Manchester City's new superstar striker Erling Haaland recalls watching Aguero's iconic winner against QPR in 2011 as a child, with his father, back home in Norway
(Image credit: Getty)
There isn't a Manchester City fan over the age of 18 that doesn't remember exactly where they were when Sergio Aguero scored the goal that sealed the club's first Premier League title in 2011... and that includes the club's new signing Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian recalls watching the game as a young fan with his father Alf Inge, who represented City during his own playing days, between 2000 and 2003. It was a tense afternoon in the Haaland home.
Argentine striker Sergio Aguero playing for Manchester City, taking his shirt off to celebrate after scoring the winning goal against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the 2011-12 Premier League season (Image credit: Getty)
“I remember it so well,” reveals Haaland, in an exclusive interview with FourFourTwo. “Like it was yesterday. It was crazy. The day had been all about winning. This was our moment, this was the day the club became champions. I remember we settled down to watch, my dad was as excited as me, but things just went crazy. City are losing to 10-man QPR. We’re massive favourites, and we’re losing. Manchester United have won [their game against Sunderland]. It’s despair. But then, after 91 minutes I think, Dzeko scores. There’s hope but there’s so little time.”
As every Premier League supporter knows, the story didn't end there. “The winning goal felt so strange,” recalls the star, who followed in his father's footsteps when joining City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. “Balotelli lying on the ground but somehow getting the ball to Aguero. The striker shuts his eyes and he hits it, then it’s madness. Me, my dad, we’re up off our seats, we’re running around the living room screaming. The top comes off, and it’s spinning around the head. Special. What a moment.”
If City fans weren't excited enough about the prospect of seeing Haaland score vital goals of his own for the club in the years to come, the news that the 22-year-old grew up such a passionate fan of the club will only add to that excitement. He also spent his younger days ensuring Manchester United fans in his home country knew who the top dogs were. "There are a lot of Man United fans in Norway - I always had to have a go at them," he jokes.
Leo Moynihan has been a freelance football writer and author for over 20 years. As well as contributing to FourFourTwo for all of that time, his words have also appeared in The Times, the Sunday Telegraph, the Guardian, Esquire, FHM and the Radio Times. He has written a number of books on football, including ghost projects with the likes of David Beckham and Andrew Cole, while his last two books, The Three Kings and Thou Shall Not Pass have both been recognised by the Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year awards.
