FOOTBALL/SOCCER
Making the Case of Erling Haaland in His Comparison With Kylian Mbappé
How would the Norwegian fare in the so-called “Rivalry of the Future”?
Larry Bird versus Magic Johnson. Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning. Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi. Sports fans and media often compare one player to another for the sake of creating competitiveness. To see if someone has the edge over another after a hefty discussion of statistics, technical analysis, achievements, and narratives make the world of sports more exhilarating. Soon to be added to this list, a new versus as the hot topic to discuss is about to combust.
The success of Erling Braut Haaland and Kylian Mbappé Lottin for the past few years has been circulating the footballing world’s grapevine. Both reaped success at such a young age and are looking to dominate in their own respective leagues and continentally. In last week’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matchups, both helped their teams to win and secure a first-leg lead. Borussia Dortmund sailed past Sevilla with a brace from Haaland, securing a 3–2 win and an away goal advantage. Meanwhile, Mbappé displayed an awe-inspiring performance with a hat-trick against Barcelona in a 4–1 victory at Camp Nou.
With Ronaldo and Messi arguably past their prime, fans and pundits around the world are jumping on the prospect of a new great rivalry between Haaland and Mbappé. On paper, though, Mbappé seems to have the upper hand. The 22-year old striker has won four Ligue 1 titles, one being with AS Monaco FC in 2017 in a campaign many would deem as one of the most outstanding crusades in the history of French football as they toppled off Paris Saint-Germain from their domination and their fifth consecutive title. Mbappé also played an integral part in France’s FIFA World Cup triumph in 2018. The FIFA World Cup Best Young Player scored four goals, one being the famous 25-yarder in the final against Croatia.
Kylian Mbappé is a generational talent. He has been consistent throughout his career, scoring at least 20 goals every season in all competitions. In the 14,684 minutes he played as a professional footballer, Mbappé has scored 136 goals and 64 assists. That means 1.23 goal contributions per 90 minutes, a world-class number for someone his age.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland just entered the foray of top-flight football. Having previously won two Austrian Bundesliga titles and a domestic Austrian Cup title, the German Bundesliga hasn’t been easy for him. Albeit being a consistent goalscoring threat leading the forefront with 43 goals and eight assists under his tally in two seasons with Borussia Dortmund, he has yet to win any titles with his new club. BvB finished second last season, 13 points behind the dominant FC Bayern Munich. Currently, the inconsistent Black and Yellow are sixth on the table, three points shy from the Europa League qualification spot currently occupied by Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Haaland — without a doubt — is a one-of-a-kind player. But top European football is no child’s play, where the competition is tough and takes more than just being a prospective wonderkid to thrive. Would Haaland meet the expectation of becoming on par with Mbappé and live up to the “Rivalry of the Future” narrative fans and media are making it out to be?
Since his childhood, Erling Haaland is no stranger to football. Haaland was born in Leeds when his father — Alf-Inge Haaland — was playing for Leeds United. The former Norwegian international left his boyhood club in Bryne to play for Nottingham Forest in 1992 under Brian Clough, but the deal was completed one year later under Frank Clark. Alf-Inge Haaland was never the player his son currently is, as he reached his peak as a utility player when Leeds United qualified for the UEFA Champions League in 2000 after making it to the UEFA Cup semifinal.
Haaland senior then retired from professional football in 2003 after a decline in physical fitness after being on the receiving end of Roy Keane’s brutal challenge during the Manchester Derby in April 2001. He has since then became a property developer and channeled his focus on the development of his son.
Haaland junior joined Bryne FK, his father’s boyhood club at the age of five. His coach back then, Alf Ingve Bernsten was impressed with what he displayed on the offensive end. In an interview with CNN, Bernsten knew from the beginning that Haaland was going to be an exceptional talent. “We saw immediately that he was something special,” Bernsten said. “Erling was the best when he was a little guy, but we didn’t think when I began to coach him when he was seven that he would become the top scorer in the Champions League when he was 19. It was soon quite obvious that he would be a very, very good player, but these thoughts, I think, came when he was 11 or 12 — then the talent developed from good to very, very good.”
