Player Report - Erling Haaland
Profile
Erling Braut Haaland, son of Alfie Haaland (former Manchester City footballer), made his senior debut for Bryne FC at the age of 15 years. While still a teenager, the 6ft 4in striker established himself as one of the top forwards in the world by breaking the record for the fewest games required to score 20 Champions League goals, achieving the feat in just 14 appearances by March 2020.
Haaland was born in Leeds in the summer of 2000 around the time his dad joined Man City from Leeds United. If some reports are to go by, he had declared to Man City that he wanted to join them for “emotional and football reasons only”.
His 1.94m frame makes him an ideal target man, and his lean physique allows him to act as a one-man army. He's a natural striker, which makes him an ideal fit for the vacuum left in City's lineup after Sergio Aguero's departure in the 2020/21 season. Guardiola's team will have a target man at the end of every creative move thanks to his innate goal-scoring talent.
Strengths
1. Finishing
Although there are few to no holes in the image above, Haaland prefers to shoot from the left rather than the right, implying that there is no spot around the opponent box that the young striker cannot convert. One of his primary talents has been his finishing, which has made him a lethal threat to even the greatest defences in the world. His ability to strike the ball at various parts of the goal from the same point (near post, far post, top corner, middle) distinguishes him as the best in the world. When compared to luminaries like Lewandowski, who scored a goal every 3.2 shots on average, Haaland has done it every 2.8 shots, which is extremely impressive.
2. Speed and Strength
The most striking aspect of Erling Haaland's game, which has earned him the nickname "machine," has been his extraordinary speed and strength. His sprinting style is so distinct and forceful that it becomes impossible to ignore or stop him. Haaland's physicality allows him to effortlessly shrug off defenders, outstrip them, and be on the end of every pass thrown in his direction, which justifies his transfer to Manchester as a more lethal one. His ball movement and pace present serious problems for opponents. He takes advantage of his long stride to breeze by opponents, and he frequently overtakes competitors who have a significant advantage over him. He's always on the go, which means he puts his opponents' concentration and stamina to the test, making the City man difficult to track. He takes advantage of the opposition's mistakes and punishes them with a lethal stroke.
His aerial prowess is also not to be underestimated. When he lands headers and jumps for the ball, his strength comes into play. As you can see in the figure above, he competes with considerably smaller balls in the air, but his success rate is at 47 percent, which puts him in the top five in Europe.
3. Hold on to the ball
With his back-to-back goals, the Norwegian is unrivalled. His ability to read the space behind the opponent extends to his ability to play between the lines and drop deep to gain possession. When he plays with his back to the goal, he makes good use of his body to guard the ball while attempting to control it. He is also efficient in offering some reprieve to his team's defenders following a clearance because he can use his muscle to secure possession when under pressure.
The key is that Haaland will frequently use his strength and presence to connect up with players lower on the field, then burst into space with his great running power to finish off opportunities later. He's shown flashes of brilliance in his hold and link-up play, but it's an area where he needs to improve. His physicality and frame are important for his hold-up play, and they are valuable weapons for Dortmund because they can throw long balls to him when they need to break a press. He can either outmuscle opponents with his strength or flick on passes with his long legs.
Weaknesses
1. Defence
With all of his talents, Haaland's abilities were bound to have some flaws. And his greatest flaw, for a forward of his calibre, is his defensive talents. When it comes to offence, Haaland is a dangerous force, but when it comes to defence, he is nearly nothing. The image above displays Haaland's heatmap for Dortmund in the 2021/22 season, and it can be seen that he spends 80-90 percent of his time on the attacking half of the pitch, indicating that he is not one to defend.
2. Dribbling
There is frequently a link between ball control and passing quality for players who have excellent ball control and touch. Haaland is not one of the players in this game. His frame makes it tough for him to keep control of the ball at times, as it frequently cannons off his legs, but it's a part of his game that he's improving at. Haaland's dribbling has been below average, as evidenced by the fact that he is rarely seen dribbling. This is because the majority of his touches on the ball are either one-touch link-up moves or scoring opportunities.
Insight
There haven't been many forwards in the game's history who have possessed such a diverse set of skills, much alone showed them consistently at such a young age. Haaland's finishing, movement, timing, and instincts, as well as his speed, strength, and height, combine to make him a very well-rounded forward. He'll readily come deep to collect the ball and assist his team in building play, frequently attempting to spread the ball wide for a teammate before turning and sprinting for the goal at City.
His new club will be looking forward to his small and sharp moves. When he sees an opportunity for a teammate to find him in space, he will shift his running path and sprint into the space, giving the defence little time to react. Defenders find it exceedingly difficult to interpret his close-range movements because of his double movements, which are frequently accompanied by a feint away from the ball. This is a big part of why he scores so often, and it's something that should make him a good fit for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.
Haaland's move to City is a match made in heaven, as the 5-star city club has discovered the ideal striker who can create goals alongside KdB and Bernardo Silva's creative masterminds. The £51 million agreement to recruit one of the world's best players is a fantastic signing that fills the vacuum left by Sergio Aguero's departure from Manchester City. Haaland will have a lot to learn from Guardiola, and the two of them might push City to new heights together.
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