I will bring the Erling Haaland tactics in game says, Punjab FC forward Mushaga Bakenga

The Norwegian talked about weather challenges, Erling Haaland, and ISL ambitions.

Norwegian forward Mushaga Bakenga, the new foreign signing of Punjab FC, is ready to perform in the Indian Super League(ISL) 2024-25. The attacker is set to be the replacement for Wilmar Jordan Gil, who was the joint top scorer for the Shers last season, with eight goals and one assist but has since joined Chennaiyin FC.

The 31-year-old was born in Trondheim, Norway, and started his football career with SK Nationalkameratene in his hometown. He signed for the Norwegian top-flight club Rosenborg BK in 2007 at the age of 15 and made his debut for them in 2009 at just 17 years of age, against Tromsø.

Here's what Punjab FC's new foreigner Mushaga Bakenga said about Erling Haaland 👀🔥#IndianFootball #PunjabFC #mushagabakenga pic.twitter.com/7Np00JIIfp

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) September 7, 2024

He joined Club Brugge in Belgium in 2012 and was loaned out to Cercle Brugge, Esbjerg, Eintracht Braunschweig, and Molde during his tenure with the Belgian outfit. He rejoined Rosenborg in 2017 and later represented Tromsø, Ranheim, Odds Ballklubb, and Stabæk in Norway.

Mushaga Bakenga was present alongside his teammates and manager at the ISL Media Day on September 4th in Kolkata, where he shared his thoughts on the upcoming season.

On trying to adapt to Indian Weather

The attacker joined from Apollon Limassol, a club in Cyprus. When asked about adjusting to the Indian weather conditions, Mushaga Bakenga shared that breathing during his first game was hard for him. He revealed, “It is humid and it is hot.

“The first week here, when we were living in this hotel and training in Kolkata, it was difficult. And in the first game, I felt like I could not breathe. But we are getting better every day. So, as Luka (Luka Majcen) said, I came with the mindset to adapt. So here, there is no complaining, only adapting.”

The forward debuted for Punjab FC in the Durand Cup against Kerala Blasters, where he played 78 minutes. He scored two goals against the reserve side of Mumbai City FC in the last group matches.

“He expressed that his experience of playing in Japan, with Tokushima Vortis, will help him adapt to the Indian weather conditions as he commented, “Luckily, I also played for one and a half years in Japan. So, I got a little bit used to the humidity and the weather problems there.”

Mushaga Bakenga played in the J1 League, J2 League, J1 Cup, and Emperor’s Cup, scoring 7 goals in 36 matches for Tokushima Vortis.

On teaching Erling Haaland how to be invisible yet present at the same time

Talking about his quality and excitement, Bakenga said that he will bring Haaland’s tactics to the field. “I will bring hard work for sure, and I will bring the Haaland (Erling Haaland) tactics that you will not see me for 70 minutes, and suddenly I am there. You will never know what you get, and this is the good thing about us Norwegian strikers.”

“This is what I taught Haaland when I was younger: to just be invisible but be there. You will see some games where I am very visible and some games where I am invisible, but I score three goals,” the striker added.

Mushaga Bakenga has represented Norway from the U-15 level up to the U-21 level. He scored a hat-trick for the U-19 team against Moldova U-19 in April 2011. Later in the same year, he made his debut for the U-21 team.

When asked about his experience with Erling Haaland, the centre-forward said they met when the Manchester City striker was 17. He remembered, “Norway is a small country, and the last time I had a long conversation with him, he came to me and asked for a picture because he was 17 years old. He talked about how he used to watch my clips and how I scored goals and moved.”

“Then two years later, I wanted to reach him, but I couldn’t get his number,” Bakenga shared, sparking a smile in the room.

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