Before joining OM in 2020 (on loan then by transfer), Leonardo Balerdi (25 years old) played for one season at Borussia Dortmund. During the season marked by Covid-19, the Argentinian only played eight matches with the German club, but learned alongside the best and in particular with Erling Haaland, who had just arrived from RB Salzburg. In an interview with The TeamLeonardo Balerdi delivered an anecdote about the Norwegian.
“(Erling) Haaland was younger than me. He said to me one day: “Do you want to be like (Nicolas) Otamendi? Come on.” We head to the sauna, then the cold baths, then sauna, then cold baths. We go back and forth. At the end, I’m shaking all over, my arms are frozen. But for him, we must do this program for all matches. In every training session, Haaland scored seven, eight goals, even in the mini cages, he celebrated! I don’t remember him not celebrating a goal. At one session I told him, “You’re not going to score.” He scored a hat-trick” said the Marseillais.