Speaking backwards and a manager at 13 – the Solskjaer story

The Football Interview is a new series in which the biggest names in sport and entertainment join host Kelly Somers for bold and in-depth conversations about the nation’s favourite sport.

We’ll talk about defining moments, career highs, and personal reflections, as well as motivation and mindset. The Football Interview brings you the person behind the player.

Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

As a player, he scored their Treble-clinching injury-time winner against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final.

In 366 games for the club, he scored one of the 126 goals.

The Norwegian later managed the Red Devils for three years from 2018 – guiding them to second in the Premier League and also the Europa League final in 2021, before he was sacked after a poor run of form.

He played for his country at the 1998 World Cup, which was their final appearance there, despite having recently advanced to the tournament in North America, having been captained by Norway 67 times.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Football is the world’s best game. I think it’s such an easy game. Everyone is connected by it. But for me, I can’t remember life without football since I was young. My parents, in my opinion, told me that one of the lamps was one of the first things I kicked. So I just enjoyed kicking! It has given me my life. Everything.

Kelly, do you recall a time when you believed that you could potentially “make it” by playing football?

Ole: Not really because as a kid I always used to score goals, but when I got to 15/16 I was a very late developer, so then I thought I wasn’t going to make it in football and I thought I would just enjoy football. When I was 19 to 20, I decided to join the army, which probably meant I wasn’t going to play football, but when I got back, I decided to, and after a few years, I joined the under-21 national team and played for Molde, where I did well.

Kelly: That’s quite a journey, isn’t it? And that’s a significant change from football, army, football. What did being in the army do for you?

Ole, it gave me more self-assurance. I had to grow up. I stopped sharing my home with my sister and my parents in the interim. I think I became a lot more mature. I had a lot of socializing experience with people from various locations across the nation. We were placed there together in a room of six or eight, and we just had to get on. Actually, it was a fantastic year.

Kelly: Is it mandatory to go into the army?

Ole : Yes

Kelly: So you always knew you were going to have to do it?

Ole: No, unless you have a unique talent or are a member of the national teams and all that.

Kelly: Didn’t you have a special talent?

Ole: This is probably one of my career’s most significant games for Norway. We played Norway against Azerbaijan and I scored two very good goals. In addition, the assistant manager, Jim Ryan, was watching Ronny Johnsen, who we signed. He was sitting next to Mark McGhee, who at that time was Wolverhampton manager, chatting as they do. I score two goals while Jim Ryan is watching the game while Mark McGhee is looking for a center-forward. So he thinks, ‘ OK, Wolverhampton will probably sign this boy’. He called Sir Alex Ferguson that evening and said, “I think I found one and he won’t be expensive.” It’s a cheap one, but we’ve got to be quick because Wolverhampton are also signing a centre-forward. ‘ It proceeded extremely quickly.

Kelly: That must have been a whirlwind for you…

Brilliant, Ole. Absolutely top. However, you weren’t entirely certain until you ratified the agreement. But I more or less knew, so before my last game for Molde, I said to Age Hareide, who was the coach, that if I scored, I’m going to take my shirt off, throw it into the stands and run off the pitch. No, you can’t, he said, but [if you have to], wait until ten minutes before full-time. That’s exactly what happened. We had to play a few minutes with ten men because I probably scored five goals, five goals, five if I’m honest, and I just threw the shirt and ran off the pitch. It was a whirlwind of a time. Outside of my apartment, the media was present. They wanted interviews and I just tried to stay away from all that.

Kelly, how new was that? Like a whole new level of fame?

Ole: Yes, of course. Because 18 months before Manchester United, I played for Clausenengen, my local team, in front of 50 people, so it was a big step up in attention. However, I believe my handling these circumstances has been fairly acceptable.

Kelly: I always ask players – and with you, it feels even more prominent because you’ve played in some of the biggest games – if you could relive one game from your career, what would it be?

Ole, of course, the 1999 Champions League final. I was 80 minutes on the bench like really unhappy with the manager – ‘ why don’t you put me on? ‘ – and football is so emotional and we are losing. You’re so low and you want to get on the pitch. After that, I spent almost 80 minutes in agony, and I managed to play 15 more of those 15 minutes I’d really like to play again. It changed history, of course. My life was completely altered by it. It didn’t make me a better footballer but that changed my life as in we made history and I was the one that was fortunate enough to score that goal. And I’ve had the best of their lives thanks to many men who have approached me. ]They say] ‘ Don’t tell my wife, please, will you? ‘

Kelly, you previously mentioned how irritable you were with Sir Alex. Obviously you would have always wanted to start, but you gained this incredible reputation, didn’t you? as a super-sub. I know every footballer wants to start every game. How did you accept that?

