Atalanta attacker Rasmus Hojlund sat down with Serie A ahead of Matchday 26 to speak about his family, 2022, comparisons with Erling Haaland, and his relationship with Ademola Lookman.
Soccer DNA
Sometimes it’s a matter of talent, sometimes it’s all about sacrifice and sometimes it’s down to DNA. That seems to be the case for Atalanta’s Hojlund.
“I grew up in a family with a lot of football and related things. My brothers play in Copenhagen now, my father played before, we always talk at the family dinner about football and it must be hard for my mother sometimes but she is also interested and supports us.”
A Year to Remember
2022 will always stand out for the 20-year-old Dane: in just 9 months he moved twice and got his first international call-up.
“It’s been a crazy year for me, because I went from being a reserve player in Copenaghen to getting a very good opportunity in Austria, in the summer I went to Atalanta, a very big club down here in Italy and I’m very happy here, it’s a good step, the right step in my career.”
Erling Haaland Comparisons
As a tall, left-footed, blonde and Scandinavian striker, Hojlund’s destiny could be naturally compared to that of Erling Haaland… but he has another role model in mind.
“My father introduced me when he was at United then me and my best friend followed him when he was at Madrid […] I just like his mentality, I love that he’s so eager to score a goal, the thing for me is he is so passionate about wanting to be the best and I like it.”
Relationship With Ademola Lookman
Lookman was signed as a backup for Duvan Zapata, but, due to the Colombian’s injury, he found himself playing alongside another Serie A debutant. With 18 goals and 7 assists between them, they’re Serie A’s third-best attacking duo.
“Me and Ademola Lookman – I think we compensate each other well, he is good at dribbling and I’m more the hold-up 9, you can say, so yeah this is why we have a good understanding for each other. The best so far, is to be Salernitana at home one month ago, a nice game, we won 8-2, I scored and a lot of people scored, the fans were celebrating, it was at home, everything was perfect about that day.”