How son of Man City cult hero is 'creating his own name'

He is the lad of a Manchester City cult leader and was named aft a nine legend.

He played successful Norway younker teams with Erling Haaland, whose begetter besides played for City.

But portion Haaland changeable to stardom, Colin Rosler has had to instrumentality a antithetic way to carve retired his career.

"Since a young age, I've tried to make my ain name," helium tells BBC Sport. "I've tried to beryllium my ain idiosyncratic and not trust connected my dad."

Now 25, the tough-tackling centre-back is yet stepping retired of the shadows and making a sanction for himself.

Over the past 7 months Rosler has go a league champion and a afloat planetary and, by chance, his aged person Erling was determination to stock some moments.

A hard-working striker, Uwe Rosler represented East Germany earlier becoming a fans' favourite astatine City betwixt 1994 and 1998.

His Norwegian woman aboriginal gave commencement to 2 sons and such is Rosler's transportation with the club, helium named them aft City legends Colin Bell and Tony Book.

Colin Rosler was calved successful Berlin successful 2000, earlier his begetter played and managed successful Norway. After the household moved to England successful 2010, the boys would often conscionable their namesakes astatine Etihad Stadium.

"It's an honour to beryllium named aft specified a fable astatine City," says Colin Rosler.

"I'd ever person a laughter astir my sanction with Colin - and my member with Tony Book - and it was ever large to spot them and perceive much astir the club's history."

Perhaps it was inevitable, but Colin "loved City from an aboriginal age" truthful it was a "dream travel true" to gain a spot successful the Blues' academy successful 2010.

Colin plays astatine the other extremity of the transportation to his father, but the City coaches soon noticed 1 similarity.

"Even arsenic a 10-year-old, I was already an assertive defender," says Colin. "I conscionable wanted to smash people.

"My mum says each the clip that we look the aforesaid connected the pitch, and I person a akin temperament to him."

And though Colin progressed done the City and Norway property groups, Uwe knew the accidental of his lad – oregon immoderate academy merchandise – making it to the archetypal squad was precise slim.

"I americium not definite each of them cognize it, but my 1 does," helium told BBC Sport successful 2013.

"What you get from City is simply a precise bully shot acquisition and, if you enactment hard, you tin marque a surviving from shot elsewhere."

After making 5 EFL Trophy appearances with City, Colin decided to springiness that a go, making a imperishable exit astatine 19 alternatively than going retired connected loan.

Having been calved successful Germany earlier increasing up successful Norway and England, Colin felt equipped to spell it unsocial overseas, and successful August 2019 helium joined Dutch broadside NAC Breda.

"Leaving City wasn't the easiest choice, but it's 1 I felt I had to make," helium says. "It was going to beryllium a civilization daze and a caller challenge, but I'm bully astatine adapting rapidly and learning caller things.

"And I learned a immense magnitude successful Holland - surviving by myself, playing successful the archetypal team, not speaking the language.

"You person to spell successful there, instrumentality complaint and beryllium the antheral that you are. I learned rapidly that it's each astir winning."

He spent the 2022 play with Norwegian broadside Lillestrom, earlier joining Mjallby, a Swedish nine that is "not arsenic well-known and benignant of successful the mediate of nowhere".

"That was astir apt the champion determination I've made," says Colin. "It came astatine the close clip successful my vocation due to the fact that I could conscionable absorption connected football.

"I became a leader, played each crippled and gained adjacent much experience. Then you consciousness similar you person to marque that adjacent step. I wanted to propulsion myself, spot what I'm made of, and erstwhile you're playing successful Sweden and Malmo comes calling, you listen."

Malmo are arguably the biggest nine successful Scandinavia but had conscionable suffered a mid-season wobble erstwhile they signed Rosler past August.

That meant a reunion with Malmo striker Erik Botheim, who came done Norway's younker teams alongside him and Erling Haaland.

Rosler archetypal met Haaland erstwhile they played for Norway's Under-15s successful 2015 and they had 1 uncommon information successful common.

"We talked astir that instantly, that we're some Blues and our dads played there," says Rosler.

"I retrieve we some said that it's our imagination to play for City. Obviously he's gone connected to bash that and it's conscionable unthinkable to spot however good he's done there. He's go an implicit monster."

Botheim and Haaland stay adjacent friends truthful erstwhile Malmo had a accidental to clinch the Swedish rubric past October, Haaland chose to miss the Ballon d'Or ceremonial and ticker Malmo combat backmost for a 2-1 triumph implicit Gothenburg.

"He astir got much attraction than america winning the league!" says Rosler.

"He's got a engaged docket truthful the information helium made that effort to travel present and amusement his enactment was amusive to see.

"We turned it astir successful the 2nd fractional and 10,000 radical stormed connected to the pitch. It was implicit chaos. To triumph my archetypal rubric was thing I've been chasing truthful I'll retrieve it for the remainder of my life."

Rosler past came disconnected the seat for Norway successful November and it was Haaland helium replaced - 9 years aft they made their U15s debut together.

"I thought astir that actually, that it would beryllium a bully picture," says Rosler.

"We've known each different for truthful agelong and, yeah, I made my elder debut a spot aboriginal than him, but that's thing that's truthful absorbing successful football.

"There's nary close way. Everybody has a antithetic path. I've had a batch of challenges successful my abbreviated career, but I've besides had a batch of unthinkable times.

"To triumph the league and correspond my country, it's thing I've worked towards for a precise agelong time, and it was a precise arrogant infinitesimal for maine and my family."

Rosler remains a regular for Malmo and could triumph different trophy arsenic they look Hacken successful the Swedish Cup last connected Thursday (14:00 BST).

He has besides been named successful Norway's squad for adjacent week's World Cup qualifiers against Italy and Estonia.

And portion Rosler has forged his ain path, helium is "extremely thankful" for his father's proposal on the way.

"He's been done the aforesaid things truthful we tin speech astir them," helium adds. "It's thing that's possibly fixed maine an vantage implicit others, but I person to usage that."