Real Madrid v Manchester City: How Erling Haaland became a footballing phenomenon

Where to statesman with the improvement that is Erling Haaland?

All this with a imaginable 8 games near successful the campaign, and successful his debut Premier League play aft his determination to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund for an archetypal £51.2m past summer.

Haaland's prolific exploits person helped the champions backmost to the apical of the league array and eyeing a Treble, with an FA Cup last and 2 Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid connected the horizon.

Haaland and Co volition sojourn the Bernabeu connected Tuesday for the archetypal limb against the European champions afloat of assurance this tin beryllium their year.

Not since managing Lionel Messi astatine Barcelona has Pep Guardiola's attack been influenced much by the beingness of conscionable 1 player, but the frightening happening for the remainder of Europe is Haaland's champion could beryllium yet to come.

So however did helium get to beryllium the subordinate helium is today?

Breaking satellite records aged five

Born successful Leeds successful 2000, the lad of erstwhile Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Manchester City defender Alf-Inge Haaland and heptathlete Gry Marita Braut seemed destined for a palmy sports vocation from an aboriginal age.

In 2006, helium achieved a satellite grounds successful his property class for the lasting agelong leap with a leap of 1.63 metres. He was 5 years old.

At younker level - having moved backmost to his parents' Norwegian hometown of Bryne aged 3 - helium was a skinny, accelerated and incredibly dedicated winger.

And adjacent past Haaland was a passionate pupil of the game, looking to the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robin van Persie, Jamie Vardy, Messi and Mario Balotelli for inspiration.

After monitoring his older member Astor intimately - and expanding the unit connected him to marque it arsenic a nonrecreational athlete, which didn't hap - Haaland's parents took a much relaxed attack with the younger sibling.

They allowed Erling to make much people and, arsenic helium grew successful confidence, helium did arsenic good successful size and stature astatine Byrne, his boyhood nine wherever helium came done the academy.

Now an imposing 6ft 4ins centre-forward, Haaland's maturation spurt successful his mid-teens - which brought the inevitable pains - brought a physique that joined good with the attributes helium already had to go a nonrecreational footballer; method ability, tactical nous and the close mentality.

"I bash the aforesaid runs arsenic I did arsenic a 13-year-old," helium says.

Coach Alf-Ingve Berntsen, who trained him for 8 years astatine Bryne, said: "At 13 years old, I already saw that this kid was going to marque the Norwegian nationalist squad with his precise peculiar enactment ethic and tactical sense."

A spell astatine Molde betwixt 2017-19 nether the tutelage of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who dedicated hours to Haaland him connected a one-to-one basis, helped him make arsenic a finisher due to the fact that astatine that clip it was thing that did not travel people to him.

Once it became wide helium wanted to beryllium a professional, a five-year strategical program was prepared by him and his father, which included 2 years astatine Molde refining the finer points of his crippled and playing arsenic galore matches arsenic possible. The goals flowed - arsenic did the involvement from elsewhere.

Haaland moved to Red Bull Salzburg successful 2019, scoring 25 goals successful 23 matches including a 45-minute hat-trick successful his Champions League debut against Genk which served arsenic conclusive impervious helium belonged astatine that level.

From there, helium moved to Borussia Dortmund for astir 20m euros. Despite superior involvement from the likes of Manchester United and Juventus, the guardant chose the German nine with an oculus connected the magnitude of playing clip helium would get there.

Starting with a 23-minute hat-trick connected his debut arsenic a second-half substitute, Haaland scored 86 goals successful 89 appearances astatine Dortmund. It was lone a substance of clip earlier helium would articulation 1 of the biggest clubs successful the satellite - with Manchester City activating his 60m euro (£51.2 million) merchandise clause past summer.

Haaland volition beryllium conscionable 26 erstwhile his five-year woody comes to an extremity and galore expect him to effort his commercialized successful Spain and Italy next, with his tendency to win successful the biggest leagues successful the world.

'No subordinate has influenced Guardiola much since Messi'

Even Haaland himself is simply a small amazed by however good helium has done truthful rapidly astatine Etihad Stadium.

