Alf-Inge Haaland

Club career

Early life and career

Alfie Haaland was born Alf-Inge Rasdal Håland on 23 November 1972 in Stavanger, and was raised in nearby Bryne. He joined the youth team of his hometown club Bryne in 1979. He made his first-team debut in 1989, aged 17, and established himself in the team the following year after signing his first professional contract with Bryne.

Nottingham Forest

Haaland moved to England, joining First Division club Nottingham Forest after a protracted transfer. Attempts to sign Haaland started with Brian Clough in October 1992 but was completed under the management of Frank Clark in December 1993. He made his debut for Forest against Leicester City.

Leeds United

In July 1997, Haaland joined Leeds United under George Graham. He made his Leeds debut against Arsenal on 9 August. In September, when Manchester United were losing 1–0 to Haaland's Leeds United at Elland Road, Roy Keane injured his anterior cruciate ligament running for the ball with Haaland. As Keane lay prone on the ground, Haaland, unaware of the seriousness of the injury, stood over him and criticised Keane, suggesting that he was merely feigning injury to try to gain a penalty. Haaland was booked as Keane was stretchered off the field and was out of action for nearly a year afterward. On 26 December 1997, Haaland scored a goal in a 3–1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, a feat later achieved by his son, Erling Haaland, on 2 October 2019 while playing for Red Bull Salzburg.

He was part of the Leeds team which reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals during the 1999–2000 season and which also qualified for the Champions League. Haaland was mainly used as a utility player, playing in both midfield and defence under David O'Leary.

Manchester City

In 2000, Haaland left Leeds to join Manchester City for a fee of £2.5 million. In April 2001, during a match against Manchester United, Roy Keane tackled Haaland, kicking him high on his right knee, for which he was immediately sent off. Of the incident, Haaland said: "I'm only glad my leg was off the ground, otherwise he would have done me a lot of damage". Keane was subsequently fined £5,000 and received a three-match ban. In his autobiography, published a year later, Keane stated that the tackle was a pre-meditated, deliberate act of vengeance against Haaland for the on-field criticism he received from him three and a half years previously. After this revelation, Keane found himself subject to an FA inquiry. He claimed inaccurate paraphrasing by his ghostwriter but received an additional five-game ban and a £150,000 fine for bringing the sport into disrepute. Following the tackle, Haaland had initially claimed Keane would not dare to look him in the eye, and he once said: "I really dislike [Manchester] United and I can't stand their players".

At the time of Keane's tackle, Haaland's left knee was already giving him sufficient problems for him to have to play with strapping around it. After the tackle, Haaland finished the match and played a midweek friendly for Norway coming off at half-time, and the next league game, coming off in the 68th minute. That summer, he underwent surgery on his left knee but only managed a further four substitute appearances the following season, and finally retired in July 2003 after failing to recover full fitness. Haaland was originally contracted with Manchester City until the end of the 2004–05 season, but in his contract, it was stated that City could terminate the contract if medical conditions indicated that he could not play first-team football again, and decided to use this option.

Following the release of Keane's autobiography in 2002, Haaland and Manchester City stated that they were considering taking legal action against Keane. However, it emerged that Haaland had stated on his website that he had been playing with the injury to his left knee for a few months, that his left leg did not receive a knock in the game (Keane kicked his right thigh), and that Keane did not cause his long term injury. Legal action was dropped in February 2003 after the club reviewed the medical advice.

Rosseland

Haaland came out of retirement after eight years, to play for the Bryne-based club Rosseland in the Norwegian Third Division in August 2011. He retired for the final time in 2013.

International career

Haaland made his debut for Norway in a friendly match against Costa Rica in January 1994. He was later named in Norway's squad for the 1994 FIFA World Cup where he played the matches against Mexico and Italy. Haaland was capped a total of 34 times, with his last international appearance against Bulgaria in April 2001. Haaland is – along with Hallvar Thoresen, Dan Eggen, Espen Baardsen, Hans Herman Henriksen and Joshua King – among the few players to have played for the Norwegian national team without ever playing in the domestic top division.