The special Haaland was too good to play with his age peer, so when he was seven coach Bernsten assigned him to play with the eight-year-old kids. Back then, he was not the physical monster we know today. Haaland was more on the leaner side and average in height. This developed Haaland’s understanding of the game — where he would have to be smart in his positioning and adept in his technique in order to win against the physical handicap he faced. “When you are seven and play with eight-year-olds, you’re lacking the physicality. So from an early age, when he began to play with boys one year older, he had to develop smartness in the box. When you see him now, he’s strong and has a lot of power, but he didn’t have that before,” Bernsten told CNN on Haaland’s early development.
Then comes Haaland’s coming-of-age experience, when he was playing for the Norwegian side Molde FK in 2017. His first season was considerably bland as he only scored four goals, but he made it up by scoring 12 goals in 25 Eliteserien games next season, in which he scored four in 21 minutes against SK Brann.
“The first time that a wider crowd became aware of him and everyone realized that he was a very special boy was in a game against Brann Bergen, who were on top of the table at the time,” Berntsen told Goal.com in another interview. “Haaland scored all goals in an impressive 4–0 victory, even though he was only 17. Half a year later he moved to Salzburg.”
Haaland then joined RB Salzburg, after choosing them over Leeds United. Under his soon-to-be manager again Marco Rose, Haaland flourished as a prolific striker that scored 25 goals and notched five assists in 23 games he played for the Austrian side for two seasons, in which he won two league titles and one domestic cup. He also got a glimpse of continental football as RB Salzburg qualified to the group stage of 2019/20 UEFA Champions League. In Michael Cox’s in-depth analysis of Haaland when RB Salzburg visited Anfield in December 2019 on The Athletic — he describes Haaland as a well-rounded youngster that offers maturity in terms of physical build and teamwork — something rare to find in players at his age with the exception of none other than Kylian Mbappé.
Even though his team lost 0–2 that day, Haaland displayed a clinical form against the world’s best. Haaland’s astounding pace and strength troubled Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren occasionally, especially when RB Salzburg opted to play long balls from deep. His spatial recognition and ability to make runs from deep into space constantly threatened Liverpool’s defense. Haaland’s understanding of the game at such a young age makes him an even more interesting prospect and with continental football exposure, it’s only a matter of time before a bigger team knocks on his door to pick him up, which would later be Borussia Dortmund.
Haaland’s debut with Borussia Dortmund was as perfect as it could be. He came in as a substitute, scored a hat-trick in a 5–3 win against FC Augsburg in 23 minutes, and became the second player in the club’s history to score a hat-trick in a debut after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He then continued to score 16 goals and two assists in 18 matches in his first season. This season, he scored 27 goals and six assists in all competitions for Borussia Dortmund. He is ranked third in Bundesliga’s top scorers with 17 goals, nine behind Robert Lewandowski, and leading the table with eight goals in the UEFA Champions League.
Many would describe Erling Haaland as a player created in a lab. He is strong and big enough to outpower even the biggest of center backs yet fast enough to outpace anyone on the pitch. He earned the nickname “Terminator” due to his unique combination of power and speed. Haaland fits the bill of a classic number 9 with his stature; but how he plays by being a dynamic spearhead that moves around the box to find open space and drops deep to create space differentiates him from other strikers that are labeled as such.
Haaland is also a complete scorer that is able to score from tap-ins, long-range shots, headers, and many more. Rossi Finza Noor from The Flanker regarded him as “a new prototype of classic number 9,” and agreed on Jerry Arvino’s comparison on Haaland to Adriano for being a blend of strength, pace and his ability to score in Box2Box Football Podcast, Indonesia’s number one football podcast.
Teams would depend on Haaland’s strength and use him as a target man to receive deep balls. Here’s Haaland receiving a long ball from Marwin Hitz after a deadlock in the possession build-up last week against Sevilla:
Again, Haaland picks off an isolated central defender with his strength and pulls two others as he’s holding the ball. His control of the ball lets him prolong the play and lays the groundwork for Mahmoud Dahoud’s screamer.
