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From his nascent years in Norway, to becoming one of the world’s most feared and prolific forwards, Erling Haaland has consistently fascinated, as a player and a personality.
His phenomenal strike-rate, for club and country, is commented on and marvelled at. His protocols off the pitch are analysed, such as the importance he places on quality sleep.
This week, the ‘Striking Viking’ shaved off his familiar long hair and this in itself prompted a multitude of headlines.
If extraneous details such as haircuts and rest get the footballing world talking they are nothing to the interest we reserve for his astonishing ratio of goals scored since gaining prominence at Red Bull Salzburg and beyond. Indeed, perhaps as intriguing as the remarkable numbers detailed below, is the mindset that propels them.
How does he maintain his singular and sharpened focus to beat goalkeepers as often as is humanly possible? Where does that insatiable hunger come from?
In essence, who is Erling Haaland?
The comically ironic aspect underlying this enduring investigation is that – should we revisit his interviews, conducted over the years – he has been telling us the answers this whole time….
Erling Haaland’s strike-rate since 2019/20
2019/20 (Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund) – 40 games, 44 goals, a goal every 62.5 minutes
2020/21 (Borussia Dortmund) – 41 games, 41 goals, a goal every 86.3 minutes
2021/22 (Borussia Dortmund) – 30 games, 29 goals, a goal every 82.3 minutes
2022/23 (Manchester City) – 53 games, 52 goals, a goal every 79.4 minutes
2023/24 (Manchester City) – 45 games, 38 goals, a goal every 98.5 minutes
2024/25 (Manchester City) – 48 games, 34 goals, a goal every 118.9 minutes
2025/26 (Manchester City) – 52 games, 38 goals, a goal every 109.0 minutes
Norway – 55 appearances, 62 goals, a goal every 72.9 minutes
The significance of industry
“Hard work is really important. You have to believe in yourself, but you also have to stay calm”
Three months into his prolific tenure at Manchester City, the striker granted an interview with the club’s official website, and in doing so stated in just18 words the tenets that have underpinned his individual success.
Even at this early juncture into his City adventure, Haaland had already shown himself to be a goal-scoring unicorn in the Premier League, firing 17 goals in his first ten top-flight outings, and five in three Champions League contests.
Conversations were being had in the media as to what records he might break come the season’s end.
Responding to an enquiry about how he has settled in Manchester, the forward emphasised above all other traits the need to buckle down and graft, a quality Pep Guardiola once certified, saying:
"He is one of the first to arrive for training, one of the last to leave."
As for keeping faith in his abilities, Haaland will no doubt mine into mental strategies that are the bedrock of sports psychology, they being positive self-talk and optimistic framing.
Lastly, though the value in remaining calm extends to every area of his pressurised life it is a particularly pertinent virtue in front of goal.
Here, again, sports psychology comes into play, with practice drills forging instinctive actions, and simple mental cues in that crucial split-second proving invaluable.
Thinking ‘pick my spot’ or ‘take a touch’ can interrupt an adrenaline rush when a chance presents itself.
Owning a criticism
“People might say I don’t touch the ball enough and this and that, but I don’t care about this”
“My dream is to touch the ball five times and score five goals. That is my biggest dream”
Venerated for his prowess in the box, if Haaland receives any criticism it is for a perceived lack of involvement in other areas.
Last March, the Norwegian equalled a Champions League record for the fewest number of touches in the competition’s history, registering just ten in 82 minutes against Real Madrid.
This summer, Opta noted that, two games in, Haaland had recorded the lowest number of touches of any player at the World Cup who had started each game for their country.
Not that Norway minded, the forward bagging four goals to that point.
It is a trope that follows the forward around, leading to his remarks above, relayed to Manchester City’s official site.
What is admirable about his response is how he acknowledges the criticism, takes ownership of it, then exaggerates it to a humorous degree.
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Never succumbing to satisfaction
“When I score a goal, I feel the joy very deeply... but then I immediately want to score another goal. It's that simple”
Speaking to Dortmund-based newspaper Ruhr Nachrichten, when starring for the Black and Yellow, the striker shared a compelling insight into his psyche, namely a refusal to rest on his laurels and instead having a compulsion to very quickly ‘reset’ and go again.
A common trait among elite sportsmen and women, it has contributed to a remarkable statistic concerning Haaland’s goal return since 2019.
For Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Norway, the forward has converted in 209 different matches across the last seven years. In 45.9% of those games he has added a second, third, fourth or fifth.
Embracing the challenge
“Every game is a tough game. A tough competition, I enjoy being here, being in the middle of it, getting those knocks. I like it. It sounds psychopathic but I like getting knocks. It's good sometimes, we need it.”
As per Amazon Prime, when chatting to fellow Ballon d’Or nominee Alan Shearer, the player’s relishing of a physical battle is indicative of an elite sporting mentality that propels him towards a challenge, knowing that is helps to unlock peak performance.
This we have witnessed in recent seasons with Haaland’s captivating tussles with Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães, the Brazilian defender eliciting extremities from the usually ice-blooded forward.
For the record, Gabriel has lost more duels against Haaland than any other Premier League player (16) with Haaland scoring six goals on the 11 occasions they have met.
Recharging and recouperation
“I like to do a lot of things to, you know, turn off the ‘football head’. I think that's really important so you don't get burned out or whatever, so you can relax completely in your mind. Because it's not easy to be a footballer; it's a lot of pressure.”
Per ESPN, the quote in many ways speaks for itself, detailing Haaland’s recognition of the need to switch off from football’s intense demands, so as to figuratively recharge for the demands to come.
To this end, the Manchester City star has a sauna erected in his garden to unwind after gruelling training days, while he is a keen advocate of meditation, practising zen arts to find stillness and inner calm.
Inspired by Ballon d’Or levels
“It must always be about learning, about developing. You can never stop looking for new ways to become better.”
“Look at Karim Benzema at Real Madrid. He’s 34 now, and suddenly he’s developed into an even better player over the last couple of years – that’s insanely good. I want to always do that”
Finding the right inspiration, in the right places, in an invaluable source of impetus for any player, and it is interesting which peer Haaland chooses when queried about role models.
Benzema is a natural and unsurprising pick, of course, being a prolific forward in his own right, but what jumps out are the reasons behind the name-check.
Like any top-class sportsman, Haaland appreciates there are always higher levels to aspire towards; that the journey is never over until it’s over.
Haaland praised the French marksman in the summer of 2022, shortly after Benzema fired a substantial haul of 44 goals for Real Madrid.
He won the Ballon d’Or that October.
