Articles

Erling Braut Haaland: The Phenomenon 

  by Daniel Hickey

It’s hard to think that so many years after the original el Fenomeno aka Ronaldo burst onto the scene, that anyone would have the finishing ability to compare to the legendary Brazilian, but there is now one that does and his name is Erling Braut Haaland. 

Haaland last night announced himself properly to the world with a simply stunning performance against a very good PSG team. This legendary performance for Dortmund has put the German team in the driving seat for the second leg, the young Norweigan is truly a phenomenon racking up an incredible 11 goals in his first 7 games and not to mention his 39 goals in 29 games this season for both Dortmund and RB Salzburg. 

This lad truly is something else and truth be told the only goalscoring record you can compare him to is the original Ronaldo, as at this point in his career he had a similar record for goals scored. He was also known as a predator in the box which coincidentally Haaland is also known for as evidenced last night. 

Last night PSG got a very good taste of what they will face in the return leg in Paris, and to be fair fear is what everyone saw on the players faces as Haaland tore their defence to shreds as he scored two very well taken goals. The first was an instinctive predatory finish which Haaland has become well known for, however what was more impressive was the fact that Haaland himself set the entire move up. 

The second was even more impressive as it started just a couple of minutes after Dortmund had conceded, and almost immediately the two youngest players on the pitch combined for simply a stunning goal. Gio Reyna picked the ball up from a pass and then drove at the PSG defence, and looking up he found Haaland in space and just his first touch took him away from the oncoming defender, and gave him the space he then needed to rifle a rocket of a shot high into the top corner of the PSG net. 

To say the keeper had no chance with the strike is a massive understatement as he may have dived but he was getting nowhere near that strike. What made the shot so powerful was it had hardly any backlift and it was like it was all drive and pure power straight into the back of the net, in fact it was so powerful it physically nearly took the net off its hinges. 

Needless to say he is one incredible talent and one that in years to come the world will remember. It will now be a miracle if Dortmund can hang onto this talent for next season, as after these types of performances the suitors will be lining up for him come the summer and it will all depend on if Dortmund want to let him go and if he wants to leave. 

Only time will truly tell if he will win Ballon D’ors and trophies throughout the rest of his career, but for now he is a Dortmund player and he truly is a phenomenon of world football so sit back watch and admire. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Erling Braut Haaland the phenomenon of Norway.