When Alf-Inge Haaland made his Nottingham Forest debut against Leicester in February 1994, it was the latest step in a silent revolution that helped shape the Premier League’s trajectory. Haaland and Lars Bohinen were instrumental in Forest’s return to the Premier League that spring, but neither player could have predicted where Norway’s influence on English football would eventually lead.
“We were kind of pioneers at the time,” Bohinen, who joined Forest from Young Boys during that season, says of the North Sea migration. “We did not create waves because we were always professional and producing performances. I believe that is why so many of our athletes were successful in England.”
Erling Haaland became the 74th Norwegian to play in the Premier League when he debuted for Manchester City last August, following in his father’s footsteps 28 and a half years later; should he lead them to Champions League glory and a treble on Saturday, he will match the accomplishments of Ronny Johnsen and, notably, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 1999. If City wins, the English league’s preeminence will be reinforced, and there is a clear lineage back to the days when Norway’s exports aided it along.
“We were a decent generation of players, but we were also able to adapt quickly,” explains Bohinen of the players of the 1990s.
“When one was successful, the second and third followed suit. It developed into a cascading effect.”
Before the Bosman rule opened the transfer market in Europe, Norwegians were the most sought-after international players in the Premier League. Between 1992 and the end of 1995, they had a total of 13 representatives, while Swedes and Danes each had eight. The excellent performance of Egil Olsen’s national team was also appealing. Cultural similarities and an increased awareness that English football needed to look outward helped. The Forest duo achieved rapid success following promotion with a third-place finish in 1994-95 – “a special team to be a part of,” according to Bohinen – and forged a lasting bond.
“We didn’t know each other well before he came, but we were quite similar,” Bohinen says of Haaland. Since the English players had a different mentality, I think our work ethic was the main reason for our success.
It is plausible to conclude that, in the same way, that Arsène Wenger is lauded for changing attitudes towards diet and conditioning, the Scandinavian school of the early 1990s encouraged a greater level of seriousness among their new peers.
Bohinen and Haaland have also transmitted this to their progeny. Emil’s birth certificate states that he was born in Derby, like Erling, during Alf-Inge’s time in Leeds. Emil, who currently plays for Serie A’s Salernitana, played alongside Erling at junior levels for Norway and was on the pitch when Erling scored nine goals against Honduras in the 2019 Under-20 World Cup.
“Like the majority of men in my generation, he was self-motivated and required only occasional guidance,” Bohinen says. “However, the advantage we have as fathers in the game is that we are aware of the potential pitfalls and obstacles. We have the experience to guide and offer solutions, and we may be able to assist them more than a typical father, but they must have that inner drive.”
After those early Premier League days, the contemporary generation of Norwegian football has regained its credibility. Solskjr’s exploits in Barcelona were never surpassed, even though new arrivals in England remained relatively common. Bohinen doesn’t want to take credit for Erling and Martin Degaard’s success on these shores. “They are world-class and would have gotten there anyway,” he says. “However, I believe they may pave the way for other Norwegians of their generation and younger to play in the top five leagues.”
Erling displays the unmistakable influence of two athletic parents: the striker’s mother, Gry Marita Braut, was an accomplished heptathlete.
Does Erling retain any characteristics inherited from Norwegian strikers of the past? Bohinen detects a handful of modern bundles that defy classification.
“He has his father’s running speed and style,” he remarks. “And a hybrid of his father’s and mother’s physical traits. As a player, he possesses the total product; he is truly unique. Solskjr’s finishing technique, Tore André Flo and Jan ge Fjrtoft’s talents, and Jostein Flo’s physical presence are present. He also understands the game extremely well, and the combination of these factors makes him so difficult to stop. He is exceptional and you don’t see many players like him.”
Bohinen, manager of the top-tier Norwegian club Stabk, will text Haaland Sr if everything goes successfully in Istanbul. I congratulate him whenever Erling achieves success, which is virtually always. They were reunited at Bohinen’s 50th birthday celebration in Oslo when their schedules allowed. The legacy to which they and their contemporaries have contributed speaks for itself. Now, it is hoped that Erling’s exploits will contribute to its enhancement.
“I believe we ought to be extremely proud of it,” he remarks. “We helped open up the English game to foreign players at the time in some way.” After that, everything else opened up, and perhaps the same will occur for Norwegian participants now. I hope it raises their quality profile.”
