´I would vote for Erling´ – Dortmund coach Rose on Haaland´s Ballon d´Or nomination

Marco Rose believes Erling Haaland deserves his Ballon D’Or nomination, with the Borussia Dortmund head coach insisting he would vote for the “extraordinary” star.

Haaland is among the 2021 Ballon d’Or nominees following his exploits for Bundesliga side Dortmund.

The in-demand 21-year-old forward scored 41 goals in as many appearances over 2020-21 – including 27 from 28 in the Bundesliga as he was named the league’s player of the season.

Haaland – linked with the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona – has 24 goals for Dortmund in just 25 games across this calendar year.

As Dortmund prepare for Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against Eredivisie giants Ajax, Rose hailed the Norway international.

 Time is running… #AJABVB #UCL pic.twitter.com/tfurK3TOkJ

— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) October 18, 2021

“When Jule [Julian Brandt] says that he was better at headers,” Rose told reporters. “Then you know exactly which huge step he [Haaland] has made forward in the last months but yes, it’s for sure something where he has made a great development.

“We are a little bit biased because Erling is our player and we always support our players. What he does is extraordinary. He is nominated and deserves it… If you see his experienced competitors who have more years of experience already then it’s just beautiful to have such a young player at this level.

“I think that Erling can win great individual titles in the next [few] years when he stays healthy but the beautiful thing about him is that he cares more about the team titles. That’s the most important [aspect]. But if I could take a vote [in the Ballon D’Or], I would vote for Erling.”

Haaland has scored nine goals in nine away Champions League appearances so far – a goal in this game will see him become the fastest player to score 10 away goals in the competition, breaking the record of 12 games set by Mario Gomez in February 2011 and Kylian Mbappe in February 2019.

Dortmund have won their last two major European matches in the Netherlands, winning 3-1 against PSV in October 2002 and 4-1 against Ajax in November 2012, both in the Champions League. Their last defeat on Dutch soil was in the 2002 UEFA Cup final, a 3-2 defeat in Rotterdam against Feyenoord under Matthias Sammer.

Meanwhile, Dortmund have won four of their last five away Champions League matches (L1) – more than they had in their previous 15 on the road (W3 D2 L10).