EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

How important is Erling Haaland for Dortmund?

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It is not a secret that Erling Haaland has had a phenomenal impact on his current side Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian is the main source of threat for the Black and Yellows and has been instrumental for them in the last two seasons.

Erling Haaland made his move to Dortmund in the January of 2020 from RB Salzburg. The 21-year-old picked the German giants instead of the likes of RB Leipzig and Manchester United.

However, looking back this was an incredible decision for both parties. In Erling Haaland, Dortmund found a perfect striker, something they have been missing since the departure of the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. For Haaland, Dortmund provided regular minutes, challenged for titles and played in Europe.

ERLING HAALAND AND HIS RIDICULOUS NUMBER AT DORTMUND

Before his move to Dortmund, Haaland was already making his name with Red Bull Salzburg. In his breakthrough season with the Austrian side, Haaland scored 16 times in 14 appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga. He also scored 8 goals for them in the Champions League and this earned him his move to Bundesliga.

After joining Dortmund in January, Erling Haaland continued his blistering form and ended the season with 16 goals in 18 appearances for his club. In his first full season with Dortmund, Haaland scored an impressive 41 goals for his club across all competition. These 41 goals came from 41 appearances, giving him a rate of at least a goal a match.

His contribution has been enormous for Dortmund as he often was the match-winner for the team. Consider the 2020/21 campaign. The club scored 75 goals in the Bundesliga of which 27 were scored by Haaland. The Norwegian also has 8 assists, taking his total contribution to 35, which is also half of the Dortmund tally.

His performance is even more important for them in the Champions League. In their last campaign, Dortmund scored 19 goals from their 8 matches. Haaland scored 10 of these 19 goals and assisted for 2 of them. This shows how reliant the team is on the Norwegian.

MORE THAN JUST A GOALSCORER

It is not just the goal contributions that make Haaland so important. His absence is easily felt on the team and Dortmund’s loss to Borussia Monchengladbach last week is an example of that. The Black and Yellows were without their talismanic striker and this showed in the teams’ attack as they were toothless in the opposition box.

Haaland provides the hunger and drive for the team as he is always pushing his teammates to attack. His physical stature makes him a menace for the defenders, leaving aside space for others to make their runs. He is also one of the fastest players in the squad, and this helps Dortmund in launching quick counterattacks from the defensive positions.

The Norwegian is also good in hold-up play and this allows another possibility for Dortmund. Often Haaland will protect the long balls thrown at him and this helps the likes of Marco Reus and Donyell Malen to make the runs into the box. Haaland is also the leader in that attack pushing and motivating the people around him when the team goes down.

His attitude and hunger make him one of the most talented youngsters in the sport. It is surely going to be difficult for Dortmund to hold on to Erling Haaland for long. With his reported release clause of €75 million to be activated next summer, his departure from the Signal Iduna Park is imminent.

Dortmund is not a side that stays down even if their stars leave them. The club has a history of nurturing young talent only to see them being sold to bigger sides. It is going to be a mammoth task to replace the output of a generational talent like Haaland. But if there is one side that can do it, it is going to be Borussia Dortmund.

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