Alf-Inge Haaland

Haaland was born in Stavanger and raised in nearby Bryne.[8] He joined the youth team of his hometown club Bryne FK in 1979.[7] He made his first-team debut in 1989, aged 17,[8] and established himself in the team the following year[8] after signing his first professional contract with Bryne.[7]

Haaland moved to England, joining First Division club Nottingham Forest after a protracted transfer. Attempts to sign Haaland started with Brian Clough in October 1992 but was completed under the management of Frank Clark in December 1993.[10] He made his debut for Forest against Leicester City.[9]

In July 1997, Haaland joined Leeds United under George Graham. He made his Leeds debut against Arsenal on 9 August. In September, when Manchester United were losing 1–0 to Haaland's Leeds United at Elland Road, Roy Keane injured his anterior cruciate ligament running for the ball with Haaland. As Keane lay prone on the ground, Haaland, unaware of the seriousness of the injury, stood over him and criticized Keane, suggesting that he was merely feigning injury to try to gain a penalty.[11] Haaland was booked as Keane was stretchered off the field and was out of action for nearly a year afterward. On 26 December 1997, Haaland scored a goal in a 3–1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield,[12] a feat later achieved by his son, Erling Haaland, on 2 October 2019 while playing for Red Bull Salzburg.[13]

He was part of the Leeds team which reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals during the 1999–2000 season and which also qualified for the Champions League. Haaland was mainly used as a utility player, playing in both midfield and defense under David O'Leary.

In 2000, Haaland left Leeds to join Manchester City for a fee of £2.5 million.[14][15] In April 2001, during a match against Manchester United, Roy Keane tackled Haaland, kicking him high on his right knee, for which he was immediately sent off. Of the incident, Haaland said: "I'm only glad my leg was off the ground, otherwise he would have done me a lot of damage".[16] Keane was subsequently fined £5,000 and received a three-match ban. In his autobiography, published a year later, Keane stated that the tackle was a pre-meditated, deliberate act of vengeance against Haaland for the on-field criticism he received from him three and a half years previously. After this revelation, Keane found himself subject to an FA inquiry. He claimed inaccurate paraphrasing by his ghostwriter but received an additional five-game ban and a £150,000 fine for bringing the sport into disrepute.[17][18] Following the tackle, Haaland had initially claimed Keane would not dare to look him in the eye, and he once said: "I dislike [Manchester] United and I can't stand their players".[19]

At the time of Keane's tackle, Haaland's left knee was already giving him sufficient problems for him to have to play with strapping around it.[20] After the tackle, Haaland finished the match and played a midweek friendly for Norway coming off at half-time,[21] and the next league game, coming off in the 68th minute.[22] That summer, he underwent surgery on his left knee but only managed a further four substitute appearances the following season,[23] and finally retired in July 2003 after failing to recover full fitness. Haaland was originally contracted with Manchester City until the end of the 2004–05 season, but in his contract, it was stated that City could terminate the contract if medical conditions indicated that he could not play first-team football again, and decided to use this option.[24]

Following the release of Keane's autobiography in 2002, Haaland and Manchester City stated that they were considering taking legal action against Keane. However, it emerged that Haaland had stated on his website that he had been playing with the injury to his left knee for a few months, that his left leg did not receive a knock in the game (Keane kicked his right thigh), and that Keane did not cause his long term injury.[25][26][27] Legal action was dropped in February 2003 after the club reviewed the medical advice.[28]

Haaland came out of retirement after eight years, to play for the Bryne-based club Rosseland BK in the Norwegian Third Division in August 2011.[29] He retired for the final time in 2013.[30]