There must have been a knowing smile from Mikal Aaserud as Oscar Bobb nudged Kevin De Bruyne's superb pass past the outstretched leg of the desperate Kieran Trippier and then nestled the ball into the back of Martin Dubravka's net after the most deft movement of feet left the goalkeeper Newcastle fooled.
For two joyous years, Aaserud spent most weeks taking the breath away at St James' Park on Saturday evening as Manchester City's match-winner and the latest exciting talent to emerge from Norway after Arsenal's Martin Odegaard and clubmate Erling Haaland.
Bobb was just 11 when he joined Lyn's under-14 team in his home city of Oslo, where Aaserud helped run, and within moments of his first session it became clear why there was so much excitement surrounding this little boy with a mesmerizing left side . foot. It didn't take long for the coaches to come up with a nickname for him.
"We called him the Little Wizard because he was a magician," Aaserud told Telegraph Sport. "It was a very talented team, but he was the real standout.
'I had heard rumors about Oscar before he came to us. I knew there was a buzz around this young boy, but it took my breath away at times. Everything he did was incomparable to what others did. We couldn't believe it."
Aaserud is not exaggerating when he describes the Lyn team as particularly talented. Mainly from two schools in Oslo, Ullevaal and Tasen, with Bobb attending the latter, enjoying a close bond. Seven members of the squad are now professionals, including winger Sondre Holmlund Orjasaeter, who has just joined Sarpsborg 08 in Norway's top flight. But Bobb was and remains several cuts above.
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Even at such a young age, he was the talk of Norwegian youth circles - and increasingly coveted by many of Europe's big clubs.
"When we played the national tournaments in Norway, we noticed that people from other teams and their parents came to watch our team just because of him," Aaserud explains.
"As a coach, I stood on the sidelines and I could hear people saying things like, 'Whoa, there's Oscar Bobb, we have to stay here and watch this game.' He was a phenomenon."
Aaserud recalls opponents making all sorts of unsavory efforts in an attempt to nullify Bobb's influence - but the young star was routinely confronted by the bullies
"In some matches it felt like they were trying to ruin his game, but that didn't bother him. He has a tough character," Aaserud recalled. "He wasn't worried about it, but opponents tried everything: marking him, being physically rough with him in an attempt to take him out of a game. He has undergone very rough treatment.
"We played in the league, often against players who were two years older than Oscar and who had hit puberty long before that, had beards, things like that and yet he was so small. But what's unique about him is that he never stopped playing his game.
"We were invited to elite tournaments in Copenhagen and Madrid and it was exactly the same there too. Every top club in Europe had him on their radar, it was like that from 11, 12."
'He appreciates that Erling is there'
One of the interesting aspects of Bobb's rise is that it has not been without setbacks and complications. In October 2015, he moved to Portugal with his mother, Gunnes Turid, a professional theater and film actress from Norway, who had signed a deal with a dance and theater company in the city to work on a number of projects.
Three months later, Porto - whose interest in Bobb dated as far back as 2010 - applied to sign the player as an underage, on the grounds that his mother had moved to Portugal for work reasons rather than to further her son's playing career to assist. FIFA then refuses to grant a transfer exemption. Attempts to subsequently join the Hernani Goncalves football school in Porto were also rejected by FIFA on the same grounds - and later by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on appeal.
It meant Bobb was unable to play in competitive matches for almost two years, apart from a single tournament appearance for Lyn, for whom he was still registered, before returning to Norway for Lyn's Oslo rival Valerenga at the end of 2017. Even with Valerenga, injuries limited his playing time before he moved to City in July 2019 at the age of 16.
Aaserud, who now works as a reporter for VG in Norway, thinks the early hype surrounding Bobb, combined with the difficult time he had in Portugal, are two reasons why he has handled his sudden ascent so well over the past five months. From his first call-up to the Norwegian seniors and his debut as an international goalkeeper, to scoring in both the Champions League and now the Premier League for City - he has done it all.
"That to me is the most impressive," he says. "He's really not bothered by what's going on. This buzz around him, he's been there a while before, if you know what I mean. He is quite level-headed and has probably reflected emotionally on what things used to be like."
Bobb's parents separated when he was only seven. His father, Abdou, still lives in Norway and his mother remains in Portugal with her partner and Bobb's half-sisters. His family is a very important part of his life, but having a compatriot like Haaland at City certainly contributes to Bobb's development. "Erling is very nice to him and I think it gives him extra reassurance that one of the biggest stars in the team is someone he can communicate with maybe on a better level than some of the others," Aaserud said.
"He really appreciates and appreciates Erling being there. He's probably not terrorizing him with questions, but he's probably taking advantage of them and getting some support when he needs it. I also think that Erling can be very helpful in making choices outside the field."
From Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the reigning Olympic 1500 meters champion, and golfer Viktor Hovland to Haaland and Odegaard, Norway is becoming home to several sporting superstars. And if Bobb continues to impress like he did against Newcastle, the country may soon have another household name.
