Haaland happy with life at City ahead of Copenhagen second leg
Manchester City Academy, Manchester, UK
Manchester City Academy, Manchester, UK
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Good afternoon, guys, same again, mics on either side.
00:07 Please bear in mind that there's a lot of people in the room,
00:10 but you all want to ask a question, so be mindful of that.
00:13 We will take questions from English media first,
00:15 then move into anything from Denmark.
00:18 Start with Simon, please.
00:20 Hi, Erling.
00:21 You came here last season, you scored all those goals,
00:25 obliterated all the records, won every trophy virtually
00:28 that there was to win.
00:30 How do you stay motivated to do it again, or try and do it again?
00:36 Yeah, you can think about it in two ways.
00:41 One thing, I came here and won it all,
00:45 and the other thing, I'm 23 years old and I won everything,
00:49 and I got a taste of it, how it is to win everything.
00:53 And how I work is that when I feel this,
00:58 I want to win it again.
01:00 Easy as that.
01:01 Hi, Erling. As you said, it couldn't have really gone any better
01:06 in your first year here, and yet you missed out to Messi
01:10 on the two big individual prizes.
01:13 For you to actually win those, does he have to retire?
01:16 I don't know, good question.
01:21 Yeah, it's true, he won it and he won the World Cup,
01:27 so I don't know what to say.
01:30 He is the best that's ever played, I think, so, yeah, I don't know.
01:37 Erling, obviously you've just been talking about coming here to win trophies,
01:43 the Champions League continues, but then on Sunday you've got a huge game
01:47 away at Anfield against Liverpool,
01:49 it's the sort of game that already looks like it might determine who wins the Premier League.
01:54 What's your mindset going into a challenge like that,
01:57 facing your closest rivals away from home?
02:00 Yeah, well, first of all, I haven't thought of that game, anything, until you asked me now.
02:06 I focus on Copenhagen right now.
02:08 But yeah, it's a massive game, it's going to be a huge game,
02:14 and it's one of the biggest games in England, so we have to be ready for the game,
02:19 we have to be brave and we have to play at our best,
02:24 because they've been really good this season.
02:27 Hi, Erling. You have scored 28 times this season, five against Luton,
02:34 you scored against United, but sometimes people talk more about the missed chances,
02:38 and the one against United especially.
02:40 Do you think you have an impossible task now, that people expect you to score so many,
02:45 that when you miss, oh, that's unusual?
02:49 Yeah, I think you can think it in maybe two ways.
02:52 Last year's top scorer got 36 goals, and this season's top scorer has got 18 so far,
03:00 so you can think it in two ways, if it's been a good season or not for me.
03:04 I think we're doing pretty good as a team, that's my main focus, of course.
03:11 But yeah, I've been missing, I've missed a lot of chances.
03:16 I will still keep on missing chances, I will still score goals,
03:22 so I'll probably miss a big chance in the future as well,
03:29 and people are going to criticise me, and what can I do then?
03:32 Should I think of that? No, I should focus on scoring more goals and helping the team.
03:38 Paul.
03:39 Erling, you've been coming up to two years here now,
03:42 at the club obviously being very successful on the pitch,
03:45 I was just wondering how you've found life in Manchester and at the club since you moved here?
03:51 Yeah, I enjoy life, I enjoy life with my closest ones,
03:56 and yeah, I enjoy it, I don't know what more to say.
04:01 Hi, Erling. You seem to be very strong mentally,
04:05 the way in which you're speaking about yourself and missing chances,
04:09 and you have been since you basically started as a professional,
04:11 you've always been like this, or is it something you've had to work on,
04:15 just this focus, "Who cares if I miss, I'll carry on"?
04:19 No, it's been a challenge for me when I was young.
04:23 I remember when I was young I could start crying if we lost and I missed a lot of chances.
04:29 So I've been working on it a lot, and it's been a challenge,
04:35 I think because I demand a lot from myself, and I know my teammates also demand a lot from me,
04:40 and the manager and all the fans.