Ole: I had discussions with Sir Alex. A long-term, long-term contract was my choice. What I did was I put my career in his hands really. I basically said to myself, “Just do your best.” I’ve seen so many strikers sulking when they’re on the bench. I said, “OK, they’ve played 70 or 80 minutes, defenders are tired, I can come on, I can make a difference, I’m fresh as long as my head is fresh and my mentality is good.” If we were winning 1-0, I was never going to come on. I was like, “don’t score until he puts me on” when I was 0-0. At 1-0 down, yeah, definitely I am coming on. He would give me the next 15-20 minutes just to make me feel a part of it when we were 2-0 up. He was very good at giving me enough minutes but I knew at 1-0 just to sit down as you’re not going to come on. I was like, “Come on then, it’s like 20 minutes,” when I was 1-0 up against Bayern; it was one of the best 13 to 15 minutes of my football career.

Kelly: When did management become the thing?

Ole: I was a very football-fan when I was younger. Me and my cousin always used to buy the Rothmans Yearbook every year and that was our bible. We created our own game, a management game, which was probably the prequel to the Championship Manager game because we knew every player in every division in England. We should have copyrighted that one! We were really into nerdy, freaky football, and I would always prefer to play management games over computer games. I’ve always been into coaching or management and picking teams. In my neighborhood streets, I used to lead the younger boys. We used to make a street team for these tournaments and I was the boss.

Kelly, how old are you right now?

Ole: Not everything, but yes I did suddenly start to try to – instead of just being a player that was told. The best teacher in the world was teaching me. How does he get the best out of all these players? What tactical actions does he take? What is he changing in his staff and changing the players? I just started monitoring him more closely and watching that aspect of football.

Kelly: It is the biggest club in the world, one of the biggest clubs. You were aware of the pressure that was applied to both players and managers, especially when things weren’t going well.

Ole: I remember one game, against Everton. Fourth official is next to me as I sit in my technical area. ]Everton manager] Carlo Ancelotti comes across, so he’s more or less in my technical area, and the fourth official says: ‘ Carlo, you need to get back into your technical area unless you want Ole’s job. ‘ Carlo always has a comment and a smile on his face, as he is. He said: ‘ No, no, no. Too much pressure That job is too much pressure. ‘ So he returned to his technical area, and I said, “Pressure is a privilege.” He always said that as well.

Manchester United has a lot of potential, but being the manager does not mean playing. As a player, you just do your job. You no longer serve as the manager, the face of the company, or the face of the entire group. You think about all these supporters, players, everything surrounding Manchester United. However, that pressure is a privilege because I was given the opportunity to do it and to handle it in my own way. And that was having great staff around us, an environment in and around the club that was very positive. However, it matters if you enjoy working out every day or attending training sessions because results are important. Unfortunately, we had a terrible six-week spell at a club like Manchester United, and they made a change, which is fine. Reflecting back on it, it was sad. Of course, we lost to Watford, but I always knew that would come eventually. I drove my family to the airport, they went back to Norway, and I was going to work. I texted my wife and said, “I’ll catch you up, I’ll probably be back home before you,” and I knew what was going to happen.

Kelly: Did it feel a bit sudden?

Ole: unexpected but not unexpected. If you don’t get results, you do make a change, that’s football. But I thought there was a plot.

Kelly: Do you feel like when you look back on your period in charge that now people understand – given what’s happened to Manchester United since and the struggles? Do you believe that your time was given to you in the way that you should have?

Ole: Me as a kid, obviously, at school football in every recess or every break.

Kelly, did you put in a lot of effort in school?

Ole: I was decent at school and my best subject was maths, so if I wasn’t a footballer I probably would be an accountant or something with numbers or maths.

Kelly, you are now a father of three children, and, as I’ve heard, you have passed the football bug on.

Ole: I think they’re environmentally damaged! They all participate in football.

Kelly: And a little bit of history – your daughter made an appearance for Manchester United Women. You are the only father-daughter tandem to both play for Manchester United, in my opinion. That must make you incredibly proud?

Ole, I was so proud of myself. It was an FA Cup game and we drove down. She saw her very well, I really enjoyed it. Her passion is football, she loves football. They both enjoy and adore football.

Kelly: Does your wife like football or does she have no choice?

Ole: We almost met on the football field. She was a very talented footballer. She was a member of a talent group that used to train at seven until eight before school, and we used to have her in Kristiansund every Tuesday and Thursday. Who wakes up at six to go football training? You enter to impress or be close to a close friend or family member. That is the reason I got up in the morning really – to play football with Silje.

Kelly, could you tell me something about yourself that might surprise you?

Ole: I surprised you by saying I would have been an accountant, but I used to read and speak backwards, so I was quite good at that – reading backwards.

Kelly: How did that happen?

Ole: I don’t know – it’s just that’s probably my sense of organising structure, seeing structures. How can I rearrange those letters, that number, or something else that I drive, in about 85% of the time when you examine the license plates.

Kelly: Your brain is always going, isn’t it?

Ole: My brain is, essentially, always moving.

Kelly: If you could only achieve one more thing in your career, what would it be?

Ole: I would have liked to achieve that goal by not winning a trophy for Manchester United as manager. Hopefully we can do well in the World Cup with Norway, but then maybe to be the next one, who knows? You have goals all the time.

Kelly: You mean to be the next Norway manager?