Wonderboy Haaland on his way to Mount Olympus

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By Oliver Trust

BERLIN, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Jesse Marsch is rarely in trouble finding the right words, not even when talking about Europe's hottest commodity in football. For some time, the 46-year-old coach of RB Salzburg was in charge of an unknown rookie such as Erling Haaland playing for the Austrian side.

Now that the Norwegian striker developed to the continent's most successful striker in 2020, Marsch got in trouble when having to talk about Haaland's weaknesses. "Hard question," he said, trying to find an answer. "Maybe it is his heading," he said but quickly turned to the forward's apparent advantages.

"He always wants to score a goal. After the first, he wants the second, then the third and so on," the American emphasized after the blond striker has scored eight goals in the group stage of the Champions League for Salzburg.

After 29 goals in 27 games in RB's shirt, Marsch praised his mental robustness. "He forgets about setbacks and failures right away."

Having joined Borussia Dortmund in the recent winter-break, playing on a higher level in the German Bundesliga and the knock-out stage of the Champions League, the Blacks and Yellow's new hero doesn't seem to feel any different. "He has a powerful will, maybe the strongest I have seen," Marsch said.

His two goals against Paris St Germain (2-1) in the first match of the last-16-round might tell the story.

"Mann des Abends" (Man of the evening), the 19-year-old commented in perfect German after his goals number nine and ten in the Champions League.

Europe's new star striker called his goals so far the most important of his career.

Haaland is enchanting Dortmund by having scored ninth goal in his 7th game in Borussia's shirt.

Former Liverpool and Bayern professional Didi Hamann praised the attacker's ability to "score a goal out of all situations. No matter when he is always a threat and people hold their breath when he is touching the ball."

German media praised the youngster as a natural power and speaking about magical moments delivered by the BVB's new wonderboy.

"Forget about Neymar; forget about Mbappe. The giants' name is Haaland," the tabloid Bild headlined.

The Sueddeutsche wrote: "With the elementary power of a 19-year-old." The Frankfurter Allgemeine said: "The Haaland show makes Dortmund dreaming."

The man, who calls 38-year-old Swedish football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic the idol of his youth, stands for several records after joining Dortmund for 20 million euros.

He signed a contract until 2024, including an exit clause worth over 60 million euros, according to reports. It is no bold guess to predict the son of former Leeds United professional Alf-Inge Haaland is on his way to soon attract the interest of the world's best clubs.

The football-data side "transfermarkt.de" spoke about the most significant increase in value. Due to the portal, Haaland has increased its value by 1,100 percent. Back in 2019, it was rated at five million euros.

In the German national league, the Norwegian is the first performer having scored seven goals in his first three games and eight in his first five appearances.

Considering the stunning success of his former player, Salzburg coach Marsch predicted: "This was only the beginning. He is going to be one of the world's best in some time, believe me." After the striker's latest achievements, it seems impossible to find any skeptics. Enditem

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