Erling Haaland looks a little different when he line up in Norway in next month’s World Cup qualifiers. Manchester City Ace is a Norwegian soccer poster boy and hopes to lead his country to his first major tournament in over 25 years.
Haaland was not even born in the final time Norway graced the stages of major tournaments. His final appearance was at Euro 2000. With the Golden Generation somewhat emerging in recent years, Scandinavian outfits are expected to end their hiatus and compete in the 2026 World Cup next summer.
Norway will resume pursuit of World Cup qualifying within weeks, but the name of his shirt changed when Haaland is likely to line up before a clash with Moldova. That’s because his jersey instead reads “Brauto Haaland” rather than just “Haaland.”
It is commonly mentioned in Norway from his mother’s surname and from his parents’ surname. When I quized about the changes, the old Norwegian manager Solbacken said, “It’s his name (braided), that’s not that difficult anymore. I’ve never known anything up until now.”
His mother, Gry Marita Braut, may be less well known on these shores than his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, but she also boasts athletic pedigree. GRY was the famous Norwegian Heptassell champion in the 1990s and explains how to explain his son’s incredible athletic tendencies.
The soccer icon is claimed to have broken the world record for standing long jumps in his age group at the age of five. Explaining that Haaland excelled in a variety of sports as a child, his father stated:
“Erling did handball, track and field and cross-country skiing until he was 14. Versatility is important. It allows him to develop completely different aspects of his body.
This has been rewarded so far in his career, with Haaland establishing himself as one of football’s most devastating strikers. But if things were slightly different, he might have sported Manchester United’s red instead of his rival city.
“I called United about six months before I took over and said we had but didn’t listen,” said Ole Gunnar Solskier, who worked with Haaland at Maulde before moving to United.
