Erling Haaland takes on Leeds United tonight and you can probably expect to hear plenty about where the Manchester City striker was born.
The Premier League is back and the final match of this gameweek sees Leeds United host Manchester City at Elland Road.
Few will be backing Jesse Marsch’s men for a shock result against Pep Guardiola’s side.
Erling Haaland will be the main threat for City and has already scored since the World Cup ended.
Haaland bagged a goal against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Thursday and would love another one against Leeds.
Where was Haaland born?
We know Haaland to be the shining light of Norwegian football but the goal machine wasn’t actually born in Scandinavia.
Haaland was actually born in Leeds, meaning tonight’s game sees him face his hometown club.
This does mean that Haaland could have played for England rather than Norway.
That was never really possible in the eyes of England boss Gareth Southgate though, as he suggested that Haaland was ‘tied up pretty early’ by Norway.
Haaland’s father Alf-Inge has been playing for Leeds, having joined the Whites from Nottingham Forest in 1997.
Haaland senior turned out 92 times for Leeds, scoring eight times.
Erling was born in July 2000, just a few weeks after his father had left Leeds to join Manchester City.
It seems that the Haaland family were still based in Leeds at the time of his birth but they headed back to Norway with Erling just three years of age.
Does Haaland support Leeds?
The simple answer to this one is yes, Haaland does support Leeds!
Haaland told Aftenposten in 2017 that his absolute dream in football is to win the Premier League with Leeds.
That interview noted that Leeds are Haaland’s favourite club in England, due to the connection his father has with the Whites.
Former Leeds star and now Manchester City ace Kalvin Phillips has even suggested that Haaland is a ‘massive Leeds fan’.
Phillips claims that the pair have talked about going to watch Leeds together in the future.
Tonight is therefore a very special night for Haaland and his family, with the striker no doubt gunning for goals in his hometown.
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