Tracing Ole Gunnar Solskjær's Evolution - From Super Sub to Tactician
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is one of the most underrated players of his generation. A consistent performer with Manchester United during the club's heyday and also someone who has been a stellar super sub, it is also easy to forget how naturally gifted he was as a goal scorer. Moreover, his loyalty to United has made him a very important figure moving forward for the club, especially during these turbulent times.
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Regardless, this is the life and career of Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
Playing days
The Norwegian started his career at Clausenengen in his home country, making his professional debut in 1990 with 17 years of age. His time there, mostly in the lower end of Norwegian football, would see him thrive from the get-go, scoring 115 goals in 109 matches.He would leave for Molde in 1995 and play there for two seasons, scoring 41 goals in 59 matches while also gaining some praise because of his performances with Norway's youth side. Then Manchester United signed him in the summer of 1996, much to the surprise of English football since he was quite unknown at the time, especially on the British islands.
While he was a young talent, he still managed to score 19 goals across all competitions during his first season, which promptly made him one of the bargains of that transfer window.
"But of course my debut," he said to The Independent in 2018 when discussing his best memories with United. "When I came on and scored. I turned around and Eric [Cantona] is the first one celebrating with me. It's a strange, strange feeling but suddenly it became part of you. It's home. You looked forward to coming out at Old Trafford; you felt comfortable there. And that's what you want the players to be."
Ole is mostly known to the general public for scoring the winning goal against Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final, but, truth be told, that would be doing him a disservice. He was an excellent finisher, scoring 126 goals 366 matches across all competitions for United, and even did shifts as a winger when needed in the early 2000s, all while still performing as a super sub.
"Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Paul Scholes. I was down the pecking order, but I saw so many strikers come and go," Solskjaer told FourFourTwo in 2024. "I just stuck up for myself, believed in myself, fought and proved that the manager should play me. Sir Alex knew that if he put me on the bench then I'd be angry, but also fired up and ready to give everything when I came on. Not every sub does that. A lot of subs are sulky and hopeless on the bench. I wasn't, and nor was Alan Smith. We went on with the aim of proving the manager wrong."
Despite having severe knee injuries from 2003 to 2006, the Norwegian legend still managed to return to regular playing time for the 2006/07, scoring 11 goals across all competitions and overall ending his professional career on a high note since United also won the Premier League that year. It was a great ending to a great career as a great player.
Managerial career
Solskjaer's managerial career in interesting. He was Ferguson's striker coach during the 2007/08 season when they both the Premier Leaguer and the Champions League and then went on to coach the reserves. He would return to Norway in 2010 and won the league twice with Molde, which is a feat that the club didn't achieve for decades.Ole would return to the Premier League during the 2013/14 season, specifically mid-way, to coach Cardiff, which was a failed project that was doomed to get relegated because of the club's poor decision-making, and the Norwegian didn't manage to keep them afloat. He would return to Molde later on before finally taking the Manchester United gig by the end of 2018, lasting until 2021.
"I don't think anyone can perform at their best level if they are unhappy," he said in 2021. "This is not playing Football Manager on the computer. We are dealing with human beings."
"We had a squad full of internationals and to get the best out of every one of them, to challenge them and challenge the group, you need to observe and learn what triggers them," says Solskjaer during the 2021 interview. "Where do they come from? What's their background? How can you get the best out of them? Sometimes there are players who you have to praise and cajole but there are other players who need stick more than praise because they can get complacent and lose their concentration. You have to help the players be the best possible versions of themselves, which will then make the team better."
A lot of people have unfairly criticized his time at United as a coach because he didn't win a trophy, but he managed to stabilize a sinking ship and managed to play some of the best football of the post-Ferguson era. However, the club's overall poor-decision making didn't manage to get the project afloat. The same can be said about his brief stint with Besiktas in 2025, which perhaps highlights the manager's (possibly) poor choice of clubs when looking for jobs.