Erling Haaland is so good, he might be the greatest striker by the time he retires!
Why is Erling Haaland so good? Does this question always come to your mind, whenever you see Haaland score another goal? Well, it must!
Before answering your questions let me just amaze you a little more with some crazy Erling Haaland stats - just take a look.
1. Physicality
With a tall frame of 6'4", Haaland makes a great marker to hit on long balls unlike Reus, Gotze, or previous striker Alcacer who had been previously used by Dortmund as strikers.
Whenever Dortmund is under pressure they can always look to play long with Haaland up top. This would give them a chance to quickly changing defense into attacks without losing possession too often.
2. Pace
It's not a surprise that the first thing we talk about is his pace. Erling Haaland is fast, seriously fast which makes the life of defenders that much more difficult when they want to mark him. One thing that Klopp's Liverpool taught us that, the pace can be the most lethal weapon to open up the opposition's defense. You don't need to be skillful but you should know when to use your pace to get the better of the opposition.
Haaland uses his pace to exploit the space behind the defenses also it allows him to drop deep while build-up without worrying about getting back to Position.
3. Clever Movements.
Before we talk about Haaland's fantastic finishing we must first know how he gets into those positions to finish.
His movements without the ball are deceptive. He always tends to confuse the defenders. Let us take this goal for an instance -
Here he was first moving towards the far post giving the defender the impression that he has to mark the far post but then he cleverly changes his direction towards the near post, becoming unmarked.
Here Haaland is waiting for the through ball but to keep himself onside he chooses to go for a curved run, the defender was unable to understand whether he wants to run beyond him or in front of him which in turn delays his reactions.
4. Attacking the Space.
"Football is all about finding space when attacking and reducing it while defending."
— Jurgen Klopp.
Probably Haaland's most destructive weapon is his ability to find and attack the space. He searches for space everywhere including space between and also behind the defense.
Football has changed a lot, and nowadays it has become a norm to keep a high backline, thus leaving huge spaces between the last defenders and goalkeepers to exploit. Great goalscorers can make perfectly timed run behind the defense and scoring goals. Erling Haaland is no different.
These images show us how Haaland places himself between the defenders and waits for his teammate to release the ball and then he makes use of his pace.
Here Haaland cleverly placed himself in an open space, when the ball came in he attacked it and Koulibaly couldn't win the header, result -Haaland scored.
5. Link-Up plays
It doesn't matter how good you are if you aren't a team player, football is of course a team game. Thus understanding teammate's movements their passing styles and linking up with them to create chances is an important attribute of a good attacker.
In this instance, Haaland plays a pass to a teammate and then attacks the space to receive the return pass, and then scores a brilliant goal.
Here is another brilliant example of how Haaland has a great understanding of his teammate's movement. Haaland changes his direction of run once he recognizes that his teammate is going wide to create space, he then attacks that space.
6. Passing to teammates in spaces.
Haaland wouldn't have succeeded so much if he only looked to score himself. He understands the need to play in teammates who are in space.
7. Dropping deep to help in the build-up.
Haaland constantly drops deep in games to provide himself as an extra passing option in midfield. This helps the team as he gives a numerical advantage in the midfield during build-ups without compromising in attack as he is lightning fast to get back into Position.
8. Pressing
Every manager dreams of having a forward who does more than just attack, they love those who work hard without the ball too.
Erling Haaland is one such striker who just doesn't only look to score goals but he works hard to win the ball back.
Talking to BVB tv Alex Witsel said "Erling's working hard defensively, against Bremer, he was dropping back and winning the ball in the midfield, its a fighting spirit we perhaps didn't have so much in the first half of the season."
9. Long Range shooting.
Shooting from a long-range isn't a compulsory trait for a striker. A striker should be clinical from inside the box but its always an advantage if you can score from outside the box as well.
Haaland's second goal against PSG in Champions League 2019/20 is a perfect example, how long Range shooting can add to his goal tally in the future.
10. Poacher.
How often do we talk about strikers who score tap-ins into open goals or goals from close ranges? Well, those players are poachers, it is an art to be present in the right position at the right time. Poachers are the most optimistic creatures present on a Football pitch, they smell goal, they anticipate where to be to receive the ball and score.
Haaland too, along with all other exceptional abilities, has the ability of a perfect poacher just like Mo Salah or Cristiano Ronaldo. He is always the first to react to any opportunity. Thus scoring a huge number of goals from close ranges but don't consider that to be luck, its persistence, and anticipation that leads to the goal.
12. Ice Cool Finishing.
Most of you readers must be wondering why didn't I mention this at the top? Surely the one thing that is most exceptional about Haaland is his FINISHING.
Well before, he uses his calm cool head to slot the ball past the goalkeeper, he uses all the above-mentioned traits to get into this situation.
Nothing is more important than finishing, every team needs one to score the goals and Dortmund has probably got the best young finisher in the world.
If you have watched Erling Haaland play for Dortmund or Rb Salzburg you will find out how Haaland doesn't just follow one technique to score goals. Sometimes he uses powers to give the keeper no chance and other times he just gently lifts it over him. He even uses cheeky back-heels or curls in his shots. He has a wide range of finishing which is again another brilliant attribute to have.
Conclusion - A Complete Forward
With Football being so tactically advanced, you can find several different types of forward ranging from Target Man to the poacher, Deep-lying forwards to advanced forwards to False 9.
But Erling Haaland is a mixture, he is everything, he is a complete Forward for the modern game. He uses Physicality like a target man, has goal-scoring instincts like a poacher and he even drops between the lines to link up with wingers and play as a deep-lying forward.
He is as deadly a striker can be.
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