Personal life

Haaland met Gry Marita Braut, an accomplished Norwegian heptathlon athlete, in the mid-1990s while he was in England playing for Nottingham Forest.

They were married and had three children, a daughter Gabrielle, and two sons, Astor and Erling. Astor is a finance student at the BI Norwegian Business School, Gabrielle is a medical associate, while Erling became a professional footballer like his father. Erling plays for Manchester City, a club which Alfie also played for. Alfie's nephew, Albert Tjåland, is also a professional footballer, a striker who last played for Molde. After his divorce from Gry Marita Braut, Haaland married Anita Strømsvol and they have two daughters.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

References

1. "Alf Inge Haaland: Overview". Premier League.
2. {{Hugman. 7975. Alf-Inge Haaland
3. "Alfie Haaland: Statistikk". Norwegian Football Federation.
4. (6 October 2006). "Formuetoppen i Time". Stavanger Aftenblad.
5. "1972–1994: The Early Years". Icons.com.
6. (23 July 2020). "Erling Haaland: Die Karriere des jungen Stürmer-Stars des BVB".
7. (19 September 1997). "Football: How Fenton received pounds 45.000 after Haaland's move to Forest". The Independent.
8. English, A. S.. (2021-04-06). "Looking back at Alf-Inge Haaland's Man City career".
9. Jimmy Greaves. (2008). "Football's Great Heroes and Entertainers: The History of Football through its biggest heroes". Hachette UK.
10. "Liverpool 3–1 Leeds United".
11. (3 October 2019). "My father always says he scored at Anfield... now, so have I".
12. (3 December 2003). "Alf-Inge Haaland". Leeds United A.F.C..
13. "Haaland signs for Man City".
14. (22 April 2001). "Keane heads trio in the dock".
15. (5 September 2002). "Keane charged with two counts of misconduct".
16. (15 October 2002). "Keane fined and banned". The Guardian.
17. (24 November 2012). "United deny Keane depression claims". Irish Independent.
18. "Premier League 00/01 / Man City vs West Ham".
19. Taylor, Daniel. (16 August 2002). "Stakes raised in football's grudge match". The Guardian.
20. Aarre, Eivind. (13 February 2003). "City sa opp Håland". Stavanger Aftenblad.
21. (19 August 2002). "Haaland admission could wreck case". London Evening Standard.
22. (5 September 2002). "Keane plans defence".
23. (19 August 2002). "Cole earns 'conman' tag".
24. (13 February 2003). "Keane escapes legal action".
25. (26 August 2011). "Håland til Rosseland". Jærbladet.
26. McCarry, Patrick. (27 January 2023). "Roy Keane blanched at Haaland observation during Tommy Tiernan appearance". Sports Joe.
27. Søfting, Thomas. "Alf Inge Håland". RSSSF Norway.
28. Banerjee, Ritabrata. (17 October 2022). "A world record holder at 5 - Ten unknown facts about Manchester City forward Erling Haaland". [[Goal (website).
29. (18 January 2023). "Gry Marita Braut: Erling Haaland's Mother?". Sports Chunk.
30. Singh, Ayush. (11 May 2022). "The Tragic Story of Alfie Haaland – The Father of Goal Machine Erling Haaland". Sports Manor.
31. (13 June 2022). "Erling Haaland: Manchester City complete signing of Norwegian striker from Borussia Dortmund".
32. (12 May 2020). "Albert (16) har tilbud fra Bryne, men vet ikke hvor han spiller fotball til høsten".
33. Dawson, Jack. (28 October 2022). "Who is Alfie Haaland, Erling Haaland's father? biography and facts". Chester Times.
34. "Player Details: Alf-Inge Haaland".
35. {{soccerbase season. 3157. 1996
36. {{soccerbase season. 3157. 1997
37. {{soccerbase season. 3157. 1998
38. {{soccerbase season. 3157. 1999
39. {{soccerbase season. 3157. 2000
40. {{soccerbase season. 3157. 2001
41. {{soccerbase season. 3157. 2002