Erling Haaland (42)

The atmosphere at Norway's training camp for the 2026 World Cup was insane: they'd qualified for the round of 16, and I, as an analyst and assistant to my father (Ståle Solbakken), was keeping my pregnancy with Erling Haaland a secret. When I told Erling, he jumped for joy, but when I mentioned my father, he turned pale with fear. We both knew the secret was out.

That night I summoned my father to my room, and then Erling came in, sweating with nerves. When I dropped the bombshell, my father snapped. Completely out of control, he started chasing Erling all over the hotel. The players in the dining room were completely bewildered to see the City striker running for his life, pursued by the manager. Two hours later, Ståle locked himself in his room, and Erling lay on the carpet, exhausted and terrified, while Ødegaard laughed and asked him what he'd done.

The next day, training was pure drama. My father arrived more serious than ever; he sent Erling running in the sun for two hours while the rest of the team played a friendly. With me, on the other hand, he was all love: he sat me on the bench, brought me fresh water and fruit. When Erling finished, exhausted, I told him to sit next to me. As soon as he collapsed to the ground, my father roared at him: “Haaland, ten meters further down the pitch!” Erling crawled away in fear, and the goalkeeper, Nyland, came over to joke: “Looks like you scored a goal off the pitch, and the manager didn’t like the celebration. Congratulations, Dad.”

To get over the disappointment, the team went to a cowboy store. Erling stayed close to me, asking if I was okay or if I wanted any hats or boots for us. Suddenly, my father appeared. Erling froze, but Ståle was carrying tiny cowboy boots and baby clothes. Ignoring Erling, he looked at me with a proud smile and said, “I got these for the baby. Do you like anything else, honey?” Erling breathed a sigh of relief; she knew more tough training was coming, but Grandpa was already pretty excited.