Manchester City for the first time in their history is close to «treble» — the team has already won the Premier League and reached the finals of the FA Cup and the Champions League. One of the main creators of this success is the team's top scorer Erling Haaland, who was also recognized as the best player in the championship of England.
Right Decisions on the Path to Success Erling was incredibly gifted physically from early childhood — at the age of 5 he set a world record for his age in the long jump. The combination of height, speed data and physical strength could make him successful in any sport. Erling followed in his father's footsteps and chose football. And he made the right decision.
Already at the age of 17, he became a player in the main team of Molde and began to score in both the championship and European competitions. At 18, he moves to Salzburg. During the year in Austria, Erling scored 29 goals in 27 matches and immediately moved to neighboring Germany. Dortmund «Borussia» did not spare 20 million for young talent and did not lose.
Holland himself did not lose. The career path of the Norwegian is very well calculated by his environment. Both the move to Salzburg, which is considered a forge of talent, and Borussia, which gives talent the chance to show themselves at the highest level, were very accurate choices. Erling developed gradually, did not try to jump above his head and was in no hurry to move to a top club. It was necessary to approach this step ready.
And for two and a half seasons at Borussia, he prepared very thoroughly. In the first match for Dortmund, he scored a hat-trick and then continued to score consistently. He was one of the top three scorers in the Bundesliga, became the best striker in the Champions League, but goals were not the main goal. Erling became more and more of a perfect striker.
At Dortmund, he became an increasingly specialized player, spreading himself less across the pitch. He began to take over the game less and go to the stroke on the flanks. This allowed Haaland to concentrate on the game in the end — now he received the ball more often in striking positions. Thanks to intensive training, the Norwegian pumped the game with his head, and with the help of his partners he became more useful in the underplay, breaking the bar of 10 assists twice in a season. And in the summer of 2022, he decided to take the next step.
Ahead — the Golden Ball? Initially, it was clear that Erling would not stay at Borussia forever. The question was where he would go next. All the top clubs claimed it — Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and several English teams. The choice fell on Manchester City, and this decision turned out to be the right one again.
From the very first matches in the championship, he began to score and terrified the opponent's defenders. In 10 matches at the start of the season, he scored 15 goals, while scoring three hat-tricks. In the first three matches of the Champions League, he scored 5 goals, and in the 1/8 finals he destroyed Leipzig with a penta-trick in the second leg. In the Premier League, he broke Alan Shearer's record for goals in a season and virtually guaranteed himself the title of top scorer. If the Citizens win the Cup and the Champions League, Haaland will certainly become one of the contenders for the Golden Ball at the end of the year.
But even despite the titles and goalscoring records, Erling does not look like a serious contender for the main individual football award. Largely because of which team he plays for.
Holland is the perfect striker. He is agile, fast and powerful. He is dangerous both in positional attack, and in fast attacks, and on set pieces, he scores with his head and with both legs. He captures the moments perfectly. He is practically unstoppable. But he's the perfect tip on the perfect team. And the ideality of City seems to reduce the significance of Haaland's goals.
The Citizens dominated the Premier League even before the arrival of the Norwegian. Yes, they did not submit to the Champions League, but, for example, in the semi-final with Real Madrid, Holland did not score with effective actions. He, of course, influenced the result, diverting the attention of the defenders, but the team managed without his direct help. He complements his teammates by regularly finishing attacks, but there is a feeling that City can win without Erling.
There is another factor that is important for recognition — playing for the national team. Haaland scores a lot for Norway, but even he cannot turn the national team of this completely non-football country into at least the middle peasants in world football. And without success in the national team, it is difficult to qualify for awards.
Haland's next step is to become an independent star, which does not depend on the efforts of partners and on circumstances. A star that itself brings victory, on which the result depends. Will he make that move in Manchester? Or do you have to go to Real Madrid for this?