The Norwegian’s former boss has praised the adolescent’s ability and mindset, asserting that his former participant can become one of the best.
Red Bull Salzburg head coach Jesse Marsch has hailed Erling Haaland as a ‘special character’ and an ‘incredible talent’ with these qualities having secured the striker a move to Borussia Dortmund.
The 19-year-old Norwegian centre-forward moved from Austria into Germany in January and has hit the ground running, with 12 goals and two assists in just 11 appearances for his new team.
And his former supervisor believes the adolescent has all of the raw tools to rise to the very top of this game.
“He is a special character,” Marsch said to the Planet Futbol Podcast. “He is clearly an unbelievable talent. I mean, his athleticism, his pace, it right away put him in the top echelon of abilities in our game.
“And then you put in his desire to become prosperous, his mentality daily, how he works at his technical skill, how he works at his completing daily, how much he puts into trying to be the best footballer he could possibly be daily.”
Haaland scored twice in Germany as Borussia Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the first leg of the Champions League knockout tie, but his side were defeated 2-0 in the Parc des Princes and the PSG squad seemed to mock the adolescent’s celebration then fixture.
“He cared about the group,” Marsch said. “Right now he is dealing with a small amount of fame. You know, a few of the things he went through when playing against PSG, and how PSG responded to a few of the things he placed on Instagram.
“So he will have his challenges, and he is just 19 years old and he is likely to make mistakes. But in the long run, his desire to be the best is different than anything I’ve ever seen.”
But, Marsch was convinced that Haaland wouldn’t be the final exciting prospect to leave Salzburg for bigger and better things.
“I think right now we have maybe 15 players that we will easily be able to market in the next two years to get at least $15 million,” Marsch continued.
“So much of what I do daily isn’t only preparing the team to succeed as a group but dressing each person to maximize their own potential.”
