Not the next... Why it's wrong to compare Haaland with Ibrahimovic

To mark the return of the Bundesliga, it just had to be Erling Haaland who bagged the first goal following its restart on Saturday. The Westfalenstadion would usually have been bouncing, and the Yellow Wall intimidating, for the Revierderby, yet due to social distancing rules in place to minimise the fallout of the Coronavirus pandemic, Signal Iduna Park remained silent. 

That didn't impact Borussia Dortmund at the weekend as they romped to a 4-0 win over rivals Schalke. Boasting the best home record in Germany's top tier this term, much of that is due to their ardent support and without the fans, Dortmund could have lost their edge. It needn't have mattered. They made light work of Schalke and were ruthlessly efficient in front of goal, as all four shots on target hit the back of the net. 

For Haaland, he marked the occasion with his 10th league goal of the season. He has now hit the back of the net with 10 of his 13 shots on target and is averaging 1.5 goals per 90 in the Bundesliga this term. However, what stood out for the Norwegian, wasn't just his goal on the half hour mark, but rather what he said in a short clip during his post-match interview. 

When asked why he and his teammates went to the empty Yellow Wall to applaud an empty stand, Haaland said: "Why not?" The reporter continued: "Is there a kind of message you’d like to send out?" "Yes," Haaland responded. "Would you tell us the message?" to which Haaland replied: "To my fans." Finally, the reporter asked: "They’re everything to you and Dortmund?" which Haaland concluded: "It is." 

The ice-cold demeanour saw football fans liken Haaland to cult hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede, who has won trophies wherever he has gone in his star-studded career, is still impressing in one of Europe's top leagues having made a romantic return to AC Milan earlier this year. The 38-year-old is AC Milan's highest rated player with a WhoScored rating of 7.22, despite making just eight league appearances for the Rossoneri. 

Ibrahimovic will forever be renowned as a legend of the game having accumulated 31 major winners' medals during his glittering career, and finding a player to take over his mantle will be easier said than done. Yet, while off the pitch Haaland's manner on Satutday may have seen him compared to Ibrahimovic, does that extend to their on-field style of play? 

At 6'5", Ibrahimovic is a shade taller than 6'4" Haaland and, physically at least, it's easy to compare the Scandinavian duo, as it was with Alexander Isak back in 2017. Hailing from Sweden, Isak was the apparent heir to Ibrahimovic's Sweden throne, with many dubbing the now 20-year-old 'The Next Ibrahimovic'. While Isak's career has stalled somewhat, however, Haaland's is accelerating quickly. 

For the purpose of this comparison, it's only fair that Haaland's current Borussia Dortmund performances be compared to Ibrahimovic's best-rated campaign, that coming in 2015/16 where the Swede ruled Paris. Indeed, Ibrahimovic secured a fine WhoScored rating of 8.29 as PSG romped to Le Championnat, winning 30 of 38 league matches. 

In that campaign, Ibrahimovic scored 38 goals and provided an additional 13 assists for the Parisian powerhouse, averaging 1.3 goals per 90. Admittedly, Haaland's smaller sample size means it's hard to look too much into his early Dortmund displays, particularly given his current goals per 90 return would see him score around 50 league goals should he maintain that record over the course of a campaign, an unsustainable figure despite his sprint start to life in Germany. 

Ibrahimovic proved any striker is capable of such a consistent goalscoring record over a full season, but such a return is more an exception than the rule. And regardless, their goalscoring records in their respective campaigns is largely the only logical comparison that can be made between the pair. 

Stylistically, Haaland is more a number nine striker, whereas Ibrahimovic is a player who is prepared to drop deeper rather than hang off the shoulder of the last defender. Ibrahimovic may have attempted more shots per 90 (5.5) in 2015/16 than Haaland is averaging for Dortmund (3.1), yet the areas of the pitch in which they are chancing their luck couldn't be more different. Of those 5.5 shots per 90, 1.8 were coming from outside of the box as Ibrahimovic looked to receive the ball with his back to goal whereas Haaland is having 0.1 shots per 90 from outside of the box, with the teenager more suited to having the final touch before the ball hits the net. 

In terms of link up play, too, Ibrahimovic again favours an approach that means he has his back to goal to bring teammates into play. Indeed, in 2015/16, Ibrahimovic made 48.3 passes per 90, while Haaland is making 21.7 passes per 90 in the Bundeliga this term. Creatively, Ibrahimovic, and his 1.6 key passes 90, marginally sees off Haaland (1 key pass per 90), but then this shouldn't be too much of a shock given the former had 65.4 touches per 90 in his immense PSG campaign, a huge rise on Haaland's 37.2 touches per 90 in the Bundesliga this season, meaning Ibrahimovic was in possession more frequently to link up with teammates and maximise his vision to create chances. 

That isn't to say Haaland is doing anything wrong with his approach - it's one that is evidently reaping the rewards for the Bundesliga title contenders - but rather the Norway international is anything but the next Ibrahimovic. The former is more of a poacher - 16.9% of his total Bundesliga touches have come inside the opposition box after all - whereas the latter operated better drifting across the final third, bringing others into play and, overall, being more active for his side.