Erling Haaland has rapidly risen to fame as one of football’s brightest young superstars.
Yet behind his success, stands his equally athletic-looking mother Gry Marita Braut, who strongly parallels her son’s piercing blue eyes, blonde hair and imposing build.
His mum’s strong genes, encouragement and coaching philosophy instilled in him from childhood have proved instrumental.
Introduction to Erling’s Stunning Look-Alike Mother
Let’s meet Gry Marita Braut – the woman who looks shockingly similar to her football prodigy son Erling.
Gry was an accomplished handball player herself in earlier years, competing at the elite level in Norway.
Clearly her athletic genes were passed down to Erling. With her tall, commanding stature, blonde hair and intense blue eyes – she mirrors her famous son.
Fans are quick to comment on the incredible resemblance when seeing mother and son side by side:
“Whoa Erling is literally his mum’s twin!”
Gry’s sporting background and training techniques proved the perfect foundation for molding a top-level athlete like Erling from childhood.
She Was Once a Norwegian Heptathlon Champion
Before becoming a mother, Gry Marita Braut was an avid athlete in Norway – specifically excelling at heptathlon events.
She competed nationally and won junior championships, displaying remarkable all-round athleticism.
These supreme athletic gifts clearly manifested strongly in son Erling years later. However, Gry’s own career was eventually hindered severely due to persistent knee issues leading to multiple surgeries.
This premature retirement from sport meant she could fully support Erling’s talents blossoming instead.
How Gry Shaped Erling’s Development
Ever since Erling displayed a keenness for sport as a young boy, Gry strongly nurtured this passion in him.
She instilled values like perseverance, dedication and self-belief from the start – attributes that massively paved Erling’s road to glory later on.
Gry challenged Erling and his siblings with drills and motivation to ingrain excellent fitness habits.
This stood them in outstanding stead when entering professional realms. She supported their training enthusiastically come rain or shine.
As Erling acknowledges:
“We did lots of training where mum would join in herself to motivate us. She always provided that spark.”
She Met Her Ex-Husband While He Played for Nottingham Forest
Fatefully, Gry met the man who’d later father her prodigious footballing son Erling Haaland while he was plying his trade in England – Alf-Inge Håland.
The formidable midfielder played for Nottingham Forest at this time.
Quickly clicking over their mutual passion for sport, the couple married in 1991 during Alf’s stint abroad.
After several happy years together and now back living in Norway, Gry gave birth to budding striker Erling in 2000. Later, two brothers would follow!
The Shocking Resemblance Between Mother and Son
While Erling makes jaws drop weekly with his mountain of goals and eye-catching celebrations, the player bearing an even more uncanny similarity is his mum!
Side-by-side photos reveal the carbon copy resemblances. Both sport athletic, imposing frames at 186cm tall along with:
- Icy blue eyes
- Distinctive blonde manes
- Signature cheeky smile
- Marked facial symmetry
These stark phenotypical parallels stem from Gry contributing profound genetic sequences impacting Erling’s development.
Let’s explore why this clone-like mother-son duo share way more than just camera-ready good looks!
She Stays Out Of The Spotlight Post-Divorce
Sadly Erling’s parents made headlines for all the wrong reasons when their marriage collapsed in 2005.
The split plunged his mother Gry out of the spotlight altogether as she retreated from public life to focus on raising her sons in Norway privately.
While Erling later resurrected the family name dominating European leagues, Gry intentionally avoids publicity or granting interviews nowadays despite interest surrounding her phenom son at Manchester City attracting global fame.
As a protective mum, she shuns social media presence to guard her privacy.
An Unbreakable Bond Despite Fame and Fortune
Erling striking out on his prolific path carving up European leagues as the next Norwegian striking phenom means life transformed hugely for him since 2018.
However, his rock-solid relationship with devoted mum Gry remains beautifully changeless despite the bright lights.
- Gry still texts daily to ground Erling amidst the dizzying hype.
- Her simple home truths override any distraction as Erling’s heading skyward.
- Erling values her clarity the most when navigating complex decisions and media storms.
As he reveals touchingly:
“Everything’s turned crazy but Mum’s still the same caring, funny woman who raised me – that’s why her regular advice means everything steering this madness!“
This truly captures the unwavering connection between them. An inseparable bond now spotlighted globally given one handsome striker’s meteoric rise replicating his maternal DNA!
She Has Three Children
Motherhood has always been Gry’s most cherished role, despite her own athletic talents. She beam’s proudly at Erling’s feats but also his two brothers sharing the family’s sporting DNA.
After relocating back to Norway post-divorce, Gry doubled down on parenting her trio of energetic boys. This included juggling three lots of football training runs, matches and tournaments!
Alongside prolific striker Erling, his brothers – Albert Braut Tjaland and Elias Braut Haaland also nurture budding careers in Norway’s football leagues.
They clearly inherited mum Gry’s stalwart support and grandad Alf’s ample ability too!
Hello I am Gavin Hunt,
I has covered sports for over 20 years. I started writing for his college newspaper.
I reported on college sports. After graduating, became a sports reporter for a small local paper.
For ten years, I covered local high school and amateur games.
I profiled struggling athletes, inspiring readers. Later, I moved to the main city paper as lead columnist.
Now I travels nationally covering pro hometown teams.
My entertaining columns are widely read. With a big social media following, I has become the city’s top sports pundit.
