Why Is Haaland So Good?

Marco Verch, CC BY 2.0

Norwegian forward Erling Braut Haaland is one of the most discussed footballers on the planet. Having broken the record for the fewest number of games needed to score 20 Champions League goals at the ripe age of 20, it was always clear that Haaland was destined for greatness.

So why is Haaland is good? Is he just going through a purple patch, or is he the real deal? In this Elastico article, we take a deep dive into Haaland’s physical and technical skill set, as well as taking a look at some of the records he has already claimed. Read on to learn more about this elite level striker.

Why Is Haaland So Good?

Erling Haaland is an elite level footballer because he is a complete forward who has the ability to cover short distances incredibly quickly while making intelligent runs, can score with both his feet and his head, as well as being able to create chances for his teammates.

Physical Attributes

When it comes to physical attributes, Haaland is not short of them. He is blessed to have speed, athleticism, strength and height making him an absolute machine on the football pitch.

Speed

The easiest way to put it, is that Haaland is quick, and we mean seriously quick. His turn of pace is so frightening that he can gain yards on defenders in less than a couple of seconds. This puts the fear into opposition players, as one slightly misplaced pass or a slight hesitation mean that Haaland can pounce on the ball.

He is at his most threatening when making runs in behind defenders, especially if he has elite-level players like Kevin De Bruyne providing him with goal scoring opportunities. Watch the second goal he scored against West Ham in one of his early Premier League matches for Manchester City. Over the space of 10 yards, Haaland’s speed allows him to leave the West Ham central defenders in the dust.

Athleticism

If athleticism can be defined as the components that make up balanced physical fitness, Erling Haaland has it. He is often referred to as a “robot” due to the fact he scores so many goals, and if somebody were to craft the perfect footballer, they would most certainly mould them to have Haaland’s physical stature and athleticism.

He often scores goals by latching onto crosses or passes that you think he wouldn’t be able to reach. This really demonstrates how athletic he is on the football pitch. Here’s an example of Haaland scoring an overhead kick for Manchester City against Southampton to demonstrate his athleticism:

Strength

Another key physical attribute that Erling Haaland possesses is strength. It’s well documented that he gained a significant amount of mass during his time at Norwegian club Molde. Haaland himself admits that he gained a good 20 kg in just two seasons, whilst also working closely with the club’s fitness coach.

All this additional weight has helped Haaland gain an impressive amount of strength, which makes him more than ready to tackle the demands of the most physical league in the world – the Premier League.

Height

Haaland comes in at an impressive 1.94 m (6 ft 4 inches). This, in addition with his other physical attributes, make him a powerhouse. Having this kind of height means that he is extremely difficult to defend against, especially in aerial duels.

His height also compliments his hold-up play, making him more difficult to push off of the ball. It’s rare to find a player who is this tall that has the athleticism that Haaland possesses. This is part of the reason why the Norwegian is so frightening to play against.

Haaland’s Technical Skills

In the days of false 9’s and inside forwards, the role of a complete number 9 can often feel like it’s dying out, however maybe the emergence of Erling Haaland will change that. Haaland is a complete number 9 who demonstrates a wide range of technical skills, including:

• Link-up play
• Intelligent movement
• Elite finishing
• Chance creation
• Aerial presence
• Penalty area presence

Link-up Play

By using his strength and height, as well as having an impressive first touch, Haaland is great at linking up play with his teammates. By being an out ball, Haaland’s teammates can have confidence that the forward will be able to hold onto the ball and give them time to transition higher up the pitch to create attacks.

During a key Premier League match against Arsenal, Haaland demonstrated his link-up play superiority by being an absolute nightmare for the Gunners defence. Although this is a role that he hasn’t been required to play a lot of the time at Manchester City, he is clearly capable of doing so when required. Having this facet to his game proves that he is a complete forward.

Intelligent Movement

One of the most dangerous aspects to Haaland’s style of play is his intelligent off the ball movement. At Dortmund, he would often drop deep to provide support for the midfielders, whereas at Manchester City he’s had to make clever runs in the final third of the pitch, so that creative players like Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish can find him with a pass or a cross. This is what makes him such a great fit for a tactical manager like Pep Guardiola.

By having the ability to make clever runs, Haaland quickly confuses opposition defenders. If he drops deep, defenders don’t know whether to follow him, which could leave space in behind. Furthermore, when he plays off the shoulder of a defender, he can be deadly in the creation phase of play.

Elite Finishing

Where do we begin with Haaland’s ability to score goals? The main reason why Haaland is so good has to be because of his elite finishing on a football pitch. He’s able to score goals from distance as well as close range, he can score using his left foot, right foot or head and he is unbelievably clinical.

During his time at Borussia Dortmund, Haaland’s shot power was demonstrated through his ability to score goals from further out, whereas the style of play of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City means that the majority of Haaland’s goals come from well within the penalty area. Because of this, Haaland’s tap-ins became somewhat of a talking point during the early stages of his Manchester City career.

Something else to consider is that Haaland’s self-belief really shines through in his finishing, As he scores many chances that other strikers would miss. In addition, he also takes penalties, having the confidence to beat keepers from the spot on a regular basis. Watch Haaland’s first 20 Premier League goals, which he achieved in just 14 games:

Chance Creation

Perhaps one of the more underrated technical areas of Haaland’s style of play is his ability to create chances for his teammates. As of April 2023, Haaland has racked up 7 assists in the Premier League, which is the joint 4th highest total in the league.

