Reporter | Chen Dingrui
Sun, sand, sunglasses, scissor hands...
In the summer of 2021, Errin Haaland, who had just set a career record of 41 goals in 41 games at Borussia Dortmund, was completely isolated from vacation time unrelated to the European Championship.
Because the Norwegian team failed to get a ticket to the European Championship, Haaland, who exuded the temperament of "C Ronaldo and Messi's successor" at the age of 20, is enjoying a quiet and comfortable summer. At a time when the number of Instagram followers exceeded 10 million, the Norwegian striker also sent a large congratulatory message to the followers, leisurely and relaxed.
As the most terrifying record maniac after "Mero", the emergence of Erlin Haaland has really made the European football scene of the past two seasons breathtaking - from Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga to the Champions League knockout rounds, as long as it is the fastest, youngest and most efficient record, almost can not escape his "magic foot".
Unfortunately, the Norwegian centre-forward, who has long been the successor to the "Mero" traffic, is the biggest jewel of this European Championship, and he has lamented that he is really angry about such a result. I don't know if Haaland, who is gradually maturing in the next few years, can make up for the regret of missing the big club this summer.
Judging from the current trend of the Norwegian team, Haaland's redemption journey will not be easy, you know, since 2000, the Norwegian team has only participated in the European Championship once, and the remaining 10 times have impacted the World Cup and the European Championship ticket journey, all of which ended in failure.
Seeing that Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden all achieved their wishes in different ways in the continental competitions, and even won extraordinary attention, the Norwegians, who had left the international stage for a long time, had to do something.
Speaking of which, the failure to welcome Haaland at this European Championship is also a big regret: after all, even if it is a vacation period when both ears are deaf to the outside world, the Norwegian big boy can also output amazing records.
Two weeks ago, at the end of June, a Harland "folding (numbered and signed)" star card produced by Topps was sold at the Golding auction house in the United States for a sky-high price of $442,800 (about 2.8657 million yuan), marking the first season of Norwegian striker Dortmund's career.
A sensation on social networks for a time. Many media are lamenting that such an astronomical number is more or less the highest record in the history of the football star card trading circle.
In the opinion of golding, the founder of the auction house: "Everyone sees Haaland as the future of football, and the collector's idea is very simple, is to wait for the rookie card to continue to appreciate in value, and then profit from it." Perhaps, this is also the reason why the value of the Haaland star card can surpass Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - only a promising future is a high-priced or priceless existence.
Of course, if you compare it to the history of Golding Auction House, Haaland's $442,800 is not the top price. Looking back nearly a decade, golding auction house shot baseball signature cards, is a well-deserved sky-high price, often one or two million or even more than three million dollars, have been recorded.
As a new force that has soared in recent years, the high-priced collection of football star cards is dominated by classics by Diego Maradona and Pele, while "future superstars" such as Killian Mbappe can also attract attention in the auction market.
Some collectors believe that although the follow-up impact of the epidemic has temporarily encountered an inflection point in the star card market, from the foreseeable trend, with the success of Haalanders, stable price rise is still a long-term theme. Even in the eyes of some insiders, in a few years, Haaland's rare star card will cross the million-dollar mark.
Of course, the ever-changing world of football has never been diverted by the wishes of star card collectors. No one can perfectly predict Haaland's career idol, or what setbacks he will encounter one day, or the invasion of major injuries.
For example, this summer, Haaland, who missed the European Championship, could not let his star card appreciate in value for a short time. His colleagues who lost the opportunity to "compete" with him also included Alexander Arnold, Van Dijk and Ansu Fati, who were absent due to injury.
Imagine if the Netherlands' weak defence could have Van Dijk in the seat, or Spain's opportunity-wasting front line to get Ansu Fati's main force, some of the knockout matches in this European Championship may be able to derive more complex game content...
At this moment, Erlin Haaland is the biggest jewel of this European Championship, and he has to use the sun and sand to dispel the regret of missing the competition. Maybe one day in the future, he can stand on the stage and truly become the successor of C Luo.