Born in July 2000 in Leeds, England - his father Alf-Inge Haaland was playing at Manchester City at the time - the Norwegian started accumulating records before he was even twenty years old.

Released from the small Norwegian club Molde FK, Erling Braut Haaland was completely unknown in September 2019 when he started the Austrian league season with RB Salzburg.

The giant (1.94 m) explodes in the eyes of the world thanks to the Champions League: eight goals in six group stage matches, including a hat-trick of anthology at just 19 years old, against Genk.

Too gifted to stay in the city of Mozart, the "Wunderkind" (child prodigy) leaves from the winter transfer window for Dortmund, against the sum of 20 million euros.

Barely landed in Germany, new record!

Tripled for his first match, when he entered as a joker for the last half hour (5-3 against Augsburg).

No Bundesliga player had ever achieved such a feat.

"That's why you made me sign", then launches the young phenomenon, sure of himself, to his sports director Michael Zorc.

Records are raining

And unlike many euphoric young scorers before him, he's not slowing down.

Records abound: youngest player to reach 50 goals in the Bundesliga, first player to score 50 goals in his first 50 matches, first player to score 10 goals in just seven matches for a single club in the Champions League, etc. ...

In the 2020-2021 Champions League, he dazzled Europe again with two doubles in the first leg and back against Sevilla in the round of 16.

Borussia finally yields only in the next round, against Manchester City, the future finalist.

But at the end of the season, Haaland offered his first (and only) German trophy, slamming again two goals in the German Cup final against Leipzig (4-1).

Erling Haaland in the jersey of Borussia Dortmund against Freiburg at Signal Iduna Park, January 14, 2022 Ina Fassbender AFP / Archives

In 88 appearances in the yellow and black jersey of Dortmund, he has scored 85 goals so far in all competitions.

A Ballon d'Or stat.

How to explain this miracle?

Haaland doesn't care.

And has fun answering questions with the shortest sentences possible: "The day I give an interview lasting more than a minute will be the day I leave football," he jokes.

Overtime

This season, his stats have remained much the same, but several injuries have caused him to miss crucial matches.

In the fall, Dortmund were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage, despite the center forward's three goals in the only three matches he played.

And in his absence, Norway missed qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Because Haaland is not only a fabulous goalscorer.

He is also a leader, a gang leader, capable of rallying and remotivating his teammates, through his warrior's body language and his harangues on the ground.

Erling Haaland scorer for Norway in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup on September 7, 2021 in Oslo Håkon Mosvold Larsen NTB / AFP / Archives

As for her personal preparation, she impressed the Germans from her first weeks in Dortmund: "In terms of professionalism, Haaland is on the right track", assured the German football magazine Kicker.

"He works outside of BVB training with a personal fitness trainer, takes care of his diet, sleep and recovery, and never hesitates to work overtime after training" to shoot hundreds of times on goal.

"He's at an age where he can still work on certain aspects of his game, and that's what he's going to do," assured Dortmund coach Marco Rose, admiringly: "Erling has a fantastic progression curve, which has exploded since his arrival at BVB".

A gigantic potential that will now have to be adapted to the no less gigantic ambitions of Manchester City.

© 2022 AFP