SOUTHAMPTON (VG) Erling Braut Haaland’s crazy goal against Southampton is described as one of his most impressive in his career. Even gymnasts praise the acrobatics of the 195-centimeter-tall powerhouse.
It was after 67 minutes of play that it happened in Saturday’s Premier League match:
Jack Grealish tackled Erling Braut Haaland in front of the goal. The Norwegian striker had to take a step backwards, and yet he managed to calculate exactly how he could direct the ball into the goal from the air via a scissor kick.
The way he scored, high in the air, City star Kevin de Bruyne understands little of how he did it.
– Haaland’s second goal… You will never see me do it! You would have sent me to Southampton Hospital afterwards if I did that, he says to the BBC about this internet sensation:
So how did the 195 centimeter tall Haaland do it?
On Saturday, former top striker Kim Holmen watched as Haaland threw himself around in the air and scored his 30th goal in the Premier League.
After taking EC bronze for juniors in gymnastics, Holmen became a lightning-quick elite series attacker who celebrated scores with flip-flops and somersaults.
Holmen explains the difficulty of what Haaland did in the following way:
– Usually you see players take a couple of steps back before taking a brass kick to get a push in the finish. Haaland, on the other hand, has to make a bet and fly in the same direction he is going to shoot in. That makes it even more demanding, Holmen explains to VG.
Holmen himself was notorious among stoppers for his speed, but the 40-year-old admits with a smile that he never smelled at Haaland’s level.
– There is no one in Norway who is close to him. It is extremely impressive. I’m a Liverpool supporter through and through. I drove to Paris last year, without a match ticket, to be with the Liverpool fans during the Champions League final. So it hurts a little to see him at City, but what he is doing is absolutely insane. You become proud to be Norwegian.
Holmen was in his time a team mate with Daniel Braaten in Skeid. The latter later played in both the French Ligue 1 and the Premier League. Braaten is the only one Holmen remembers having seen up close who has a similar physique to Haaland.
– There are a few like that, who just have something much more than everyone else. Alongside everything else that is needed, which is hard work and dedication. And Haaland has had 100 percent of that the whole time. He has some qualities that are absolutely insane.
Alf-Ingve Berntsen was Haaland’s childhood coach in Bryne.
– We did not practice this, says Berntsen to VG about Saturday’s scissors kick.
– But Erling and others on the team played before and after training, on their own. In addition, Erling is from the generation where children got trampolines in their gardens. There they practiced tricks, with and without a ball. They developed good body control.
Berntsen points out the same as Holmen, that Haaland’s acrobatic maneuver was something very special.
– It is not for beginners, says the native of Rogaland.
Gymnastics profiler Espen Jansen (54) says that the body control itself in what Haaland does is not something that really impresses a former great gymnast like himself.
– But what still makes it so difficult is that he has someone tearing and pulling at him throughout the match. And yet he makes it happen. He is in the right place and gets the ball sent in the right direction. It really impresses me, he says.
– It’s a bit like what you’ve seen Zlatan do. It’s just completely raw, Jansen continues.
City manager Pep Guardiola believes the achievement is even greater since Haaland is almost two meters tall and close to a hundred kilograms.
– You cannot imagine that someone of his height has such skills. An absolutely exceptional goal, says Guardiola.
But is the height really a disadvantage?
Not necessarily, says Jansen.
– You can gain more momentum when you are high, and it becomes more difficult to stop. There are both advantages and disadvantages to being so tall, really, he says, before adding:
– Anyway, all footballers should practice more gymnastics. Then you get a better sense of space and everything, and I almost think it’s strange that more people don’t do it.
With his knowledge of the net, Haaland reached 30 league goals and is close to becoming the all-time top scorer in a Premier League season.
Premier League
- Champions League
- Europa League
- UEFA Conference League
- Relegation
