Debate rages on social media: Is 22-year-old Erling Braut Haaland really the best Norwegian footballer ever on the men’s team?
TV 2 presenter John Borstad and old enemy king Peter Northog are among those who ignited the debate.
“Greatest of all. The conversation is over,” Northogue wrote in response to this:
VG spoke to former national team players after Haaland’s triple appearance on Saturday Not It is time to put the Manchester City striker at the top of the list of “the greatest of all time”.
– He was absolutely formidable, and he would probably be the best ever. But to make him ahead of players like Tom Lund, Ron Bratzith and Halvar Thorsen, it will be early, says former national team defender Andre Bergolmo.
He has to admit that Haaland “began to get close” – and that it is difficult to classify people from different eras.
– It has already shown that it can be stable over time, points out Bergdolmo, who believes the 4-2 score at the end of the week shows the qualities of Haaland alone in the world with:
He is directed before the ball arrives and he is already thinking about the next move. When he gets it, everything is ready. It’s not instinct, it’s a scheme, he describes.
Einar AS (66), who has played for Bayern Munich and Nottingham, had previously put Tom Lund in the same category as Kevin Keegan.
In his short stint, Haaland was by far the best Norwegian player in the major leagues. Aas believed that if he wanted to become “the absolute best” he would have to do so over several years.
– But I’m one hundred percent sure it will be, he adds.
– Outside, Hallvar Thoresen was the greatest, while Rune Bratseth had a good career. Ace says Haaland’s success has not been matched by anyone.
‘Best of All Time’ awards are often an exercise in football geeks. Players’ individual skills, achievements, titles, and cool facts must be added to the pot before adding your own taste, background, and nostalgia.
Players from completely different eras are rated against each other.
In the NRK assessment ten years ago, there was absolutely no doubt about Arne Scheie and Knut Nesbø: Hallvar Thoresen’s dominance at PSV Eindhoven made him the best Norwegian player ever.
Perhaps now is the time to rotate:
– Haaland is among the best. To put it this way: Right now, I don’t see who he could challenge for first place, says Scheie – without wanting to call Haaland “the best ever”.
He justifies himself by saying that there are people in the thirties whom he did not see …
I bow in the dirt for what he did. He is the top scorer in the Premier League and has been bought for the best team. For those of us who have followed English football since the 1950s, this is completely unrealistic.
Tom Lund (who would replace Johan Cruyff at Ajax), Ron Bratseth (who was nominated for a Ballon d’Or twice), Roald “Knicken” Jensen, Odd Iverson, Eric “Megan” McClund, Harald “Dott” Berg, John Arne Riise and John Carew and Ole Gunnar Solskjær are the names he’s now fiercely challenged by Haaland, but also Martin Odegaard.
Haaland in his fourth season as the top scorer in the top five league. He became the Champions League top scorer, which is only 13 goals less than the record of Jurgen Juventus (33 goals) in the national team.
There were no league titles in Dortmund, but one cup tournament, as Haaland scored twice in the 4-1 win in the final against Leipzig.
– I’ll give her more time. Linda Medalin (152 internationals, 64 goals for Norway) says he is barely dry in his diapers about Haaland’s nomination as the “best ever”.
– I understand the question is being asked, because he has had some very satisfactory presentations, but he is only 22 years old. He has a lot to play in header and fencing and is not as good in defense as the other attackers. She considers it unfinished.
– but he has developed a very special competence. He lies there lying dormant, then uses his powers when he has to. He scores special goals that no Norwegian player has ever done before, not even foreigners if you ignore Messi and Ronaldo. The It is a specialized expertise the likes of which we have not seen in Norway.
Goran Sorloth (55 internationals, 15 goals) describes Haaland as a “magician”, but says he should “grow a little more” over time.
– In the best of times, you get this status when you’re done, not when you’re just starting, which is the clear message from Trøndelag.
– no no no
VG interviewed former Lillestrøm football commentator and management legend, Ivar Hoff, in 2017 regarding a report on LSK legend Tom Lund.
won that time Hoff firmly believed that Lund was the best of Norwaywith Hallvar Thoresen, Rune Bratseth, Ronny Johnsen, Henning Berg, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, John Carew and Tore André Flo in the back seats.
When asked if today – after Haaland’s accomplishments in recent years rather than recently – he had changed his mind, Hoff replied as follows:
– No, no, he says – before explaining why:
– There are two great players. But Tom Lund was the reason Lillstrom moved from the bottom of the third tier to the best team in the Nordic countries in the 1970s. What he did… You wouldn’t have heard of modern day Lillstrom Gym if Tom Lund hadn’t been there. In addition, the offers received by Tom Lund say something about him. When Johan Cruyff was sold to Barcelona, they wanted to bring in Tom Lund to replace him.
Haaland is the attacking monster and scores way too many goals. I’m a fan. But he hasn’t won anything yet. You have to be a few more seasons behind, win something and put your signature on the trophy, says Huff.
Not at Erling’s level
The former national team manager and longtime coach at the highest level, Åge Hareide, is clear on his case.
He has even played with several players who over the years have been rated as “the best Norwegian footballer of all time”.
– Now Erling is getting better. He has absolutely insane goal stats. It is from another world. Mastering this takes a lot of time, says Hareide, who notes that Jærbuen has repeated his scoring achievements in all the tournaments he has played in.
Hared notes that he has played for many of the names that have been mentioned as the best ever in Norway.
– Bratseth was great in Germany, Hall was the same in Holland. It could have been Tom Lund as well. He concludes that they did not enjoy Erling’s level – while reminding him that football has evolved since the 1980s and 1990s.
Others played well at a different time. The opponent is trained better, the people are faster and all that. However, Erling puts on a very impressive goal-scoring performance in England. There aren’t many people who have managed to score that much so quickly — and he could break all records, says Hurd.
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