Tricks

The internet is divided right now over an incredible video of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland stacking three balls on top of each other and then proceeding to shoot each one into the upper 90 of a goal. Is the Erling Haaland video real though?

I hate to be that guy, but this video probably isn’t real.

Before we debate, let’s watch the video.

This is real, trust uspic.twitter.com/UExs5LbKUi

Everyone is well-versed in Alphonso Davies’ game-changing pace and ability to dice any defender on the planet off the dribble, but it’s his increasing effectiveness in the final third that makes the 20-year-old standout as one of football’s brightest talents.

That’s not to say it’s a new development in his game. At the tender age of 17 Davies was already one of Major League Soccer’s most devastating players in attack, scoring eight goals and providing 10 assists in 31 games to help facilitate his $11 million move to Bayern. (He’s now valued at $155 million.)

Not all overhead kicks are created equal. The greatest differentiator has to be that moment of posterization — when the foot meets football at its absolute zenith and the body’s parallelism with the ground seems to foreshadow certain death. 

On one end of the scale there's the footballer who’s simply throwing their leg at the chance and falling over. The result is still a great goal, but the lasting effect isn’t much more powerful than watching a somersault. 

We have a Puskás Award contender from Ghana after Mizak Asante, age 15, split three defenders, left another on his backside, dribbled past the keeper in the tightest of spaces and roofed a finish over two defenders on the goal-line.

It's a slow burn that gets better and better as it goes.

Every great solo goal needs its Jérôme Boateng.