On May 30, 2019 between shoulder and shoulder of its anatomy still could not be built a plot. He was 18 years old, played for Red Bull Salzburg and a game on a piece of land located on what was a sugar factory was going to go down in history. The U-20 World Cup crossed modest Honduras with Norway at the Polish Arena Lublin, an unknown in which a semi-unknown, Erling Haaland, he took the meeting as if it were his first day at liberty. Norway beat Honduras 12-0 and Haaland scored 9 goals, a friends competition record.
Score nine goals in a U20 World Cup match!
It was not like that, with diplomacy and good manners, how the Norwegian devourer behaved in the opposite area. Those 9 goals made Haaland the owner of the best record in a World Cup in the men’s category in any category. The previous owner of the honor was the Brazilian Adailton, who had added six goals in the Brazil-South Korea match of the 1997 Under-20 World Cup.
Every story has a broken back. In this case, nobody represents it better than a goalkeeper, the Honduran José García, (2-28-2000), to whom that hurricane ironed his spirits. At 1’91, the boy from Real España who had started playing soccer as a striker did not expect that being a goalkeeper would be so cruel. For something like that there would be no explanation or your idol, Buffon.
Eight goals with the left
The match film reveals that José García was not a collaborator in that scandalous rout. The nightmare shows a janitor trying to stop a tsunami with a towel. Faced with a festival of facilities by a transparent defense, the shark did not let go of the garment. The watchmaker indicates that Haaland, with the ’19’ on his shirt, scored in minutes 7, 20, 36 (penalty), 43, 50, 67, 77, 88 and 90. Eight of his goals were scored with his left foot and only one with his right.
As a curiosity, in all the references to that event, including those from FIFA, the footballer appears as Haland and not like Haaland, as it began to be distinguished universally shortly after.
Lunín, Kang-In Lee, Julin Álvarez, Arajo…
The Norwegian did not score any more goals in that World Cup event. His team lost the other group games against New Zealand and Uruguay, but the nine goals earned him the Golden Boot of the event. The Honduran route was tortuous. Before the dozen he had lost 0-5 with New Zealand and 0-2 against Uruguay.
In that showcase, with Ukraine as champion after defeating South Korea 3-1 in the final, other illustrious people gathered. The madridista Lunin was awarded a Gold Glove; the Mallorcan player Kang-In Lee won the Ballon d’Or, in Argentina Julin Álvarez appeared discreetly and in Uruguay Arajo and Darwin Nez stood out. The Spanish team, directed by Luis de la Fuente, did not participate in the event having been previously eliminated by France.
The Honduran press made mush with the paper of their selection before Haaland, whom some nicknamed ‘El Androide’. The newspaper ‘Diez’ described the match as a “nightmare”, the most hurtful result in the history of Honduras. “There is no way to describe it,” the medium reiterated when analyzing the bite.
The curse of a goalkeeper in Honduras
Given the commotion, the president of the Honduran Federation, Jorge Salomón, excused the players as best he could: “The boys were all nervous,” he said.. FIFA activated an investigation protocol for this type of results that did not lead to any irregularities. It was a snack and Haaland ate almost everything.
Four years later the two protagonists have traveled to different planets in the world of football. Erling Haaland finished the World Cup with a price of 12 million euros. From Salzburg he went to Dortmund until last summer he ended up at Manchester City. Its current price, according to the specialized portal Transfermarkt, is 170 million euros. There is no powerful club in the world that does not have him on the radar.
As if the twelve goals were a curse José García she has not found her place of happiness in the world of goalkeepers. In Honduras, he went from Real España to Honduras Progreso. Always in a secondary role this season he appears on the roster of the Royal Society of Tocoa. His role, third goalkeeper, has led him to disappointment.
In recent weeks, José García has been thinking about his future. It is not clear to him that it is best to stay next to the ball. During the confinement and the suspension of sports activity, he dedicated himself to fishing, necessary for the sustenance of his family.
Its testimonial price on the market is 10,000 euros. Meanwhile, a devouring fish, with the ‘9’ from City, goes to the Bernabu. It is now wider than in 2019.