- Alfie Haaland shows his support for his son Erling, after the criticism directed at him
- The Manchester City striker has faced ridicule about his play from several football experts.
- IAN LADYMAN and CHRIS SUTTON weigh in on the Premier League Player of the Year: Listen to the podcast Everything is Beginning
Alfie Haaland has come to the defense of his son Erling Haaland in light of criticism leveled at him by Jamie Carragher and his former rival, Roy Keane.
The Manchester City striker once again leads the Premier League scoring charts this season, with 17 goals, one ahead of Ollie Watkins.
However, after being blanked in last month’s goalless draw against Arsenal, Roy Keane sensationally rated the Norwegian’s all-round game as the standard of a “League Two player”.
Jamie Carragher then criticized Haaland after Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Real Madrid in midweek, suggesting the striker is one of the world’s great goalscorers but is not “world class”.
Now, Haaland’s father, a former City and Nottingham Forest midfielder, has backed the forward by defending his career at the club.
Alfie Haaland has come out in defense of his son Erling after criticism of the forward
Haaland’s all-round game has been targeted even though he once again topped the scoring charts.
Roy Keane rated Erling Haaland’s all-round game as the standard of a League Two player
speaking to Viaplay Soccer He said: ‘Then you have the background of Keane and other experts, who may have a slightly different agenda.
‘They probably think it’s okay for that (criticism) to occur to them.’ “But the team wins and Erling is still the top scorer, so it can’t have been that bad.”
Alfie Haaland infamously clashed with Roy Keane on multiple occasions during his playing days.
In 1997, while playing for Leeds, Haaland’s tackle on the Irish caused him to rupture his cruciate ligament and this led Keane to openly seek revenge against the midfielder.
Four years later, during a Manchester derby, Keane dug his studs into Haaland’s leg and the collision ultimately led to his retirement the following season.
Keane admitted in his autobiography his intentions towards his rival and received a further fine and ban for the challenge and admission.
Erling Haaland has 30 goals in all competitions this season, taking his Manchester City career total to an impressive 82 in 90 appearances for the club.
Ahead of today’s game against Luton, the 23-year-old’s manager Pep Guardiola also defended his striker, insisting on how good Haaland has been since arriving at the club.
Jamie Carragher used his column to suggest that Haaland is not a world-class footballer
Roy Keane and Alfie Haaland clashed several times during their playing days.
Erling’s father played for City and Nottingham Forest in his playing days during the 1990s.
“He helps us make more spaces in the areas and his contribution has been exceptional from the first day he arrived,” Guardiola said.
‘They [pundits] do what they want. That is not a problem. They have an opinion, I have an opinion and it doesn’t matter if it’s right or wrong.
‘If I give an opinion, it seems like I want to criticize the experts, but I don’t. We can agree or disagree.
The Spanish coach was responding to Carragher’s comments after the Champions League match at the Bernabéu.
The former defender wrote in his Telegraph column: ‘Erling Haaland is the luxury footballer par excellence. He is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest goalscorers, but he has not yet become a world-class player.
“If your only interest is breaking scoring records, you don’t need to change anything. If you have serious ambitions to win the Ballon d’Or and play for Real Madrid, you may have a problem.
“He must contribute more to his game to take that leap and seriously challenge his rival for the title of best player of his generation, Kylian Mbappé.”
