The Daily Bee: Erling Haaland Returns to Training, I Promise This Time

Good morning, everyone!

Today, I’d like to talk about winning.

When you’re a kid, people always tell you that sports aren’t about winning. They’re about “having fun”. I like to think that a major part of becoming an adult is realizing that this cliché is a load of bollocks. Allow me to elaborate.

Have you noticed that Atletico Madrid fans almost never complain about how “boring” their team supposedly plays? Were Tottenham fans complaining when Jose Mourinho’s bus-parking tactics had them on top of the Premier League, albeit for a short period of time? Some maybe, but the vast majority weren’t. The truth is that the vast majority of football fans will tolerate almost any level of on-pitch negativity, underhanded tactics, and pure shithousery, if it ends with their team parading down Main Street on a bus, drinking stale beer out of a big and shiny golden cup. That’s because they’ve realized the universal truth that many fans nevertheless deny: winning is fun.

Which brings me to Borussia Dortmund, and tomorrow’s DFB Pokal final. All in all, it’s been a pretty entertaining if underwhelming season for the boys in black and yellow. Although they were knocked out of the title race by December, they kept hopes high by making a decent run at the Champions League before losing a tight tie to Manchester City. Meanwhile, if they do make the Champions League, it will only be by the slimmest of margins.

BVB don’t seem any closer to catching Bayern Munich or going the distance in Europe than they did at the beginning of the season. Without a trophy to certify the year, all the fun moments we’ve had along the way will be relegated to mere consolation status. The DFB Pokal might be the smallest of the three big trophies that BVB are eligible for, but that won’t matter tomorrow. If BVB can win the Pokal and follow it up by qualifying for the Champions League, it’s going to be hard to call this season a failure.

Erling Haaland Returns to Training

Haaland seems to have “returned to training” about a half dozen times over the past two weeks, but this time it seems like it’s actually true. According to Ruhr Nachrichten, Haaland completed a full training session with the team on Tuesday morning. This makes it very likely that he’ll be ready to play against Thursday.

The Daily Buzz

How would tomorrow’s result affect your assessment of this season?