On the Ball
Enjoy history man Erling Haaland while you can
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Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrating after scoring his team's second goal against West Ham on May 3.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
John Brewin
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The weekend Erling Haaland returned to his birthplace of Leeds with Manchester City feels like time to consider the Norwegian phenomenon.
Somewhere amid the title tussle between City and Arsenal,
Surpassing, in 31 games, the record of 34 goals in a season, jointly held by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, from seasons 1993-94 and 1994-95 respectively (42-game seasons), is a superhuman achievement, something approaching Bob Beamon’s 1968 Mexico Olympics long-jump world-record shatterer.
It already feels like a record only Haaland himself is capable of beating.
The Premier League has had its fair share of phenomenal, breakthrough talent, from Shearer and Cole to Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, players who seized the initiative with awesome scoring feats. Haaland, himself the son of a former Premier League player, has supplanted all of them in eight months.
His scoring rate has pulled the statisticians back through the decades, past evocative names like Pongo Waring of Arsenal and Vic Watson of West Ham, both of whom scored 50 competitive goals over 90 years ago, to arrive at the mother lode himself, the truly legendary Dixie Dean. Approach Goodison Park from Liverpool city centre and the statue of Dean, the bull-like Everton centre-forward of a century ago, will greet you.
Dean’s 60 league goals over 42 games in the 1927-28 season is surely unsurpassable, even for Haaland, but his 63 goals in all competitions is still within reach.
At this point, it is worth mentioning George Camsell, who scored 59 league goals in the 1926-27 season for Middlesbrough and was surpassed by Dean the very next year.
It is amazing Haaland is being mentioned alongside names known by all scrapbooking football fans of a certain age, stattos from pre-digital times.
All achieved by Haaland with a range of finishing and an economy of movement that defies orthodoxy, the latter previously seen as the quality that would lead Haaland to be incompatible with Pep Guardiola’s worker-bee philosophy.
Instead, Guardiola engineers his City team around Haaland, a privilege extended to just one previous player during the Catalan genius’ coaching career, Lionel Messi.
Can Haaland get better? The expectation from Guardiola will be to do so, to add dimensions to his game. Perhaps only injuries to a physique that often broke down at Borussia Dortmund but has remained robust this season can stop him from getting better.
City are overriding favourites to win the Champions League, but the probable Haaland career path is not expected to remain in Manchester forever.
As with his moves from Molde to Red Bull Salzburg to Dortmund, an exit strategy is in-built, an accepted by-product of the deal. Conquering La Liga is likely on the ambition list, as might be Italy or a return to Germany with Bayern.
Not even the Premier League is big enough to house such unlimited potential. Enjoy him while you can.
