Haaland aims to play before full capacity crowd: "We've been craving this for two years."
By Peter Weis @PeterVicey
His swollen ankle notwithstanding, Erling Haaland made clear that he didn't want to miss out on 81,365 fans at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday evening.
| Erling Haaland. |
"My ankle still hurts, but it's feeling better," the star attacker noted, "We'll have to see how I feel tomorrow."
The 21-year-old did emphasize that the first full capacity crowd he's had a chance to play in front of for over two years served as a motivational factor for him.
"To play at home in front of a full stadium for the first time in a long time would be absolutely super," he said with a glint in his eyes, "We've been craving this for two years. It makes a huge difference."
To put matters in perspective, Haaland actually only had the chance to play in front of a Dortmund capacity crowd six times before the onset of global lockdown in March 2020.
Many football watchers may note with something of a chuckle that the striker has had a chance to grow a full mane of hair since the last time he experienced the full range of what his current club's supporters have to offer.
Many BVB youngsters--Jude Bellingham and Giovanni Reyna, for instance--have never had a chance to experience a full BVB crowd. The same applies to pandemic-times acquisitions lockdown such as Donyell Malen.
"It will be a tough game because Leipzig are really good," the former RB Salzburg man noted, "but we've always played well against them in the past."
😍 Endlich wieder Feiertag! Und zwar ein richtiger, mit über 80.000 Fans im schönsten Stadion der Welt! 🏟 #BVBLeipzig
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) April 1, 2022
Und das #Feiertagsmagazin? Gibt's hier!
👉 https://t.co/7K89CbMuhr 👈