My father and I were running around the living room screaming when Sergio Aguero scored. It was insane: ERLING HAALAND on how Manchester City’s ‘crazy’ 2012 glory fueled his Premier League title ambitions
Erling Haaland was watching Manchester City win the Premier League from his sofa in Bryne, southwest Norway.
A decade ago, he had a day he will never forget, and one he hopes to replicate this season — albeit without the drama.
It was Sergio Aguero’s afternoon, near the end of the Argentine’s first season in England. The 93:20 mark. Haaland and his father, former City captain Alfie, watched in awe.
‘I remember it so well like it was yesterday,’ Haaland said. ‘It was crazy. The day had been all about winning. This was our moment, this was the day the club became league champions.
‘We settled down to watch, my dad was just as excited as me, but things went crazy. The city is losing to 10-man QPR. We’re massive favorites, and we’re losing. It’s despair. But then, after 91 minutes Edin Dzeko scores. There’s hope, but there’s so little time.
‘The winning goal felt so strange,’ he added in an interview in FourFourTwo. ‘Mario Balotelli on the ground, but somehow getting the ball to Aguero. Shuts his eyes and hits it, then it’s madness. Me and my dad, we’re up off our seats, and we’re running around the living room screaming. The top comes off, and it’s spinning around the head. Special. What a moment.’
Haaland referenced the fact that Manchester United was seconds away from snatching the title but could not bring himself to say the club’s full name in a way that will only further endear him to City supporters.
He maintains that his £51million summer move to the Etihad Stadium was not inevitable but it does feel like a fair few stars aligned for a young striker who owned all the City kits as a child.
When watching the title win in 2012, Haaland did not know then what he does now — that City would go on to identify him to take over from Aguero. That he would emulate him in scoring twice on his league debut.
City hopes there are many more comparisons between the pair over the coming years. Approaching anywhere close to Aguero’s 260 goals would be the stuff of dreams.
Right now, the main one is how involved, or not, he is in Pep Guardiola’s system. There has been a fascination with the number of touches Haaland has made in his appearances so far, scrutiny forgetting that City does not need him involved in much — if anything — until they reach the final third.
Guardiola has already been seen instructing his new number nine not to drop short during build-up play.
After three league games, Haaland has 73 touches — and only eight against Bournemouth, when the manager compared the amount of space available to him to sit in jail.
In all three games, he has had fewer touches than any other starter and yet has three goals and an assist. He is doing exactly what they want.
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