Alf-Inge Haaland

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Alf-Inge Rasdal "Alfie" Haaland (born 23 November 1972 in Stavanger, Norway) is a former football player. He played his club football for Bryne F.K., and later played for Nottingham Forest F.C., Leeds United F.C. and Manchester City F.C.. He stands at 5'10' (178 cm), and played in the midfield position.

Haaland won 34 caps for Norway, and is one of six players who have played for the Norwegian national team without ever playing in the domestic top division.

Haaland is often remembered for his "feud" with Roy Keane. In 1997, after Haaland caught Keane above the knee in a hard tackle Keane attempted to foul Haaland and in the process injured his cruciate ligament.

As Keane lay prone on the ground, Haaland taunted him by implying that Keane deserved the injury as punishment for his reckless tackle. Three and a half years later, in 2001, the pair played their first game against one-another since Keane's injury. During the game Keane made a knee-high tackle on Haaland, according to his biography, out of vengeance.

Allegedly, Keane said "Take that, you cunt!" after making the tackle. Keane later admitted, in his autobiography that the tackle was deliberate. Keane was sent-off as a result and incurred a 5 game suspension and a £150,000 fine.

Haaland retired through injury in 2002. It was said on Haaland's web site that it was not as a result of Roy Keane's mischief for which Keane could have been terminated from football permanently and/or prosecuted and sued given its result on Haaland's livelihood. (According to the website the injury that ended Haaland's career was in his other knee, not the one that got hit in the Keane tackle.)

[edit] External links

• Alf-Inge Haaland at Icons.com

	Norway squad - 1994 World Cup
1 Thorstvedt | 2 Halle | 3 Johnsen | 4 Bratseth | 5 Bjørnebye | 6 Flo | 7 Mykland | 8 Leonhardsen | 9 Fjørtoft | 10 Rekdal | 11 Jakobsen | 12 Grodås | 13 Rise | 14 Nilsen | 15 Løken | 16 Sørloth | 17 Eggen | 18 Haaland | 19 Strand | 20 Berg | 21 Rushfeldt | 22 Bohinen | Coach: Olsen