04:43 So I think it's something to work on, and in the end everything's in here.
04:50 It's an easy answer, but it's also so difficult.
04:53 But so far, so good.
04:56 Hi, Erling. I don't know if you saw, but Thierry Henry was on Sky last night
05:00 and he was talking about your link-up play, hold-up play,
05:04 and the stuff you're good at, but also the stuff you could maybe do a bit more,
05:07 and in terms of getting involved.
05:09 But he also said he's not in the dressing room, so he doesn't know what Pep asks you to do.
05:13 Is it Pep saying, "Don't get involved too much"?
05:17 Would you like to get involved more? Is it something you could maybe improve?
05:21 What is the actual instruction when it comes to getting on the ball in this team,
05:24 outside of the box?
05:26 Yeah, I don't want to say too much about this, because obviously it's our tactic
05:31 and what we use against opponents.
05:33 But I do what he says me to do, I try to get involved when I should,
05:39 and yeah, there's a lot of things I can become better at.
05:44 Everything, by the way.
05:47 People say I'm good at scoring goals, but I missed the biggest chance in the world ever
05:52 two days ago, so I can also become better at that.
05:56 But yeah, I can become a lot better at a lot of things,
06:01 and that's why we train.
06:03 Hi, Erling. With everything you've achieved in your career so far,
06:08 particularly here last season and this season,
06:10 there's obviously inevitable speculation about your long-term future,
06:13 Real Madrid have been touted as a possible club for you,
06:16 but do you feel you've got everything here at this club to stay here long-term?
06:20 Everything you need as a player?
06:22 I'm really happy, especially with the people I'm surrounded with,
06:29 the manager, the directors, the board, they are an amazing group of people.
06:37 And I'm really happy, I have to say.
06:40 If I say this now, it's probably going to be a massive headline,
06:49 tomorrow you never know what the future brings.
06:51 But, again, I'm happy, and you can write this,
06:57 but you can also have to write everything I said right before.
07:01 I'm happy, and yeah, that's what I want to do.
07:05 Simon?
07:06 Following on from that, the club would love you to sign a new contract,
07:11 is that something that's been in your head yet, or are you just focusing on the pitch?
07:17 Yeah, my focus mainly now is on the pitch,
07:20 there's a lot of games, two days ago it was Manchester derby,
07:23 and now it's Chambers League, and on Sunday it's Liverpool.
07:27 So I think I should focus on that, I don't think I should focus on anything else at the moment.
07:33 Hi, Erling, you were talking before about blocking out the misses
07:39 and learning how to deal with that, what does that look like when you work on things like that?
07:45 Is that a mental thing that you do at home, are there any special exercises?
07:49 Yeah, it's a mental thing, I don't have any exercises,
07:52 but I think it's something I've been working naturally on.
07:57 I think it's with everything in life, if you overthink something, it's not good.
08:05 If you stress in your life, it's not good.
08:08 So it's with everything in life, and my life is mainly about football,
08:14 so that's my focus, and I've got one career and I try to do my best to have the best career possible.
08:21 So, yeah, my focus is to become the best possible version of myself,
08:27 and the main thing then is the mental part.
08:31 And, yeah, I don't know what more to say.
08:37 Hi, Erling, you're backscoring goals now,
08:40 but it's not so long ago that you had a period of two months with injury,
08:44 with a couple of setbacks as well during that time.
08:47 How did that period affect you as a person?
08:50 As a person? No, it was hard, because you get used to something
08:56 and then suddenly you don't know what to do,
08:59 you have to focus on the main thing, to be training and all that kind of thing
09:06 when you can't play games, but it's about trying to find positive things in life,
09:14 because life is beautiful, and I've got a lot of beautiful people around me
09:19 to be around me and to help me and to make me have a good time, so that's my focus.
09:26 Danish media, please, guys.