Only succeeded by teammate Kevin De Bruyne, and Arsenal’s Bakayo Saka and Leandro Trossard, Haaland has an impressive return when it comes to playing the provider. This, again, means he has another weapon in his arsenal, making him one of the best attacking players in the world.

Aerial Presence

As we discussed previously, Haaland is a tall striker. That combined with his other physical attributes mean that he is a handful in aerial battles. His aerial presence is just another string to his bow in attacking prowess.

His strength means that he’s able to shrug off the strongest of defenders in order to win headers. It’s safe to say that you wouldn’t want to be responsible for marking the Norwegian from set-pieces.

By being a real threat in the air as well as every other attacking situation, there isn’t much that Haaland can’t do on a football pitch that helps him score goals.

Penalty Area Presence

Another reason why Haaland is so good, is his penalty box presence. It’s got to the stage that merely his presence alone is enough to unnerve opposition players. This means defenders will often lose their focus or confidence when marking him.

From there, he can then use this to his advantage if he is focused, which he always is, as the defender’s lack of sharpness means that Haaland has an advantage over them. This often ends up with Haaland getting ahead of the defender and scoring a goal.

Mentality

Another aspect to consider when explaining why Haaland is so good, is his elite mentality. He demonstrates this with the way that he speaks in interviews. After scoring two goals and even a hat trick, the Norwegian comes across as underwhelmed in his interviews. It’s clear from this that he demands the absolute best from his performances, and more.

It’s highly likely that the Norwegian believes that he can become as great as both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two players that stand in their own category. These players would score 50 goals a season, an incredible feat made to look normal by the greatest players. Haaland certainly believes that he can do the same, and the crucial thing is that he expects himself to do so.

Being a mentality monster is vitally important when it comes to performing at elite levels consistently for many years. Erling Haaland is certainly demonstrating that he is onto something good.

Haaland’s Records

Another reason why Haaland is so good is because of the ridiculous amount of records he has broken. Having only played for Manchester City since July 2022, Haaland has already broken 18 significant records. Here’s a list of those records:

1. On his debut, he accomplished the rare feat of being just the second player in the Premier League to both win and score a penalty.
2. He joined the exclusive club of Manchester City players who have scored twice on their Premier League debut, with Sergio Aguero being the only other back in 2011.
3. He set a new record by becoming the highest scorer in any Premier League season during August, with nine goals to his name. Furthermore, he achieved this milestone in just five league matches, making him the first player to do so.
4. He scored 10 Premier League goals in just 6 matches, being the first play to ever do so.
5. Became the first Manchester City player to score on both their Premier League and Champions League debut.
6. He made history by becoming both the youngest and fastest player to reach 25 Champions League goals, managing to achieve this remarkable feat in just 20 matches. Moreover, he became the first player to score multiple times on his debut for three different clubs, having scored a hat-trick for Red Bull Salzburg against Genk and two goals for Borussia Dortmund against Paris Saint-Germain.
7. By September 17th, he had broken two impressive records in the Premier League. Firstly, he became the first player ever to score in his first four away games in the league. Secondly, he also became the first player to score 11 goals in his opening seven matches.
8. He made history in the Premier League by scoring hat-tricks in three consecutive home matches, a feat that no other player had ever achieved before. Furthermore, he achieved this impressive milestone in just eight games, making him the fastest player to score three hat-tricks in the competition. The previous record was 48 matches. He also set another record by scoring a total of 14 goals in his first eight Premier League games, surpassing the previous record of 10 goals in eight games held by Micky Quinn since 1992.
9. He became the quickest player to score 28 goals in the Champions League, doing so in just 22 matches.
10. He set a new record by becoming the quickest player to score 25 goals under the management of Pep Guardiola, achieving this milestone in just 20 matches. He also did it eight games faster than Lionel Messi, who played under Guardiola at Barcelona.
11. Was the first Premier League player to score 20 goals before January, despite there being a six-week break for the first ever winter World Cup
12. By January 20th he had scored 22 Premier League goals, the most by a Manchester City player under Pep Guardiola.
13. By February 15th, Haaland had scored his 26th Premier League goal, the joint-highest total from a City player with Sergio Aguero in the 2014/15 season.
14. He became the youngest player in history to score 30 goals in the Champions League.
15. Having scored his 45th goal of the campaign during a Champions League match against Bayern Munich, the Norwegian had achieved the most goals by a Premier League player in one season, across all competitions.
16. He matched the record for the highest number of goals scored by a player at an English club in a single Champions League season. This was previously set by Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who scored 12 European goals for Manchester United during the 2002-03 season.
17. After scoring his 33rd Premier League goal, Haaland broke the record for the highest number of goals during a 38-match Premier League season, surpassing Mohamed Salah.
18. He made history by becoming the first player in the top-flight league to score 50 goals in a single campaign since Tom Waring achieved this feat for Aston Villa back in 1931.

Conclusion

Erling Haaland is ridiculously good at football for a number of reasons, but what particularly sets him apart from other high-profile forwards is his incredible pace over short distances, his intelligent movement, his stature and presence and his ability to be clinical with any part of his body.

Having initially made his name in less competitive leagues, Haaland has taken to combative Premier League football like a duck to water. Having already broken an eye-watering amount of records both domestically and in Europe, the world really is Haaland’s oyster, and we’re going to be lucky enough to see his rise and dominance for many years to come.

We hope that you learned something new today in this Elastico article!

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