Haaland's goalscoring efficiency this season goes without saying. There is another trait that people talk about - his speed.
The internet favors players who are fast, especially those who can score great goals while sprinting at high speeds.
Haaland is one such player.
But how fast? As a big man with a height of 194cm and a weight of 94kg, how did he crush his opponents with speed?
Let's look at the data first.
In his final season at Borussia Dortmund, Haaland's fastest sprint ranked third in the Bundesliga – 36.3 km/h, or about 10.1 metres per second. In the Premier League, player data is not publicly available, but data company SkillCorner has the ability to extract data from footage.
To measure and identify a player's top speed, they used the PSV-99 measurement to observe players who regularly run at astonishing speeds.
Based on this method, the Haaland PSV-99 has an average speed of 30.5 km/h, which is among the best forwards, and in front of him are several wingers who are known for their speed. However, in the centre group, only Marcus Rashford is ahead of Haaland in speed.
After looking at the data, look at the sports science aspect.
Jonas Dodu is a former sprint coach who currently serves the FA, Rugby England, several Premier League and Bundesliga teams, the National Football League and Major League Baseball in an advisory capacity. He worked with former Dortmund high-performance coach Andres Baker, who was responsible for breaking down players' running habits using video footage and then proposing improvements, when Haaland was in the team.
Two questions
Dodu marveled at Haaland's "skill in using speed," saying he knew how to "maximize his physical attributes in an appropriate tactical way."
However, Dodu is also aware of two problems in Haaland's running habits: the first is that he leans forward while running, that is, the problem of bowing his waist; The second is the swing of his two arms, that is, if you observe him running from the front, you will find that he has a situation where his body is swaying from side to side.
"To solve the problem of the body rocking from side to side, my method is to let him relax his hips while tightening the core of the waist. For the hunched waist problem, if he is a professional sprinter, I will try to correct him, but it is not a big problem for the player, so I will not intervene for the time being. ”
"Good coaches are just that, they know whose spine problems need to be corrected and whose ones don't. If it is a player, there is no need to correct it. ”
Three major aspects
In response to Haaland's situation, Dodu said to stay out of the equation until it affects his "hip feeding, leg alternation and reactivity," which are three major measures of sprint efficiency.
"Hip delivery refers to how many steps to take and the ability to change hip angles. In layman's terms, how far can you go in one step. For athletes of different heights, we have the best reference values in terms of stride length," says Dodu.
"Alternating legs is a measure of your ability to move your legs alternately. We have two legs, and when one leg pushes us forward, the other leg is on its way to boost. Therefore, the two legs cooperate with each other and are a linkage mechanism. Some legs work together efficiently, others don't, so we can intervene in this regard. ”
"Then there's reactivity, which is how efficiently the ankle works as a spring. Some people use their ankles as a force expander, while others use their ankles as dampers. If it is a damper, it will reduce the power, and if it is a force expander, it will provide a strong boost. ”
These three concepts concern three parts of the human body, Dodu said.
Hip delivery focuses on the hips and thighs, and the energy provided by these areas determines your stride length. The leg alternation focuses on the trunk and core muscles, providing you with stability, especially the stability of the pelvis for the alternation of the legs. Finally, there is reactivity, which concerns the ankles and knees, ensuring strength and spring-like movement during running.
"Haaland has done a good job of that," Dodo said. "That's what sets him apart because, in general, taller athletes have trouble moving their legs, which is cadence, while heavier players tend to have a bottleneck in reflexes."
However, whether it's a switchback run, a straight run, an acceleration run, or a quick stop and start, he can easily find a balance between the three aspects. This is our focus. We don't want athletes who are good at just one or the other. Only those who are good at the above three aspects and can achieve a balance are excellent sports talents. Haaland is clearly that kind of talent. ”
If he corrects his problems with leaning forward and shaking from side to side, can Haaland run faster?
"It's possible," Dodu said. "That way, his movements will be more stable and he will be more efficient in running." But these changes are not necessary. Again, if these two problems affect his hip sending and leg alternation, we will definitely intervene. ”
Dodu simply thinks it's not worth it, given the time and effort costs of correcting him in both areas.
Haaland vs Top Runner
So, a simple question: How far will Haaland be from the top sprinters?
"Sprint coaches always emphasize raising their knees," Dodu said. "But outdoor sports (like soccer) coaches never believe that."
"Of course they have their reasons, but I think it can be compromised."
"When Haaland picks up, he tries to raise his knees and hips and increase his stride."
"What else do sprinters do to speed up? When they stride heavily, they try to increase their cadence. Haaland has done a good job of this. ”
"Also, sprinters keep their knees and ankles tight when their feet hit the ground, and this strong support allows them to press forward in a short time, and Haaland is still good at that."
"The conclusion is that Haaland has all the qualities of a top sprinter. Sprinters will raise their legs higher and the soles of their feet touch the ground less during running, yes, but first of all this is because the track is harder than the turf; Secondly, sprinters can send hips as much as possible and keep themselves in the air as long as possible, because they don't need to prepare for physical confrontation, they don't need to dodge at any time, but Haaland does. ”
Dodu said they found that when Haaland didn't need to prepare for confrontation, such as a quick counterattack, he raised his legs higher and his hips fuller, making himself more like a sprinter.
What are the characteristics of other speed players?
"Some players are good at throwing off defenders because they have a lot of acceleration. Their top speed may not be the fastest, but the space on the football field is limited, and such players can reach considerable speed in a short time, which is generally speaking. ”
"You can see that some of the wingers can run at amazing speed, some of them are explosive, some of them are explosive.
"Back to Haaland, he has both explosiveness and speed. With these two abilities, his ability to sprint repeatedly is also quite amazing. ”
For Haaland, how can he help him increase his top speed?
"For a tall player, he keeps his stride in the best range," Dodu said. "And the cadence is also faster."
"The other players have done a good job as well. The difference is that he has a height of 194cm. Usain Bolt dominates the sprint track because he can do everything a short man can do while crushing everyone in stride. ”
"Haaland also has the same conditions as Bolt, he is also a natural sprinter, and the hardware and software conditions are top-notch. So he'll dominate the pitch until he's up and down, injured or his confidence is badly soured. ”
"But that's not going to happen anytime soon."
We often compare some of the fast horses on the pitch to Bolt, but the track and field community has always dismissed that.
The reason, Dodu said, is that speed on the soccer field and speed on the track and field are fundamentally different things.
Haaland during Dort's time was able to run 10 meters per second, and while Dodu admits that "the speed is already fast," he also said that "top female sprinters can run 100 meters in 11 seconds, and the top speed can reach 11 meters per second." This speed is already faster than 99% of football players. Not to mention the top male sprinters, who can reach a top speed of 12 meters per second. ”
"The question is, it's like comparing an orange to an apple, and the slightly more reliable way of comparing it is, how fast can the top sprinter and Haaland run after 20 meters?"
In the relay, Bolt ran 100 meters in just 8.7 seconds after running 20 meters. This is a reasonable way to compare. ”