09:28 Christopher from Danish media.
09:30 Before the season, the Premier League got a new Scandinavian striker in Rasmus Hoyland,
09:35 what are your thoughts about him as a footballer
09:37 and what do you think about his start in the Premier League?
09:40 Yeah, I think his start was a bit hard, but then it became much better,
09:47 and when we played against him I think he was really good.
09:50 He's a good player and he's young, like me.
09:55 I'm not the youngest anymore, but I'm still young, so he has to keep on developing.
10:00 As a striker for Manchester United, I guess you have to score goals as well,
10:05 so that's his job.
10:07 Just a follow-up on that, I'm Jonas from Danish media as well,
10:12 have you been in contact with Rasmus while being here in Manchester?
10:16 No.
10:18 You're playing for FC Copenhagen tomorrow, as a Norwegian,
10:22 what is your relationship to FC Copenhagen and how do you remember this club?
10:26 I know you trained in the club as well.
10:28 Yeah, I was on a trial or whatever you want to call it in 2016,
10:32 I think a couple of guys from the club wanted me there, but not everyone,
10:37 so it didn't happen, sad for them.
10:40 But maybe good for me because I went to Malta and it was a good choice.
10:44 I like the club, to be fair, it's a nice club,
10:50 I've got a couple of friends that live in Copenhagen as well,
10:53 and they are standing behind the goal in a lot of games,
10:57 so they enjoy it and I like the club.
11:00 Were you interested in joining FC Copenhagen,
11:04 and how was that week in Copenhagen for you?
11:07 The trial period.
11:09 One more time, please.
11:11 Were you interested when you were at trial at Copenhagen about joining them,
11:14 or did you already know then it would just be a training week?
11:17 I thought you asked now!
11:19 LAUGHTER
11:20 Yeah, I was interested, yeah.
11:22 Obviously I was to join the under-19s then, so yeah, I was interested.
11:29 Of course, that's why I went there.
11:32 I remember even speaking with Storle, who was the coach then,
11:37 I even got a shirt, actually, number 9, Haaland, I think I still have it at home.
11:42 So yeah, I was interested, but it never happened.
11:47 My destiny was another way, and it was a decent way so far.
11:55 Did you have a negotiation with Copenhagen?
11:59 I don't know, I was 16, so I didn't do anything of that.
12:03 David, Copenhagen Sundays.
12:06 In Copenhagen we weren't exactly thrilled to draw City again,
12:10 but what do you think about meeting Copenhagen now?
12:13 Yeah, it's a nice challenge.
12:16 They've done really good this season, look what they did in the group stage.
12:25 They had some amazing games, women analysing the games,
12:30 and they made it really difficult for the teams they faced.
12:35 I like the challenge, I like Champions League,
12:39 and I like to meet different teams and to go to different countries, it's nice.
12:45 Hi Erling, a question from Denmark.
12:52 Which player from Copenhagen has made an impression on you?
12:57 You have met them a couple of times during the last seasons, is there a specific player?
13:02 I like the keeper, I don't remember his name,
13:12 but I really like him, he's good with his feet.
13:16 I like him especially.
13:19 There are a lot of good players, look at the games they did against Bayern and Manchester United,
13:26 it was amazing.
13:28 The winger is also nice, I don't know his name, sorry.
13:31 Of course I have to say my Norwegian brothers as well,
13:34 Elionis and Merlin, but the left winger I don't know his name.
13:39 Elias Aturi?
13:42 Tunisian guy?
13:43 Yeah, him, I like him as well.
13:46 Is there a difference going up against defenders from Copenhagen compared to defenders from the Premier League?
13:54 No, I think both focus a lot on me, so it's a bit the same.
13:58 So it's not a big difference, they are good, they are strong, also good with the ball.
14:05 Copenhagen, I like how they play, but they're both strong.
14:12 Thank you, guys.
14:14 Thank you, everyone.
14:15 (clears throat)