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Ostigard not surprised by Haaland’s meteoric rise

Albion defender reveals his close friendship with the rising star of world football.

By Alex Stedman • 05 June 2020

By REX/Shutterstock
Ostigard and Haaland have known one another since their time at Molde.

There are few bigger names in world football at the moment than Erling Haaland, and Leo Ostigard knows him better than most – on and off the field. 

The 19-year-old forward joined Borussia Dortmund in January after netting 22 times in 20 matches across the Austrian top division and the UEFA Champions League for FC Salzburg, grabbing plenty of headlines and attention.  

But as the Albion under-23 defender reveals, he was well aware of his Haaland’s talents long before he headed to Dortmund. 

“I’ve known Erling since he came to the Norwegian side Molde when he was 17, I was a year or so older than him,” he said.  

“It’s good to see him doing so well, it’s great for him and also for Norwegian football. 

“We speak nearly enough every day on FaceTime and we’re in the same groups on our phones - he’s an incredible guy. 

“I remember when he arrived at Molde, he was quite tall but not as heavy as he is now in terms of muscle and strength. 

“I think after the first year he went up about 10kg – it was quite amazing and the year after he had become a bit of a monster!

“He had a bit of an injury to start with during his time at Molde, but once he got some minutes for the first team everything went pretty fast and he started to score goals.

“His move to Salzburg was a good one for him and he kept finding the net. There was a lot of interest in him and his move to Dortmund has gone well so far.

“We played together their for the youth team at Molde when won the cup and in the Norwegian national side from under-18 level to under-20, so he is someone I know well and am close to.”

By REX/Shutterstock.
Ostigard and Haaland celebrate during the 12-0 win over Honduras in May 2019.

Ostigard found the back of the net when Norway beat Honduras 12-0 in the Under-20 World Cup in May – the biggest victory in the competition’s history. 

Haaland netted nine times – unsurprisingly setting a new record in the process. 

“After we played in that tournament, I said he’s ready for the Premier League,” said Ostigard. 

“He’s gone to Dortmund and continued to get better. He has performed there and in the Champions League which is the biggest stage in European football. 

“One of his real strengths is when he is able to run in behind defenders, that may surprise some people because of his build, but he’s very dangerous. He’s one of the strongest players I’ve played both against and with.  

“Defenders try to knock people off the ball by being strong physically, but it’s hard against him because of the way he’s built and his pace. When you combine those two things it’s a big problem for his opponents.”

Ostigard believes that playing against strikers of that ability stands any young player in great stead for the future, as he’s discovered during his time on loan with St Pauli in Germany’s second tier this season.  

 “It challenges you to be smart with how you engage for the ball. I’m not the biggest defender but I have already come up against some big strikers here in Germany, and that will only help me improve. 

“I feel I’ve handled it well. In this league they’re all quite physical with how they play and that does challenge you to think smarter."