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Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland said his teammate Gio Reyna will be one of the best footballers in the world, calling him “the American dream”, and has pointed to Cristiano Ronaldo as inspiration for his game.
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In an exclusive interview with ESPN, the striker said that despite the fact that he has yet to bring the 17-year-old to train, Reyna can go “to the top” of soccer.
“He will soon be 17 and a half, so at such a young age to be so calm on the ball and play for such a great team, it is very fascinating to see how calm he is and he does not care about anything, he just gets right into it. that, “Haaland said of the United States youth international.
Haaland, who finished eighth on ESPN FC’s list of the 36 best players ages 21 and under, joined Dortmund on a four-and-a-half-year contract in January after an impressive season at FC Salzburg.
The Norway international said he would look to players like Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic when playing in his home country for inspiration.
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Erling Haaland is full of praise for Dortmund’s teammate Gio Reyna, and he believes he can become a superior player.
“You could see in Ronaldo’s face that ‘today I am the man’ and ‘today I will score goals’ and that is what he did. That is what I like the most, how dedicated and hungry they are to succeed and be the man in the moment, “he said.
Along with Haaland and Reyna, the 20-year-old English international Jadon Sancho has caught the attention of several clubs with reports that he could leave Germany this summer in a deal worth £ 100 million.
“He is a fantastic player, and the statistics do not lie, what he has been doing for us this season, so he is a fantastic player and will improve even more,” Haaland said of the winger.
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“We are lucky to have him here.”
Haaland’s status has increased in part thanks to 10 goals in just seven Champions League appearances this season.
He scored both goals in Dortmund’s 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League first knockout round, but had to endure PSG players mocking their traditional meditation celebration at the second leg that PSG won 2-0.
However, the young striker said he was not bothered by the celebration.
“I think they helped me a lot to meditate in the world and show everyone that meditation is something important, so I am grateful that they helped me with that,” he added.
Haaland has enjoyed a strong first season in Dortmund, scoring 12 times in 11 games so far.
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“Yes, it has been a very good start and since my debut I have been enjoying it a lot and smiling a lot and this kind of thing and that is the most important thing in my life, smiling a lot and this kind of thing.” So yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do the most, “he said of his impressive start.
Haaland added that the supporting cast in Dortmund has made the transition easy.
“Yes, I feel that I am improving every day and now that I play with teammates even better than the ones I played with in Salzburg, I all respect Salzburg, but yes, they can find me in even better situations and this, so it has been good It’s been a good first few months, “he said.
Haaland also said he received vital advice as a developing footballer from Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer while the two were together at Molde.
“Yes, when I came to Molde as a 16 year old, he taught me a lot from day one, like you said, he was my coach and he taught me a lot of things,” he said.
“He was a striker, I am a striker and he has won the Champions League and that is also a dream for me so he has been teaching me a lot of finishing skills and small moves in the box and this kind of thing.”
