Erling Haaland Is Not Human
When you think about the modern striker in football, the role has evolved into several different forms. There is the center forward that plays in a false nine, occasionally dropping back into the midfield and powering the team forward. There is the flashy, pacey striker that has a combination of skill moves and creativity and can function on the wing. Lastly, there is the pure striker — a dying breed. The pure striker is one who senses where the ball is going to be, and whose only job is to get the ball in the back of the net. This is not as appealing to the newer generation as they get fewer touches and are less glorified. Unless you are Erling Haaland.
Erling Braut Haaland was born in Leeds, England, where his father was playing professionally. Shortly afterward, he moved back to his parent’s native country of Norway, the country he now represents. Haaland initially entered the world view when he signed for Red Bull Salzburg at the age of 19. In the UEFA Champions League group stage, he scored six goals in his first three matches, the most that anyone has scored in their first three UCL Matches. Following a loss to Liverpool that would ultimately end Salzburg’s UCL run, Haaland moved to Borussia Dortmund, a top team in Germany, during the January transfer window.
In his debut, Haaland came on as a substitute in the second half against FC Augsburg, and scored a hat-trick in 20 minutes, leading his side to a 5-3 victory. He would continue his form for the next two years until it was time to advance his career.
In the summer of 2022, Manchester City activated Haaland’s ₤51 million release clause, moving him to the English Premier League, where he played under legendary manager Pep Guardiola. Currently, Haaland has 17 goals in 11 games across all competitions for Manchester City.
In his career so far, he has broken a multitude of records in the top competitions around Europe. Just last Sunday, Haaland scored a hat-trick in his first Manchester Derby, being the only player to score hat-tricks in three consecutive games in the Prem. He is incomparable to anyone else in the world. Defenders are only a mere illusion, the opponent’s half is his territory and he always leaves his mark on the pitch. With 142 goals and 33 assists in just 162 games, Erling Haaland is the best striker in the world. The stat line is so insane it sounds fake.
Manchester is blue
The victim of Haaland’s crusade on Sunday was Manchester United. The former European superpower has fallen from grace in the past few seasons. The prestige of United is only paralleled in history by Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. After their 6-3 loss to City, it is only right that we see what is happening on Manchester’s red side.
The Red Devils recently hired manager Erik Ten Hag from Ajax, in the hopes that he could turn things around. United is not lacking in quality, with many world-class players filling up the roster. But for some reason, the team has not been clicking. The defense is sloppy, the midfield can not control the game and the forwards are not as clinical as they should be. As a result, players like Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez and Anthony Martial, who were either world-class or extremely promising, never really reached their potential. Ten Hag was brought in to resolve this matter and restore United to its former glory.
Ten Hag seemed to be finding his form with four wins in a row after their humiliating 4-0 loss to Brentford on Aug. 13. The competition was not easy either, fending off the likes of Arsenal, who are currently on top of the league. However, a crushing loss to their rivals is bad enough to render the progress meaningless.
United should not be satisfied settling for a Champions League spot. With the level of prestige and history they possess, they should always be in contention for the title. Time can only tell if Ten Hag will cultivate more consistency with United, but no manager has done this since the departure of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.
