of muscle in the past 15 months as a result of privileged genetics, a regime involving the consumption of enormous quantities of quality food, coupled with hugely demanding training circuits and a relaxed life style incorporating periods of meditation which he uses to ensure his mind is in the right place.
Haaland is never satisfied and always looking to improve, and many expect him to try his trade in Spain and Italy next, with his desire to succeed in the biggest leagues in the world. He is fanatical as a trainer and invariably the first to arrive and the last to leave, loves Italian food, Italian wine, eating well and has little time for social media. He is not afraid of making mistakes and is unfailingly positive in the knowledge that even if he does not get it right he will always get another chance. He is passionate about the powers of meditation and its ability to remove stress from his life and also conscious of the need for good quality sleep. Manchester City’s challenge is to play their style of game while still ensuring Haaland is engaged, occupied, fully focused and generally happy – something that manager Pep Guardiola has admitted they have had to work on since their defeat at Manchester United in January. No player has influenced Guardiola more since Lionel Messi at Barcelona, but the frightening thing for the rest of Europe is that Haaland’s best could be yet to come.