Why do Man Utd fans sing ‘Haaland, how’s your dad’?

Football fans are known for being loyal and doing as much as they can to try to help their team win.

The taunt is in reference to former Red Devils captain Roy Keane’s shocking derby challenge on Alf-Inge Haaland back in April 2001. Haaland Sr. has a long-standing rivalry with the United legend, and the former Premier League duo’s story is well-known among football fans from the 90s and 2000s.

The facts are as follows: with five minutes left in a Manchester derby, Keane produced a heinous tackle on Alf-Inge, designed to hurt the player rather than win the ball. However, it’s the ensuing controversy that etched this infamous moment into football folklore as ‘The Tackle.’

The story began in 1997 when the father of current Man City superstar Alf-Inge Haaland, who was representing Leeds United, stood over his opponent and accused him of faking an injury, but it turned out that Keane had ruptured his cruciate ligament.

The injury effectively ended his season, but Keane never forgot that fateful day at Elland Road. Fast forward to April 2001, and he got his vengeance at Old Trafford with a malicious knee-high challenge on his opposing midfielder, before taking the chance to stand over Alf-Inge in a role reversal from 1997.

Keane later admitted in his autobiography that he intently set out to hurt the former Norwegian midfielder as revenge for his part in the cruciate ligament injury he suffered while playing against Alf-Inge four years earlier.

The notion of Erling Haaland now leading a City juggernaut to Manchester derby victories being portrayed as some sort of ultimate retribution for his father’s misery is a fascinating storyline, but it is not entirely accurate to say Keane was entirely responsible for Alfie’s subsequent retirement.

“Did that tackle end my career? Well, I never played a full game again, did I? It seems like a great coincidence, don’t you think?” Haaland Sr. said in an interview with The Daily Mail.

Haaland Sr. was not substituted after the challenge, played half of a Norway friendly four days later and featured for 68 minutes of City’s next league game. It’s still possible the tackle had collateral damage and he did undergo surgery that summer, but Keane targeted the right knee and the operation was on his left.

In 2001-02, Alfie made four substitute appearances for City across December and January. After unsuccessful rehabilitation tries at the end of the following campaign, he decided to hang his boots.

Due to his father’s background playing for City, Haaland grew up supporting the club and learning which side to hate. He has inevitably embraced a key part of supporting Man City: hating Manchester United.

At his City unveiling, the Norwegian striker revealed the Red Devils were the team he was looking forward to playing against the most and didn’t hide his disdain for them.