Why do Man Utd fans sing 'Haaland, how's your dad'? Chant aimed at Man City striker explained

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

Chants have been part of football culture for decades. Short, sharp, and hard-hitting, it's perfect for notorious fans, who toe a very fine line between creative re-mastery and sublimely offensive linguistic skills.

However, they can also be famously cruel when it comes to how and why they abuse an opposing player. When that player happens to be arguably the best striker on the planet right now, Erling Braut Haaland, coming up with something strong becomes crucial to try to get under the Manchester City goal-machine's skin and put him off his A-game.

So, whenever Haaland steps on the Old Trafford pitch to face the Red Devils in the Manchester derby or puts the ball on the spot for a penalty kick, the United supporters start belting out 'Keano, Keano' and 'Haaland, How's your dad?' repeatedly.

The brutal chant is about the unsettling past of the Norwegian striker’s father and former United captain Roy Keene, a tale many football fans know.

Here, GOAL explains why the Manchester City striker is subjected to such chants from United fanbase and the background of the now regular occurrence at Old Trafford whenever the Citizens come across town.

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

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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.

Did Roy Keane end Alf-Inge Haaland's career?

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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.

Erling Haaland's record in the Manchester derby

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.

He wasted little time making himself known during his first-ever Manchester derby as he smashed a hat-trick in a one-sided 6-3 win for Manchester City over rivals United in 2022.

Now into only his second season at the club, Haaland has not played a huge number of Manchester derbies but his record of five goals and three assists in just four games against the Red Devils is surely something his father, Alfie, would be proud of.