Cairo hosts African Union's 5th Awareness Week on Post-Conflict Reconstruction on 19 Nov.    Egyptian pound holds steady in narrow band in early Sunday trade    Standard Bank opens first Egypt office as Cairo seeks deeper African integration    UREGENT: Egypt's unemployment hits 6.4% in Q3 – CAPMAS    Al-Sisi orders expansion of oil, gas and mining exploration, new investor incentives    Climate finance must be fairer for emerging economies: Finance Minister    Cairo intensifies regional diplomacy to secure support for US Gaza resolution at UN    Egypt unveils National Digital Health Strategy 2025–2029 to drive systemwide transformation    Minapharm, Bayer sign strategic agreement to localize pharmaceutical manufacturing in Egypt    Egypt golf team reclaims Arab standing with silver; Omar Hisham Talaat congratulates team    ADCB launches ClimaTech Accelerator 2025    Egypt launches National Strategy for Rare Diseases at PHDC'25    Egypt's Al-Sisi ratifies new criminal procedures law after parliament amends it    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Libya, Sudan at Turkey's SETA foundation    Egypt launches 3rd World Conference on Population, Health and Human Development    Cowardly attacks will not weaken Pakistan's resolve to fight terrorism, says FM    Egypt adds trachoma elimination to health success track record: WHO    Egypt, Latvia sign healthcare MoU during PHDC'25    Egypt, Sudan, UN convene to ramp up humanitarian aid in Sudan    Egyptians vote in 1st stage of lower house of parliament elections    Grand Egyptian Museum welcomes over 12,000 visitors on seventh day    Sisi meets Russian security chief to discuss Gaza ceasefire, trade, nuclear projects    Egypt repatriates 36 smuggled ancient artefacts from the US    Grand Egyptian Museum attracts 18k visitors on first public opening day    'Royalty on the Nile': Grand Ball of Monte-Carlo comes to Cairo    VS-FILM Festival for Very Short Films Ignites El Sokhna    Egypt's cultural palaces authority launches nationwide arts and culture events    Egypt launches Red Sea Open to boost tourism, international profile    Omar Hisham Talaat: Media partnership with 'On Sports' key to promoting Egyptian golf tourism    Sisi expands national support fund to include diplomats who died on duty    Egypt's PM reviews efforts to remove Nile River encroachments    Al-Sisi: Cairo to host Gaza reconstruction conference in November    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Dortmund's Haaland keeps zen-like calm as the world goes wild
Published in Ahram Online on 20 - 02 - 2020

Everyone is going crazy for Erling Haaland's goals. Except Erling Haaland.
The 19-year-old Norwegian seems utterly relaxed after scoring twice as Borussia Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
He celebrated one goal in a meditation-style pose borrowed from Liverpool forward and yoga fan Mohamed Salah.
"ZENsational win,`` Haaland posted on Instagram alongside a picture of his celebration.
His post-game comments were modest, almost absurdly so for a player who had just beaten the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
"I know that I have a lot to improve and you saw that today,'' he said. ``I have to keep working hard."
As fans partied on the streets of Dortmund into the early hours singing Haaland's name, club CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke called him "a force of nature." For PSG coach Thomas Tuchel, Haaland was "a beast."
How good can Haaland become? His home country of Norway is going wild at the thought.
It's had good players before, like the Champions League-winning left back John Arne Riise and forward Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but they were never as dominant at such a young age as Haaland.
The teenager has scored 39 goals in 29 games so far this season, including 10 in seven in the Champions League for Dortmund and former club Salzburg. That's the best scoring run in a rookie season ever.
"I'm just delighted for him," Solksjaer said on Wednesday. "He's a top boy, an absolutely fantastic kid that you want the best for and he's started fantastically this season with Dortmund, so we just watch him.
"For Norway, it's brilliant for us that we have a striker that can score a goal again.''
Solskjaer coached Haaland when they were both at Norwegian club Molde and Manchester United tried to sign him ahead of Dortmund this season. Some fans of United saw a bit of a slight at their club _ nicknamed the Red Devils _ in Haaland's choice to accept the Bundesliga player of the month award wearing a shirt with the slogan "The devil is jealous of me.''
Next in line for Haaland is relegation-threatened Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Werder has lost its last four games and put up little resistance against Leipzig last week, so Dortmund can be hopeful of keeping pace with league leader Bayern Munich.
Haaland's fireworks in attack, accompanied by 19-year-old Jadon Sancho and 17-year-old Gio Reyna, have distracted from another surprising shift at Dortmund. The team has learned how to defend.
Mats Hummels marked Neymar so closely he largely defused the PSG striker's attacking threat Tuesday, and new signing Emre Can has added steel in defensive midfield.
Dortmund looked cool-headed and in control for the PSG game and last week's 4-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt _ a far cry from the thrilling but manic 5-3 win over Augsburg last month or its recent 4-3 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.
If Dortmund's defenders have picked up Haaland's zen-like calm, the German title may be within reach.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)


Clic here to read the story from its source.