An evening with Ole: Solskjaer talks Rashford, coaching, playing and that goal from 1999،
“I'm not sure it's the manager's job to get the best out of Marcus Rashford. Is it the manager's job to get the best out of him? Or is it mainly himself, or the responsibility to not no matter which player, to get the best out of himself? That's more important.”
It's been over two years since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last managed a team, but, just as he was in his playing days, he watched the game from the sidelines and is ready to launch fully prepared for action. It is full of thoughts and opinions, expressed – as in the case of the quote above – with characteristic frankness, underpinned by the insight and quiet intelligence gleaned from a career playing and working alongside of the best in football.
Always known as a keen student of the game, Solskjaer has not let the disappointment of his early departure from Manchester United dull his enthusiasm for the nuances and details of football.
He understands of course that football has changed (“tremendously”). He says, for example, that the new generation “learns differently”, that they not only have everything they “need”, but also everything they “want”.
“It’s completely different, the way you talk to them…everyone has PR agencies and all that,” he says. “Back then, if Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to speak to me, he would ring my phone and he would speak to me or we would speak at the training ground. Now we have to go through different agents and management, which I find strange, because Football is a game played by people, managed by people, and we need to be able to talk together, connect, get the best out of everyone… and trust each other.”
But for him, the essence of the game has not changed. “Football is always 11 versus 11,” he says. “We still had tactics back then when I was playing too, although now with all the stats and tools it's easier for everyone to be well prepared. I think the coaches back then were also very good tactically. But it's also about personalities… simple things, fundamental things in football: you have to win your face-to-face matches, you have to have the personality to deal with pressure. “
These kinds of throwback quotes were often thrown at him at United, but you can sense the basic truth in them. And that clearly leads to what appears to be his style of play, or philosophy: “Football is more prescribed now…a lot more coaches are telling players exactly what to do from college age, which is sometimes a little…dangerous, you know. “Because I always think that when you are on the pitch, as a creative player, you have to make a decision,” he says. “Yes, we have a framework to work from and we're all looking for those things, but… the decision making on the ground is what would make the difference. If you have players who are not able to see different things, you coach. and tell them this is what you do: you win the ball, you give it to (for example) Bruno, he will create…”
There is another quote that has become controversial: in March 2021, while still manager of United, Solskjaer said that winning knockout competitions was not the best way to assess a player's progress. top club and called the Cups “an ego thing from other managers and clubs”. finally win something”. He had been widely ridiculed for this quote, but a significant part of the quote had been ignored by most — “we need to see progress and if we perform well enough the trophies will end up at the club again ” — because at one time it was seen as setting the stage for another excuse to end a season without a trophy.
Today, almost three years after giving this quote, after being sacked as manager of the club he still professes so much love for after three years without a trophy, does he still believe in this quote?
“Yeah, 100%. Absolutely 100%,” says Solskjaer. “A Cup run can be an opportunity, and it's always the league that shows where the team is, that's always been my belief. I understand the ups and downs of a Cup… when you win a cup: Carabao, FA, Champions League, Europa League… it's a fantastic night for everyone and something to celebrate. You play to win trophies, of course. But I think the state general of the team and club would be reflected in the league position. It's a question of consistency.
It was a consistency he had begun to demonstrate at United: in the two full seasons he was in charge they finished third and then second… but the nature of football is such that football is all about results, the pressure of a position like that of United, that he I would not have the opportunity to see a third full season. But he doesn't seem to harbor much resentment about how it all ended.
“It’s the best job in the world you can have as a football manager when you’re a Man United fan or player,” he says. “It's more difficult when you do it when Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are in England… you know, bad timing [laughs] choose. But that's the challenge. You will always succeed against the best footballers in the world. ” And now you can feel his genuine enthusiasm as he talks about how Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS “breathed new life into the fans”, but kept repeating the mantra that consistency was key if United wanted to challenge for the championship again.
Solskjaer speaks with a clarity and sincerity that evokes his time as United manager, when he held one difficult press conference after another. He looks you in the eye and makes sure he has explained his thoughts as best as possible, even if it means taking a long and winding path. It's not typical: Solskjaer is in India on a visit organized by “Aces of Pubs” (he was in Bangalore on Friday and will travel to Mumbai and Delhi over the next two days), and most of the football legends who come these flybys are happy to give you some soundbites and move on. Not Solskjaer.
But that's the problem. When Solskjaer commits, he participates 100%.
When he played, he executed actions with brutal efficiency (he is ranked ninth all-time in goal contributions per 90 in Premier League history) thanks to his total commitment to the cause. (See also: that sacrificial red card against Newcastle United for a last-man challenge). “There are other players who don't have that mentality…” he said when explaining what it takes to succeed as a super substitute. They get very disappointed when they don't start and say it doesn't bother me. It's not my personality.”
He laughed when talking about his most famous goal, one of the most important in Manchester United's history, saying it was all a blur, that he didn't remember much about it. What he does remember, however, is that Sir Alex Ferguson, his manager, gave instructions to Teddy Sheringham (the other scorer of the evening) at half-time with United trailing 1-0. “I had a good season,” he said, “and I'm like 'why don't you talk to me? Why don't you prepare me?' But I knew…I knew I had to prepare.” He was “a little angry,” he said. “So I was going to go and show Sir Alex that he had made a mistake by not bringing me in sooner. [laughs]”.
As a manager, that commitment, that desire to win no matter what, was evident both on and off the pitch during his time at United. With that, Manchester United played the most exciting football Old Trafford has seen since Ferguson retired. Other than that, he neither threw players under the bus after a bad game nor (publicly, at least) blamed anyone other than himself for his failures.
What he did was try to bring back the youth pipeline that was the backbone of the club. And that applied to players and managers alike. “There are so many talented people around. I love working with [those] people… My management style, I invest time and resources in people. I sat with [Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna, his assistants then] and talked about how they would like to do the job, and left thinking “wow, these are boys who know what they are talking about”. “That he had a good sense of talent has become obvious now, in hindsight.
“It's just for me to get them to thrive and have fun and challenge them, and it's the same with the players,” he says. As for identifying the best young players? “There are so many players in the world, but it's the mentality that [sets the best ones apart]…There's a reason why Messi-Ronaldo [are where they are]It’s not just talent.”
What he says may seem obvious, but Solskjaer believes it's the obvious that holds the key. It's like working with people, which he says is the best part of management.
He speaks on the subject with so much passion that one wonders why he hasn't already gotten back into the ring for another round. “When you're the face of the biggest and best club in the world, you have to be vigilant all the time… everything you do is scrutinized. I enjoyed it, but I needed a break After.”
But this break could soon be over. “I’m sure I have at least one club position in me,” he says. “It has to be interesting, exciting, somewhere adventurous, somewhere where I can be myself. Because… with all due respect, after managing Manchester United for three years, I wonder where are going- you. I want to feel that pressure again… When you see the matches now, you miss it a little.”
