How Erling Haaland became footballs first algorithm-made superstar
(Image created with Canva)Names of football stars, it seems, rise and fall just as swiftly as the spherical ball they kick around, especially about the time of the quadrennial World Cup. If before, it had everything to do with the game they played on the turf, now, in the age of reels and memes, it has also to do with their virality. The World Cup still creates stars, but social media now turns them into internet personalities — drawing in even those who don’t watch football. It will be difficult not to follow that line without the mention of Erling Haaland. Haaland, the 25-year-old Norwegian striker, has been so much on the internet in the past few weeks that writing anything more about him can seem superfluous. He was already a celebrated player before the World Cup but grew into a mini legend this season with a historic seven goals in five games that put Norway in the quarter finals for the first time.But his huge fan following is not made of only football fans, and this is what we are talking about. In the past few weeks, social media was suddenly flooded with videos about the antics of Haaland, a man with long golden hair, towering high across the football ground, casually kicking or heading the ball when he has to. There was the funny Haaland walk and the faces he made. Someone dug out an old banned German song called Moskau from 1979 and wrote a Haaland anthem to its tune: Ha-Ha-Ha-Haaland, Haaland. But best of all were videos of him talking about joking around and “needing to enjoy the moment… because nothing lasts forever, and we have to just enjoy it while we are here.” He was admirably modest when Norway beat Brazil 2-1 and Haaland said that Brazil deserved to be in the finals, it was a football country that he grew up watching. Finally, even Google gave him a token, with a ‘Viking Row’ tribute – Vikings marching on the screen when someone searched his name. It is perhaps this mix of brilliance and relatability that has made Haaland’s appeal spill far beyond football fans.
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