“He is Not a Crack” – Boca Juniors Legend is a Better CF Than Erling Haaland, Declares Tigre Boss

No #9 is arguably as good a goal machine as star striker Erling Haaland. He shattered the Premier League’s scoring records in his first season. Last year, Haaland missed out on the Golden Boot race only because of an injury. However, the Norwegian superstar is not without any shortcomings. Argentine side Tigre’s boss, Nestor Gorosito thinks the 23-year-old is yet to sharpen his ability to score headers, and his vision for the goal. For the same reasons, as Gorosito puts it, Haaland is yet to surpass a legendary Boca Juniors striker who played over 300 games.

The Manchester City centerpiece is even regarded as a potential heir to Ronaldo Nazario, who is arguably the greatest striker of all time. But for Nestor Gorosito, Haaland plays second fiddle to an Argentina home-grown namely Martin Palermo.

Haaland is ‘fast’, but not as good as Boca Juniors’ all-time top-scorer, claimed Gorosito

Speaking to Ole, Nestor Gorosito rated San Lorenzo’s Adam Bareiro as the best #9 in the Argentine league. Soon, Erling Haaland became the talking point as any conversation about #9s is incomplete without a mention of him. Norosito unhesitantly highlighted how he fell short against Martin Palermo. “The Norwegian is extraordinary when it comes to scoring goals. The 9 that has to score goals and he does it perfectly, but he is not a crack. Haaland is different from Martin, the Norwegian is faster and Palermo is a better header and has a great eye for goal,” Gorosito said (translated by DeepL). In his time, Martin Palermo scored 210 goals for Boca Juniors

No other Boca star has come close before, or ever since. He is indeed one of the underappreciated strikers of the game, perhaps because he did not have a remarkable stint in Europe. It is no surprise Gorosito has called out his heading prowess and eye for the goal over an ever-famous Erling Haaland.

What story do the numbers weave of Erling Haaland aerially?

Erling Haaland has scored 202 goals in 231 matches as a striker. Of these, only 22 account for header goals. A complete striker of sorts would maintain a better ratio of total goals to header goals. Furthermore, Haaland falls short of converting headers, despite always being the tallest player on the pitch, with a 6’4 frame. He is a ruthless goal machine. But his vision for the goal is aerially not the best out there.

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His teammates Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are snipers in front of goal, as they make moves and provide passes pre-empting an imminent goal. The Norwegian steps in to land the last lethal blow. He has been previously criticized for not being involved in matches as compared to his teammates. De Bruyne’s absence also impacted his goal fest last year.

What are your thoughts on Gorosito’s claims? Is Haaland yet to improve on these fronts? Tell us in the comments below.

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