This is what makes Haaland so dangerous upfront. He surges to the final third with blistering speed, yet is still aware of the defenders’ position so he slows down and adjusts to receive the short pass and flicks it back. His movement off the ball, due to his spatial recognition and change of pace keeps the defense honest.
Let’s look at Haaland’s first goal of the game. Manuel Akanji accurately hits the long pass to a dropping Haaland to initiate the quick counter-attack that Borussia Dortmund loves to do. Haaland utilizes the vacated space left behind by Sevilla’s midfielder that pushes up high by dropping deep between the lines and brings the ball to the final third in high speed. He then flicks the ball to the arriving Jadon Sancho for a quick one-two before slotting it home.
Haaland also showcases his spatial awareness in last week’s matchup against bitter rival FC Schalke 04, when he signals for a cross as soon as he sees his matchup dozes off and stray a few steps away from him then hits a thunderous volley…
… And finishes a sequence with a tap-in after he sells the inside cut to the defender only to go the other way.
Everyone would concur with the name “Terminator,” Haaland’s nickname given by the fans and media. His unique blend of build and how he plays efficiently resembles a well-oiled Terminator robot. Haaland’s personality off the pitch also strengthened the case, as shown in his iconic, comical, robot-like response in a post-match interview.
Haaland’s outstanding skill set on the pitch and unique personality molds him to be the sensational player he is, and it leads to the conception of this article; the comparison to Kylian Mbappé.
In terms of goalscoring, both are leading the pack in Non-Penalty Goals and npxG as they belong in the 99th percentile for both stats. While Mbappé is also topping the chart in assists and chance creation metrics, Haaland is behind him but not by far. This is due to Haaland’s limited role in some games as explained by caretaker manager Edin Terzic in an interview with The Athletic. “Haaland was playing a special role (tactically) today,” Terzic said. “We didn’t want him involved in active pressing but behind the ball, for us to hit him directly, beyond the defence.”
Many would argue that Kylian Mbappé is already the big thing, meanwhile Erling Haaland is still waiting in line. Not only being a consistent performer on the pitch, Mbappé has both domestic and international success, and is often the game-changer for his team. His teammates and manager would rely on him to turn the table around and more often than not, he delivers. It’s also worth noting that Mbappé plays for Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team, teams filled with stars in their own right. Yet they always find a situation where they have to rely on Mbappé.
Haaland, on the other hand, has yet to reach that level. In a 1–2 loss against FC Köln in November 2020, Borussia Dortmund had a hard time converting their chances into goals. They shot the ball 16 times, only to find five of them on target. Spieltag Indonesia’s Gerhan Zinadine Ahmad recalled Haaland having a hard time against teams that play low-block defense like FC Köln. “Haaland sometimes lacked the flair, not having the ability to dance with the ball and get past his markers like what Luiz Suarez did in his prime,” Ahmad recalls in an interview with The Amateurs.
But it doesn’t mean Haaland won’t improve and learn. New Bundesliga sensation Marco Rose will undertake the task of Borussia Dortmund manager next season, and his experience with Haaland will definitely speed up Haaland’s learning curve. Should Haaland leave when his €75 million release clause is activated, bigger teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Juventus, or even domestic rival Bayern Munich will fight to secure the “Terminator’s” service, and it will definitely help him in his development and give him the exposure he needs.
It’s never too early to acknowledge greatness, and Erling Braut Haaland will be up there to compete — or even beat — Kylian Mbappé.
Ammarsha Rewindra Ridwan is the Founder/Chief Editor of The Amateurs. He’s a devoted Boston city sports fan, especially high on the Celtics and Patriots. He promises his friends and fellow sports mates that he will love the Red Sox and Bruins equally, but he’s yet to fully understand baseball and hockey. He also thinks that Liverpool should earn the honorary title as Boston’s non-official soccer team. Recently, he has developed a unique love-hate relationship with the Chicago Bears. You can follow him on Twitter to see his daily rants and discuss who’s the best power forward of all time and why it’s Kevin Garnett.
