Mark Hughes: 'Haaland is a player like no other'

According to former Man Utd striker Mark Hughes, talent and personality will help Erling Haaland reach unprecedented heights.

"I've never seen a player like Haaland," Mark Hughes, who played more than 600 times for Man Utd, Barca, Bayern and Chelsea, told the Sun on May 31. "Often great strikers have weaknesses. But look at Haaland. There's nothing he can't do."

Hughes rates Haaland highly for his strength, speed, intelligence and ability to adapt to coach Pep Guardiola's style of play. In addition, he believes the Norwegian striker's greatest strength is being able to quickly find ways to damage the opponent's defense.

"Haaland is a combination of physicality, speed and intelligence," Hughes added. "That makes him really difficult to play against. You don't often see 6ft 4ins strikers terrorising defenders with their pace."

Haaland (in blue) celebrates scoring against Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on April 11. Photo: Reuters

Hughes also believes that joining Man City will also help Haaland. Here, with passers like Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva, Haaland can learn and practice the intelligence that he developed while playing for Dortmund.

According to Hughes, the influence of coach Pep Guardiola is also very important. The former Barca and Bayern coach not only helps Haaland play more effectively, but also gives him a clear direction. Thanks to that, instead of money and other factors, Haaland only cares about football.

"He will continue to take himself to new heights," Hughes predicted. "He is a player like we have not seen in this era, or maybe ever."

In the 2022-2023 season - his first season playing in England, Haaland scored 52 goals in 51 matches. He still has the opportunity to improve his record in the FA Cup final against Man Utd on June 3 and the Champions League final against Inter on June 10. Previously, Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 matches for Dortmund, 29 goals in 27 matches for Salzburg and 21 goals in 23 matches for the Norwegian national team.

Haaland scored twice in the opening match of the Premier League, winning 2-0 against West Ham. Photo: Reuters

Man City won the 2022-2023 Premier League. Haaland and his teammates lead the league with 89 points after 38 rounds, five points ahead of second-placed Arsenal. If they win the FA Cup final and the Champions League final, they will win the treble.

Haaland won the Premier League's top scorer title in 2022-2023, with 36 goals. The 22-year-old striker won two more titles: Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season. He is also almost certain to win the European Golden Shoe, an award given to the player who scores the most goals in a national championship.

With 12 goals, Haaland is also sure to be the top scorer of the 2022-2023 Champions League. The player who still has a chance to compete, Inter's Edin Dzeko, has only four goals.

Hughes scored 224 club goals, including 116 for Man Utd. Here he won two Premier Leagues, three FA Cups, one League Cup, three Community Shields, one Cup Winners' Cup and one European Super Cup. With Chelsea he won another FA Cup, one League Cup and one European Super Cup. At his peak, Hughes played alongside Gary Lineker, Eric Cantona, Andy Cole, Lothar Matthaus, Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli.

Thanh Quy (according to Sun )

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/mark-hughes-haaland-la-mau-cau-thu-chua-tung-thay-4612465.html