Ancelotti wanted Haaland when he cost €25m. Now comes a blockbuster World Cup showdown

Circle the date and time in red: Brazil v Norway on Sunday night at 10pm already looks like one of the most fascinating fixtures of this World Cup.

The explosive brilliance of Vinícius Júnior against the goal machine that is Erling Braut Haaland. One side built on technique, quality and control of possession, the other at its most dangerous when playing vertically and at speed.

There is Carlo Ancelotti’s vast experience on one side and Stale Solbakken’s dream of taking Norway beyond the last 16 for the first time on the other. The storylines are everywhere, and the leading men are not always the obvious ones.

After all, Brazil got past Japan thanks to Gabriel Martinelli, while Norway broke through against Ivory Coast with an Antonio Nusa strike that had more than a touch of Alessandro Del Piero about it.

But returning to the headline names: remember when Ancelotti was ready to make Haaland the centre-forward of his SSC Napoli?

Why Ancelotti asked for Haaland in his attack
It all dates back to a Champions League double-header between Napoli and Red Bull Salzburg in the 2019/20 season. The two sides met in the group stage, and Napoli came away from those fixtures with four points that helped them reach the last 16 against FC Barcelona - although Ancelotti would be dismissed before then.

Across the two matches, however, it was Haaland who truly caught the eye. In Salzburg, Napoli won 3-2, but the then 19-year-old Norwegian scored twice. At the Maradona, it finished 1-1, and Salzburg’s goal once again came from Haaland.

After those games, Ancelotti asked Napoli to move for Haaland, and then sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli immediately went to work. An agreement with Salzburg was quickly found, not least because Napoli were ready to trigger the player’s release clause.

Alf-Inge Haaland, father of the Norway star, had other plans for his son’s future. In December, he turned down Napoli’s offer and chose Borussia Dortmund instead. “We had already drawn up the contract with Salzburg”

Giuntoli later explained how close the deal had been: “We had already drawn up the contract with Salzburg, with an agreement to pay the €25m release clause. Then he chose Borussia Dortmund and we went for Osimhen, who for us was on the same level as the Norwegian.”

Victor Osimhen would arrive in Naples the following summer, in a deal with Lille OSC worth €50m plus the registrations of Orestis Karnezis, Ciro Palmieri, Luigi Liguori and Claudio Manzi.