MANCHESTER / OSLO (VG) Pep Guardiola (52′) thinks Erling Braut Haaland (22) is the type to never lose faith. The Norwegian is compared to an American basketball team.
In a press conference before the last league match against Brentford and Manchester City, in the FA Cup and Champions League, the Sky Blues coach was asked about Erling Braut Haaland and the fact that he only had one goal in the league. The last six matches.
“I don’t doubt Erling is a scoring machine,” said the City coach after the Norwegian was negative against Brighton on Wednesday.
– He had chances. Guardiola says he will probably wait until the right moment, perhaps pointing to the highly anticipated finals which at best could give the club a treble victory this season.
Guardiola suggests Haaland could have missed the previous game against Brighton if he wanted to:
– the problems that he has and that still remain – he could have said no, no, I’m waiting for the finalists, and then quite the opposite – and I like it.
– Then he’s ready. And by the way – score one goal! Guardiola says – referring to the header that was disallowed against Brighton, with the City manager believing it was entirely wrong to have Haaland ruled out for a free kick.
Guardiola is considering returning to the Community Shield match against Liverpool in pre-season when Haaland missed a great chance.
We didn’t know each other well yet. I told him not to worry.
He’s incredibly confident in the way he always sees an opportunity to score. This is the greatest value you can have as a footballer. No matter what happens, you will never lose your faith.
Then Guardiola drew a somewhat surprising link from Haaland to someone completely different:
In adversity, football players and athletes show who they are. You know the Boston Celtics, who had a 3-0 loss against the Miami Heats. Now it’s 3-2. Now they show what they are made of.
– So you admire the way he treats you, because there is a lot of pressure on his shoulders?
– I think he has adapted well. He’s 22 or 23 (he turns 23 in July) and adjusts to expectations that way. He laughs when people expect things.
- The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics meet in Game 6 on Sunday night.
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