Summary: Leeds - Manchester City 3:1 (double from Erling Holland) (Sport1)
So 2022 will be remembered mainly as a year that belongs to the stars of the teenage generation - Karim Benzema, now 35 years old, shone in the Champions League and won the Ballon d'Or, and Leo Messi, also 35 years old, was the outstanding player in the World Cup.
However, the representatives of the new generation have also made impressive progress, and the private battle between Erling Holland and Kylian Mbappe is gaining momentum.
Some believe that this fight should determine the boundaries of the division instead of the old battle between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and it is interesting to summarize the year from the point of view of the young superstars.
Who did the outgoing year bring more credits?
Still not the best in the world?
Mbappe (Photo: Reuters)
Career advancement in clubs
Both stars were supposed to move to a "bigger" team last summer, but only one of them made the move.
Holland signed with Manchester City, who paid Borussia Dortmund his release clause which was estimated at 75 million euros, thus joining the team where his father Alf Inga played about two decades ago.
Many options were open to him, but he chose the most natural alternative from a family point of view, even if there were doubts about his suitability to Pep Guardiola's style - after all, the Catalan coach has preferred in recent years the formation with a simulated nine, without a classic central striker.
The question marks were soon removed, and now there is a consensus regarding the Norwegian's choice - it was the right one for his promotion and upgrading his status.
Since joining the English champions, his stock has soared, and he has certainly proven his ability to adapt to a wide variety of tactical formations.
He is a striker who is able to score anywhere, and his addition to City caused two phenomena at the same time - both Holland himself adapted himself to the team, and the team adapted itself to him.
This is exactly the healthy combination that was supposed to happen.
On the other hand, Mbappe gave up the expected move to Real Madrid as a free agent after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expired.
This move was considered certain for many months, especially after the Qatari-owned team was eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League by Real - many commentators declared at the time that "Mbappe faces where he needs to move to have a chance to win the Champions League".
However, the enormous political pressure exerted by the country's president, Emmanuel Macron, along with sweeping promises in the economic and administrative fields, caused the Frenchman to change his mind and sign a new contract with Saint-Germain until 2025. He remains in the French league, where Saint-Germain has the chance to win The championship is very high with him and without him, while the chance of winning the Champions League is lower.
In terms of career advancement, it is understood that the decision does not improve his positions compared to Holland.
The bottom line: a big advantage for Holland
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The question marks were soon removed.
Holland (Photo: Reuters)
gates
Strikers are measured in goals, especially when it comes to scorers who claim to be the best in the world - and the two certainly delivered the goods in this aspect.
This is especially true for Holland, who broke all possible records and opened his Premier League career with 20 goals in the first 14 games for Manchester City.
To this must be added 5 conquests in the Champions League, and one in the FA Cup.
In Dortmund's uniform, Holland scored 10 goals in all competitions in the first half of the outgoing calendar year.
The overall tally stands at 36 goals in his teams' uniforms in 2022.
Mbappe scored 12 league goals this season in the Saint-Germain uniform, and another 7 goals in the Champions League, of which 3 were against Maccabi Haifa.
In the first half of the year, last season he had 22 goals in all competitions, including the two goals for Real Madrid that were supposed to advance the Qataris to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but were not enough in the end.
The overall tally stands at 41 goals in his teams' uniforms in 2022.
The bottom line: an advantage for Mbappe at the beginning of the year, an advantage for Holland at the end of the year
in the way of Pela.
Mbappe at the World Cup (Photo: Reuters)
Contribution to national teams
Well, here it's really not powers.
Mbappe finished as the top scorer in the 2022 World Cup with 8 goals, including a hat trick in the final against Argentina in which he actually showed very weak ability until the 80th minute.
He scored great braces against Denmark and Poland, further cemented his status as a superstar on the international stage for France, and was close to winning the World Cup for the second time in a row - something that hadn't happened since 1962. He already has 12 goals in 14 World Cup games, and that Exactly Pele's balance during his entire career.
At the age of 24, the Frenchman positioned himself as a player capable of setting brand new records in the World Cup, and becoming the outstanding scorer in history.
In fact, from now on this is exactly what is expected of him, and it will be a disappointment for his fans if he does not live up to the task.
At the national team level, there is no young star who is more successful than him, and this is the field where his most important legacy is expected to be determined.
After the celebration in the World Cup, it is amusing to even mention that he also has two conquests in the Nations League in the outgoing year.
Holland had a great time in the Nations League in 2022, scoring 6 goals for Norway, including 4 in the prestigious victories over Sweden in the Scandinavian derby, but as far as the World Cup is concerned, he failed to qualify last year, so he was not relevant in this arena.
Currently, he has 21 goals in 23 appearances for Norway during his career, which is certainly good - but most of them against inferior opponents in unimportant positions and he has yet to make his mark on the team in the important moments.
It will be beneficial for him to do this in the coming years in the fight for the title of the best striker in the world, although it should be taken into account that the importance of national team games has decreased significantly compared to the past.
Bottom line: A very big advantage for Mbappe
Superiority without arrogance.
Holland (Photo: Reuters)
image
Currently, Holland's image is very clean, and he upgraded it after the move to Manchester City.
This deal was closed smoothly, without unnecessary background noise.
His assimilation into the new team is going perfectly, and he was really not moved by the British newspapers' attempt to criticize him after the disappointing debut in the Community Shield against Liverpool, and is careful about a unique and purposeful style on social networks.
At this stage of his career, Holland conducts himself in a manner close to perfection when it comes to cultivating his image - he conveys superiority without arrogance.
Mbappe's image suffered a considerable blow in the context of the affair of staying at Saint Germain.
The reports of his demands to receive managerial powers presented him in an unflattering light, as did the rumors of much tension with Neymar in the dressing room.
Mbappe was the poster boy of French and world football in the 2018 World Cup, but now that is no longer the case, and the oppressive saga surrounding his move to Real, which was eventually canceled, caused disgust.
His close relationship with the Qataris feels political, this is compared to the situation of Holland who is not politically identified with the owner of Manchester City from the United Arab Emirates.
The bottom line: an advantage for Holland
What does this mean in general?
Everyone can judge for themselves according to the weight they attribute to performances in the World Cup.
If national team football is still relevant for you, it is likely that Mbappe beats Holland in points in 2022 thanks to this.
If we focus on club football, the Norwegian's advantage stands out in view of his promising start in the strongest league in the world.
And the sequel will definitely come.
sport
world football
Tags
Arling Holland
Kylian Mbappe