One of the cardinal reasons for his occurrence has been his trainer, Ivar Eggja, who works intimately with his begetter and acts arsenic a 'facilitator' for the striker - uncovering him a home, looking aft his fare and giving him everything helium needs truthful helium lone thinks astir football.

By the clip Haaland arrived successful Manchester, helium already had everything successful place.

Another cardinal is the information helium is ne'er satisfied - ever looking to improve.

Manchester City's Italian trainer Mario Pafundi pushes him but besides helps him recognize his body. This has meant Haaland has truthful acold avoided the injuries that acceptable him backmost him past twelvemonth astatine Borussia Dortmund.

He has gained astir 12kg of musculus successful the past 15 months arsenic a effect of privileged genetics, a authorities involving the depletion of tremendous quantities of prime food, coupled with hugely demanding grooming circuits and a relaxed beingness benignant incorporating periods of meditation which helium uses to guarantee his caput is successful the close place.

There were questions astir however Haaland would acceptable successful to Manchester City's benignant of play, whose powerfulness comes from the midfield, cutting done the lines and creating abstraction down the absorption defence, portion the Norwegian's strengths are successful the accelerated transitions.

City's benignant of play erstwhile much measured tin make a disconnect betwixt Haaland up beforehand and the remainder of the team, thing Guardiola is alert of and keen to avoid.

After the decision astatine Manchester United successful January, the City brag admitted the full broadside had to get the striker much involved. Haaland was a peripheral fig having lone a mates of half-chances and conscionable 19 touches successful the match.

The situation for Guardiola is to play the benignant of crippled helium wants, portion inactive ensuring Haaland is engaged, occupied, afloat focused and mostly happy, adjacent if that means occasionally putting successful a walk that you wouldn't usually consider.

The coaching unit person connected occasions asked Kevin de Bruyne oregon Bernardo Silva to enactment balls done to Haaland that they would not usually play for nary different crushed different than to guarantee helium stays afloat connected with proceedings.

He inactive feels frustrated connected occasions erstwhile helium does not get the work his runs are calling for, portion helium besides knows helium could beryllium much adjuvant to team-mates successful and astir the container and disconnected the ball.

'Passionate astir powers of meditation'

"Haaland lives 24 hours for his profession, his work, his passion, what helium loves," said Guardiola.

Those that cognize him speech of idiosyncratic who is polite, humble, grounded and self-assured - surely not idiosyncratic who is egotistical oregon arrogant.

Fanatical arsenic a trainer and invariably the archetypal to get and the past to leave, Haaland is alert of the request to immerse himself successful the indispensable rigours required. This includes extended massages and crystal baths, each lessons helium has learned from his father's schooling.

Invariably positive, upbeat and smiling, helium loves Italian food, Italian wine, eating good and has small clip for societal media. He doesn't work what is written astir him due to the fact that helium realises it is pointless trying to power those things you are incapable to.

He has the close magnitude of assurance successful himself and tries to thrive disconnected the unit that comes with the territory.

To assistance him header with that pressure, helium is passionate astir the powers of meditation and its quality to region accent from his beingness and besides conscious of the request for bully prime sleep.

He is not a nighttime bird, nor a large video crippled oregon movie buff, preferring alternatively - erstwhile not grooming - to unrecorded a quiescent beingness astatine home, relaxing.

One of Haaland's large strengths is his quality to shed self-doubt. He is 1 of the astir intensely watched and highest-paid athletes successful the world, and helium conscionable rolls with it, arsenic if helium doesn't adjacent notice.

He is not acrophobic of making mistakes and is unfailingly affirmative successful the cognition that adjacent if helium does not get it close helium volition ever get different chance, and another, and another. He is not the benignant of idiosyncratic to dwell connected past misfortunes.

Haaland is surely alert that arsenic immense a endowment arsenic helium is, helium is inactive a enactment successful progress, which is simply a frightening imaginable for the remainder of the world.

• What haunting secrets are buried Inside No. 9?: Darkly twisted comic tales from Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith
• Which brace volition decorativeness first?: A frenetic contention crossed Canada without phones and flights