The veteran coach and young goal machine plotting to ruin Baraclough's home bow
- Published
Norway lost to Austria in their Nations League opener on Friday
As Ian Baraclough prepares to lead Northern Ireland into a silent Windsor Park battlefield for the first time on Monday, it is difficult not to think back to Leap Day 2012.
On a bitterly cold winter's night, Norway ruined Michael O'Neill's debut as NI boss, running out 3-0 winners in a dreary Belfast friendly.
Now, as another era begins, the Scandinavians are once again ready to cause a few headaches in the formative stages of another Green and White Army evolution.
Of course, neither country's current squad bears much resemblance to eight years ago. There are only three survivors for Northern Ireland: Steven Davis, Jonny Evans and Corry Evans.
Norway, too, are much-changed. In fact, they arrive in Belfast this time with two of the brightest young talents in European football and a manager who boasts 30 years of international experience.
Here is a taster of what's to come in Baraclough's first home match.
Gearing up for play-offs
Like Northern Ireland, Norway have one eye on October's Euros play-off semi-finals.
While NI are braced for a tricky trip to Zenica to face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Path B, their opponents on Monday must overcome Serbia if they are to reach the final of Path C, where Scotland or Israel await.
And while Baraclough is hoping to lead his men into a second successive appearance at the European Championships, Norway are aiming to return to a major tournament for the first time since Euro 2000.
They finished third in qualifying Group F, behind Spain and Sweden, after amassing 17 points from 10 games, although they caught the eye with their ability to rescue games in last-gasp fashion - not unlike NI - with injury-time levellers against Spain, Sweden and Romania during qualifying.
Red-hot Haaland
Over the last few years, some of European football's most talented prospects have graced the Windsor Park turf.
Former Ajax wunderkinds Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong, now with Juventus and Barcelona, lined up turned out in November's 0-0 draw alongside new Manchester United signing Donny van de Beek, while Serge Gnabry and Timo Werner, who joined for Chelsea this summer, led the attack as Germany ran out 2-0 winners two months prior.
And on Monday, the Northern Irish defenders can be excused trepidation about facing Erling Braut Haaland, the Borussia Dortmund striker whose extraordinarily prolific form over the last 12 months has propelled him towards superstardom.
While George Puscas proved a handful for NI's backline on Friday, Norway's 20-year-old sharpshooter is a different proposition altogether.
Striker Haaland scored 44 goals in a sensational 2019-20 season
For Red Bull Salzburg and Dortmund last season, Haaland scored 44 goals in 40 games in all competitions.
In the Bundesliga, he averaged a goal every 82 minutes. In the Champions League, it was a goal every 55 minutes. He helped himself to six hat-tricks during the 2019-20 campaign while, in 2019, he made headlines around the world with a 'triple hat-trick' for Norway against Honduras at the Under-20 World Cup.
His progress on the international stage has not been quite as serene, however, having netted his first goal in his third cap in Friday's defeat by Austria after spending 2019 behind the more experienced Joshua King and Alexander Sorloth in the pecking order.
However, Northern Ireland can draw encouragement from the absence of Real Madrid playmaker Martin Odegaard, who was forced to withdraw from the squad with a knee injury.
Lagerback's longevity
Baraclough has 90 minutes of senior international managerial experience under his belt, which could hardly be in starker contrast to Lars Lagerback, his opposite number on Monday.
The 72-year-old Swede, whose managerial career began in 1977 when Baraclough was six years old, has been coaching national teams at different levels since 1990.
Very much the doyen of Nordic football management, Lagerback led Sweden to four consecutive tournaments between 2002 and 2008, the first two of which as co-manager with Tommy Soderberg, before taking Nigeria to the 2010 World Cup.
After departing the Super Eagles, he embarked on a transformative five-year spell with Iceland alongside co-manager Heimir Hallgrimsson.
Lagerback masterminded Iceland's Euro 2016 win over England
Under them, Iceland rose over 100 places in the Fifa rankings and, like Northern Ireland, won many admirers at the Euros in France where they, in their tournament debut, memorably ended Roy Hodgson's reign as England boss.
Lagerback took the Norway job in February 2017. His first match was a 2-0 defeat by Northern Ireland at Windsor, with Jamie Ward and Conor Washington on target for the hosts.
Three years on, Norway very much resemble a Lagerback side: a compact, throwback 4-4-2 system. In possession, their wingers drift inside to allow the full-backs - who are key to their attacks - space to push high up the pitch.
While Haaland - whose explosive pace regularly leaves defenders scrambling hopelessly in his wake - is the obvious threat, King offers another potent presence up top, having scored five times during the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Their budding partnership, coupled with Lagerback's vast experience at this level, makes Norway an intriguing proposition for Baraclough's home bow.
After snatching a draw with 10 men in Bucharest, securing three points against the Norwegians will certainly kickstart his reign in earnest.