Alf-Inge Haaland
Encyclopedia
Alf-Inge Rasdal "Alfie" Håland (born 23 November 1972 in Stavanger
), anglicised
to Haaland, is a retired Norwegian football defender
. He grew up at Bryne
and played his club football for Bryne FK, and later played for Nottingham Forest
, Leeds United and Manchester City
. Håland won 34 caps for Norway
, and is one of six players to have played for the Norwegian national team without ever playing in the domestic top division
.
Håland is often remembered for his feud with Roy Keane
. In September 1997, when Manchester United
were losing 1-0 to Håland's Leeds at Elland Road
, Keane injured his anterior cruciate ligament. As Keane lay prone on the ground, Håland criticised Keane for an attempted foul and suggested that he was feigning injury to avoid punishment. Keane was booked as he was stretchered off the field. He was out of action for nearly a year afterwards, missing the remainder of the 1997-98 season
.
Three and a half years later, in April 2001, Keane' fouled Håland, high up on his right knee. Initially, Keane was simply fined £
5,000 and received a three-match ban. However, in his biography he admitted that he wanted to "hurt" Håland as revenge for the criticism he received years previously. After this revelation, Keane found himself subject to an FA witchhunt and received an additional five game ban, and £150,000 fine. Keane never apologized or showed any remorse for the foul on Håland. Keane's account of the incident was as follows:
"I'd waited long enough. I fucking hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you cunt. And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries."
The tackle itself did not cause a major injury to Håland, forcing him to retire immediately as is widely assumed. Haaland finally retired in July 2003 after failing to recover full fitness from an injury to the same knee that had suffered the foul from Keane. However Håland believed the foul from Keane to be the root cause of the later injury as after the premeditated assault from Keane, Håland never played a full match again. Haaland professes no lasting bitterness towards Keane, hoping only that Keane is different now so that he can provide a better example to young people and the players which he manages.
Haaland is a Leeds supporter and follows the club to this day. He has become a cult hero at Elland Road and endeared himself to the fans by saying, in a discussion regarding Manchester United's nickname as simply "United", "There's only one 'Manchester' and one 'United', and I played for them both". Haaland criticised Roy Keane in October 2011 calling him a 'maverick' who ' had no idea how to play football'. Keane refused to reply to the comments stating that a minor player such as Haaland was not worth his time.
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
), anglicised
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
to Haaland, is a retired Norwegian football defender
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
. He grew up at Bryne
Bryne
Bryne is a city, located in, and the administrative centre of, the municipality of Time, Norway. Bryne is located about 25 minutes south of Stavanger by train. The area of Bryne is 4,79 km²....
and played his club football for Bryne FK, and later played for Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, Leeds United and Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
. Håland won 34 caps for Norway
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
, and is one of six players to have played for the Norwegian national team without ever playing in the domestic top division
Tippeligaen
Tippeligaen is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The league is also unofficially known under its neutral name Eliteserien , although the name has never been official...
.
Håland is often remembered for his feud with Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
. In September 1997, when Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
were losing 1-0 to Håland's Leeds at Elland Road
Elland Road
Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...
, Keane injured his anterior cruciate ligament. As Keane lay prone on the ground, Håland criticised Keane for an attempted foul and suggested that he was feigning injury to avoid punishment. Keane was booked as he was stretchered off the field. He was out of action for nearly a year afterwards, missing the remainder of the 1997-98 season
1997-98 in English football
The 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title...
.
Three and a half years later, in April 2001, Keane' fouled Håland, high up on his right knee. Initially, Keane was simply fined £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
5,000 and received a three-match ban. However, in his biography he admitted that he wanted to "hurt" Håland as revenge for the criticism he received years previously. After this revelation, Keane found himself subject to an FA witchhunt and received an additional five game ban, and £150,000 fine. Keane never apologized or showed any remorse for the foul on Håland. Keane's account of the incident was as follows:
"I'd waited long enough. I fucking hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you cunt. And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries."
The tackle itself did not cause a major injury to Håland, forcing him to retire immediately as is widely assumed. Haaland finally retired in July 2003 after failing to recover full fitness from an injury to the same knee that had suffered the foul from Keane. However Håland believed the foul from Keane to be the root cause of the later injury as after the premeditated assault from Keane, Håland never played a full match again. Haaland professes no lasting bitterness towards Keane, hoping only that Keane is different now so that he can provide a better example to young people and the players which he manages.
Haaland is a Leeds supporter and follows the club to this day. He has become a cult hero at Elland Road and endeared himself to the fans by saying, in a discussion regarding Manchester United's nickname as simply "United", "There's only one 'Manchester' and one 'United', and I played for them both". Haaland criticised Roy Keane in October 2011 calling him a 'maverick' who ' had no idea how to play football'. Keane refused to reply to the comments stating that a minor player such as Haaland was not worth his time.