There are no magic formulas in football. The Champions League can be won by putting Eto'o at right back, like Mourinho's Inter in 2010, or by sublimating possession football, like Guardiola's Barça a year later. Few models exist further away. Nor does the path to the goal offer a single solution. An example is what will take place this Sunday in Oslo, where the beast Haaland will measure his strength against Morata, a goalscorer far removed from the clichés, in a duel more decisive for Norway than for Spain.
The chronicles say that the Norwegian star has not had a good start to the season. That translates into 8 goals in 12 games for Manchester City, although none in the Champions League, a competition in which, despite everything, he continues to score more goals (35) than appearances (32). For any other striker, Haaland's numbers (Leeds, 2000) this season would be a source of pride. Not for a footballer who honors his ancestors with his Viking look and who seems to have come into this world to break all records. “I'm tired of hearing my name, sometimes it's a little stressful,” he lamented just a few days ago. “But I appreciate the support so I'm not going to complain,” he later clarified. The life of the chosen ones was never easy.
His team, which was already absent from the World Cup in Qatar, needs him now, today, if it does not also want to say goodbye to next summer's European Championship. “We need the support of all of Norway against Spain,” highlighted the scorer after scoring a double in the victory against Cyprus. He has scored six goals in his last four international matches, figures that have allowed him to recover the average of one goal per game with Norway after 27 international appearances.
But Haaland, Odegaard and company are more outside than inside. If Spain wins in Oslo, it will seal its automatic passport for the Germany event and, at the same time, it will leave out its rival, who would be at the mercy of a numerical miracle to access the Machiavellian play-off devised by UEFA and that depends on the last Nations League.
The scenario seems calmer for the polar opposite of the Norwegian predator, Álvaro Morata (Madrid, 1992). The Atlético footballer is going through the best scoring streak of his career and, especially with the national team, his role in the locker room has more and more weight. “It doesn't seem like it but he has a lot of common sense, he is a very close person, always attentive to everyone,” they say from the Federation.
The retirement of Jordi Alba after winning the Nations League, Morata's first senior title, which was celebrated as it deserved, has handed the captain's armband to the Spaniard. A responsibility that has suited him wonderfully. “He is an example for everyone and he supports young people, he shows what a captain should be,” De la Fuente compliments him.
One of the tasks that most stands out in Morata's environment is its devotion to young people. She is always on top of them, trying to help them with everything. “Everyone has welcomed me very well but I stay with Álvaro (Morata), from the first day he seems like my father, he has taken great care of me,” Bryan Zaragoza, debutant with the red, confessed on Thursday.
But assuming and consolidating this leadership, which comes accompanied by goals (11 in 12 games this season between club and national team), has not been an easy task. Morata has suffered the harshness of anonymity on social networks, in the spotlight for many years, and at some point even his withdrawal planned in his mind. But he chose to ask for help and was one of the first elite footballers to speak openly about mental problems. “A few years ago you said that you were going to the psychologist and people laughed at you,” he confessed in El Larguero a few days ago. Now he continues working with Adrià Carmona, a former member of La Masia, who acts as a coach and has helped him in this growth.
Haaland and Morata represent the two sides of the goal.
