Haaland and Mbappe are a Striker, but what makes them different?
Broadly speaking, Mbappe does seem to have more skill than Haaland, more outstanding in terms of performance on the pitch than Haaland, and is that wrong? Of course not, it’s just not entirely true if you try to look further.
The reason why I decided to discuss the two of them is because, to be honest, a lot of Haaland haters have sprung up out of nowhere where Haaland himself hasn’t even done anything detrimental to deserve the hate. It honestly makes me furious, and yes… it would be nice if those blasphemies were more thought out before being uttered, so yeah… let me tell you something about him to be considered.
One thing that is most striking between Haaland and Mbappe is their role as centre-forwards where Haaland is a pure striker or often said to be a target forward and Mbappe is a striker who tends to play as a centre-forward with outstanding dribbling skills and short bursts of speed. So, is Erling Haaland unable to dribble at all, because he is more used as a target forward? The answer is, yes and no. Why yes? Because Erling Haaland’s own posture is indeed more suitable to be used as a target man. Players with a big tall posture like Haaland do tend to have more difficulty dribbling, it’s instinctive, most number 9 strikers are of that posture, but not all. Is Erling unable to dribble at all? The answer is no, he can do that if the conditions, situations, and formations planned or set by the coach require him to do so.
Actually, from this alone we should already understand, why Mbappe tends to be more outstanding than Erling because Mbappe has indeed been set as a forwarder who is depended on by his team-mates from the beginning. Even in the national team, Mbappe was immediately appointed as the captain and playmaker of his team even at the club, and you could also say, Mbappe already has a natural prospect of being a great player and has been supported by the conditions and situations that exist for him until now. Unlike Haaland, he was born in Leeds, England, and then moved to Norway, a country where the football industry is not as advanced and big as in France.
Haaland’s talent was true as a pure striker, because he tried to recognize himself first and then tried to develop what position he would fit with his tall body, and that was a number 9 striker. So, just to explain, why Mbappe looks better than Haaland because Mbappe already has a natural talent as a striker with complete skills plus his posture is indeed supportive, more flying hours because France always appears every four years in the World Cup, while Haaland has never been at all, even Norway always stumbles just to enter the Euro qualification.
Perhaps many of you do not know about this. Haaland is not a typical selfish player even though he is a striker. As I read his interview with The Telegraph, one of the lines says:
As much as Haaland wants to score it is interesting to hear him talk about the happiness of assisting his team-mates, Haaland said “ I love it also because I see the joy in their eyes and it’s beautiful ” — which is actually quite rare for a top striker and especially one as ruthless as he is in front of goal. It say much about the generous type of character he is, also.
It already says that much to me that he indeed is not a selfish striker.
Yes, scoring goals is a must for Erling Haaland, arguably an absolute thing for a pure striker, but Haaland is still willing to provide scoring opportunities for his teammates if it is needed to make his team win. And when Haaland moved to Manchester City and felt the upbringing of Pep Guardiola, of course, Erling automatically submitted to the system, because Pep Guardiola’s typical play is to prioritize a tactical system that can work in any situation and condition so that sudden changes can be made in the middle of the match. Of course, it’s not a new thing for Erling Haaland, because he’s been comfortable playing within the system from the start, unlike Mbappe whose his coach makes more of his individual skills as a benchmark, telling him to carry the team to victory, so obviously… Mbappe’s existing skills tend to be more honed because he has to do that in every match he plays.
It’s not that Haaland is completely devoid of skill, If a player is good at heading, tall, and physical, he can be used to end crosses, win long balls, or receive passes and retain possession with his back to goal while his team-mates advance, adding depth to his team or helping his team-mates score with a “through ball” into a box. Typically, a target striker is a player who is good at both pace and movement, as well as finishing.
The term “target forward” is frequently utilized as a synonym for “centre-forward”, but it defines a specific variety of strikers. Typically, a target forward possesses a great height and robust physique, thus, being skilful at heading the ball. Their primary responsibility is to win high balls in the air, advance the team’s play by holding the ball, and create scoring opportunities for their teammates, as well as possibly scoring goals of their own. However, the terms “target forward” and “centre-forward” are not necessarily interchangeable. Haaland, a target forward, has developed into a more specific role, whereas the description of a centre-forward is broader and encompasses various types of forwards, such as Mbappe’s roles. Simply put, Mbappe and Haaland have their own strengths and weaknesses. What Haaland can do, Mbappe can’t necessarily do, and vice versa.
A target forward, such as Haaland, requires assists due to their position in the penalty area. The formations of either 3–2–4–1 or 4–2–3–1 necessitate Haaland to function as a target man, as there are already 5–6 offensive midfielders providing the necessary supply to the front. If, in that formation, the midfielders encounter difficulties passing the ball forward, and the full-back frequently intercepts the movement of the right and left midfielders, Haaland may opt to dribble the ball from the middle towards the forward position, similar to Mbappe’s playstyle. Due to the exceptional quality of Manchester City’s midfield system, Haaland does not need to show off his dribbling skills but is instead required to use his finishing ability to the hilt. This system is not implemented at PSG due to Mbappe’s lack of midfield quality compared to Manchester City. He primarily plays as a striker combination, offering a plethora of attacking options. Mbappe must be flexible, and be able to switch roles at a moment’s notice, between the first (advanced penetrator position), second (deep-lying maneuver), and third (support and expansion, e.g. wings) attacker roles.
It made Haaland seem as if he didn’t contribute anything and was nothing more than a goal scorer. It’s quite natural that many football experts think so, and I don’t blame them, because it looks like that on the pitch, because Haaland is plotted to play like that. If Haaland is marked by two to three defenders, there will be an empty gap in the middle for the midfielders to make a shot attempt, if Haaland is left unattended then Haaland will execute the goal. As simple as that to be fair. Haaland can still move with the ball as you demand he should be able to do, it’s just that, not all conditions can make Haaland have to do so.
They are both great young players, and great young strikers, and have very high potential to be even better in the future. Instead of debating the two of them with insults just to make the player we like look superior, it’s better to focus on supporting the players you want to support without having to insult other players. If you want Mbappe to be the number one striker in the world, then support him… but don’t give unreasonable insults to Haaland. If you don’t like Haaland, so be it… let it go. He has nothing to do with your life either. Support players in a supportive way, don’t support players in a dirty way.
