Glenn Hoddle heaped praise on West Ham attacker Sebastien Haller for his display in the 3-1 win over Watford.
The former England manager stated that the 25-year-old Hammers forward reminded him of ex-Premier League star Zlatan Ibrahimovic when scoring an overhead kick against Watford, and also highlighted the player’s attempt to score with his back heel in the first half.
“Touch of the old Ibra, Ibrahimovic, like the one he tried in the first-half as he nearly scored with the back of his heel, incredible,” said Hoddle on BT Sport Final Score (16:35, Saturday, August 25th).
Haller scored the first two goals of his Hammers career on Saturday against Watford and averaged a rating of 9.07 for his latest display on WhoScored.
OPINION
Ibrahimovic is an icon of the game, so it’s flattering for Haller that Hoddle has been reminded of him while watching the Hammers forward do his thing. The Swedish forward tore it up for Manchester United in the Premier League when featuring for them, he managed 17 goals in 33 outings, and if Haller can in any way replicate Ibrahimovic’s success then the Hammers will be on to a winner. However, while you can see why Hoddle made the comparison, it does seem a lazy one to make. You feel Haller’s classy show of agility against Watford saw him compared with Ibrahimovic as they’re both tall forwards that you don’t expect to try to score in that way. Haller stands at 6ft 3in tall, as per Tranfermarket, while Ibrahimovic stands at 6ft 5in tall (Source: Transfermarkt), and normally attackers of their stature use their strength in the air to get goals rather than attempting bicycle kicks to rack up goals. However, who knows maybe Hoddle will look smart to compare the Hammers forward to Ibrahimovic as he may live up to the praise.
