2023-05-03 09:35:49
Manchester City coach Josep Guardiola, the English Premier League champion in football, considered that comparing his team’s top scorer Erling Haaland with Argentine world champion Lionel Messi is harmful to the young Norwegian player.
Haaland (22 years) is performing at a great level with City, and he needs a goal to set the record for the largest number of goals in one season within the Premier League, with its system in place since 1992.
By scoring against Fulham last Sunday (2-1), Haaland raised his tally to 34 goals this season, equal to the joint record between Alan Shearer (1995 with Blackburn) and Andy Cole (1994 with Newcastle United).
While Haaland raised his tally to 50 goals in various competitions this season, some compared his achievement to what Messi achieved in the 2012 season with Barcelona when he scored 73 goals under Guardiola’s supervision.
But Guardiola pulled the fuse of the comparisons, saying, “No one compares to Messi. It won’t help Erling. Messi is the most complete player I have ever seen in my life in terms of vision, dribbles, passing, competitiveness, among many difficult things.
Guardiola, who coached Messi, the best player in the world seven times, added, “I hope Erling gets close to Leo, that would be great for him and for us, but I don’t help anyone compare them.”
Haaland still has many matches to enhance his scoring tally, as his team has 6 league matches left, at least two matches in the Champions League, where it will meet Real Madrid in the semi-finals, and it will meet its arch-neighbor Manchester United in the final of the local cup in early June.
On Haaland’s steady success in his first season in England after coming from Borussia Dortmund, Guardiola expressed his surprise at the Norwegian’s efficiency. “This is a surprise to all of us — perhaps not for him — to do this work in the difficult league, but his behavior contributed to the club’s success,” which he said. West Ham faces its guest and tries to regain the lead from Arsenal on Wednesday.
“Of course, it is important for him and the team to break records. This is a good sign. The importance of the number is because it has not been broken for a long time. All numbers will be broken one day.
Pep believes that Haaland’s second season may be better than the current one. “I think he has the desire to develop. I know him quite a bit and he is competitive and positive in his mentality. He has such amazing self-confidence. It is not arrogance.
1683112778
#Guardiola #comparison #Messi #harmful #Haaland