Commercial pressure for Haaland to wear the ‘9’ with Norway

Since the 2016/2017 season, the number ‘9’ shirt of the Norwegian senior team belonged to Alexander Sörloth, currently a Real Sociedad player. A number that, four seasons later, will have a new owner: Erling Braut Haaland. As confirmed by Stale Solbakken, Norwegian coach, TV 2commercial interests and pressures have led to the Borussia Dortmund striker inherits the ‘9’ and leaves behind the ’23’, the number he debuted with when he was 19 years old and which he had worn during his 15 full international appearances for Norway. This way, the player on loan from RB Leipzig in the txuri-urdin team will now wear the number ’19’ shirt with his country’s national team.

“The reason for this is that there is a huge desire and commercial drive behind it.”, admitted Solbakken, who has also explained that Sorloth chose his new number before Haaland finally took over the ‘9’. Speaking to this Norwegian media outlet, the coach stated that “Erling, now and probably for many years to come, will be a great brand. Both the NFF (Norwegian Football Association) and Erling can benefit from it.”. Likewise, Martin Ødegaard, Haaland and Sorloth’s teammate, declared at a press conference that he does not believe that this change “has been a problem for anyone”. Both Solbakken and the Arsenal player took advantage of the occasion to praise the attitude of the txuri-urdin striker.

This will be the first time that Erling Haaland wears the number ‘9’ with Norway, as he had not even worn it in the lower categories. While in his three seasons as an absolute international he was always accompanied by the ’23’, in the under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-21 teams, he wore numbers such as ’14’, ’10’, ‘ 19′, ’20’ or ’18’. A new number for him in the national team, but something more familiar when it comes to clubs. Although Haaland began his career in the Borusser box wearing the ’17’, since the 2020/2021 season, already the consolidated offensive reference of Borussia Dortmund, he was awarded the ‘9’. For his part, Alexander Sorloth abandons the number that, in addition to the senior team, he also wore at Crystal Palace for two seasons (2017/2018 and 2018/2019) and chooses the one he wore during his time at both FC Midtjylland and at RB Leipzig.