“We showed that a boy from the Norwegian countryside can do it.”
That’s what ‘monster goalie’ Elling Holland, 23, said after Manchester City completed a ‘European treble’ – three titles including the Champions League.
“I never thought I would achieve such a big dream at the age of 22,” Holland said in an interview after City’s 1-0 win over Inter Milan (Italy) in the UEFA Champions League final of the 2022-2023 season in Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 11. “I hope it will motivate people who are in a similar situation to me.”
Despite not scoring in the final, Holland is the top scorer in the Champions League this season with 12 goals. Holland won the Golden Boot with 36 goals in the EPL, including four hat tricks. That’s a staggering 34 goals more than Andy Cole and Alan Shearer ever scored in a single season in the 42-game format. Holland is only the fourth player to top the scoring charts in both the EPL and UCL, joining Dwight Yorke in 1998-1999, Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2002-2003 and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007-2008. At 22, Holland has already won seven trophies with Austria and Germany.
“I’ve grown a lot with good teammates and a good coach,” he said, “so it doesn’t really matter that I didn’t score a goal today.” “It’s really special to play with Pep Guardiola,” he continued, “he’s a detail-oriented coach, one of the best in the world.” “He has helped me a lot,” Holland added, “and I expect to improve even more in the future.”
Holland made a rare public appearance with his girlfriend. Isabelle Johansen, 19, who has been his friend since childhood, joined him on the pitch after the game for a brief moment, draped in a Norwegian flag, as he sat on a chair. Holland was born in England to a soccer player father and a track and field heptathlete mother before moving to her father’s hometown of Brune, Norway, at the age of three, where she began playing soccer, and where Johansen also kicked a ball at the same academy.
He will compete with the likes of Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) for the title of ‘next soccer emperor’ as veteran goalkeepers leave the European scene one by one. Holland signed a five-year contract when he joined City from Dortmund (Germany) in June last year. His annual salary is €35 million, excluding bonuses. He is the fifth highest paid player in the world behind Cristiano Ronaldo (€213 million), Mbappe (€110 million), Lionel Messi (€65 million), and Neymar (€55 million). 토토사이트