Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has recalled the ‘special night’ that saw him land the manager’s job at Old Trafford on a permanent basis.
The Norwegian achieved Red Devils hero status during his playing days, where he made more than 350 appearances for the club, with his winning goal in the 1999 European Cup final a part of the club’s folklore.
After hanging up his boots in 2007, Solskjaer quickly moved into management, initially with the club’s reserve team before heading back to his homeland for a successful stint at his former side Molde.
After a brief spell at Cardiff City, he would return to Molde, but then Old Trafford came calling.
After being appointed on a caretaker basis following the sacking of Jose Mourinho in December 2018, Solskjaer has opened up to FourFourTwo how a Champions League last-16 second-leg win against Paris Saint-Germain in March 2019 got him the job on a permanent basis.
“One special night in Paris made me become the permanent United manager,” he tells FFT. “We lost the first leg 2-0 at home. PSG are a difficult team, a very good team, but there was always something where I felt we could beat them in Paris. Maybe it was too much confidence on their part.
“I knew that everyone would be down if we lost the game – and we were expected to lose in Paris. We were on an amazing run of 10 wins and two draws in my first 12 league games, but weren’t going to win the league, though we were still in the FA Cup.
“Paris looked impossible. The television commentator said it was mission impossible to score three times in Paris – I know that, because I’ve watched it and all my United games back. But I wanted to give my players belief. That’s when I said: ‘Mountains are there to be climbed’. Manchester United have always thrived in adversity, have never been a club that have given up.
“We worked hard for two weeks ahead of the game in Paris. We targeted a couple of their players – I don’t think it’s respectful of me to name them – but we thought they would make mistakes under pressure. We targeted their mentality, which I felt was confidence bordering on arrogance. We knew they would try and outplay us, but that would give us opportunities.
“I told them to enjoy the Champions League music, the best sound in football, and make sure it wasn’t the last time they heard it that season. Romelu Lukaku scored twice in the first 30 minutes and we led 2-1.
“At half-time, I told the lads we just had to hang in there,” continues Solskjaer. “We only needed another goal. We’d already surprised them by scoring two. I said that if we got to the last 10 minutes needing only a goal, then it was squeaky-bum time for them, they’d wobble. And we did. Marcus was shooting from distance against Gianluigi Buffon. That’s what you want Marcus to do. Give the goalkeeper something to think about.”
Then Manchester United got a disputed penalty. “Players who can handle that pressure are the best: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and, after 94 minutes, Marcus with that penalty – a brilliant one, right in front of the away fans, to send us through to the quarter-finals.
“I ran across the pitch to celebrate with the players and the fans in the rain. Then we went back to the dressing room. It was electric.”
The Norwegian would remain in the Old Trafford dugout until November 2021, when he left his role with the club seventh in the table, having won just one of their last seven matches.
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