Childhood & Early Life
Ole Gunnar Solskjær was born on February 26, 1973, in Kristiansund, Norway, to Øyvind and Brita Solskjær.
His father was a Greco-Roman wrestler and had won a championship during his time. Ole, too, started learning Greco-Roman wrestling but stopped soon after.
He gradually drifted away from wrestling but developed a keen interest in football. Soon, he started training for the same, looking for a professional opportunity in the sport.
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Early Career
Solskjær made his debut for ‘CFK’ in 1990, at age 17. He finished his final season in 1994, with more than half of the total of ‘CFK’s goals in his favor.
He scored 115 goals in his 109 matches for the club. He was later signed by the club ‘Molde’ for NOK 200,000.
He made his debut for ‘Molde’ on April 22, 1995, against ‘Brann’ and scored twice, leading his team to win. His scored a hat-trick in his next match, against ‘Viking.’
He played his first European game against ‘Dinamo-93 Minsk’ in the ‘UEFA Cup Winners' Cup’ qualification game. With his score in the second leg, ‘Molde’ qualified for the ‘UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.’
Ole scored 20 goals in 26 matches in his first season with ‘Molde.’ He began his 1996 season with a defeat against ‘Rosenborg’ but scored a hat-trick in his next match, against ‘Moss.’
In his last match for ‘Molde,’ Ole scored the fourth goal. He finished the season with 41 goals in 54 games. He was then signed by ‘Manchester United.’
Career
He joined ‘Manchester United’ on July 29, 1996. When Ole made his debut for ‘Manchester United,’ he was a “nobody” in the giant club. Yet, he became one of the best bargains of the season. He made his debut on August 25, 1996, against the ‘Blackburn Rovers,’ as a substitute, and scored his first goal within 6 minutes.
He won his first ‘Premier League’ title under ‘Manchester United’ and also became the top-scorer of the club for the season. He scored 18 ‘Premier League’ goals in 33 appearances in his first season.
In 1999, he scored the winning goal against ‘Bayern Munich,’ leading his club to win the ‘UEFA Champions’ League’ and secure the “treble.” The media nicknamed him the “Baby-faced Assassin” due to his aggressive game and his innocent face.
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This win turned him into a football star and put him in the league of the most valuable players of his club. His score in the last 12 minutes in a match against ‘Nottingham Forest’ that season was also impressive.
He finished the season with 12 league goals in 19 matches. He also played in the 1998 ‘FIFA World Cup’ and the 2000 ‘UEFA Euro.’ He won his first ‘Intercontinental Cup’ after defeating ‘Palmeiras’ 1–0 in November 1999. ’Manchester’ also won the ‘Premier League’ after defeating ‘West Ham’ 7–1.
In his 2000–2001season, he scored a total of 10 league goals in 31 matches. ’Manchester’ also won the ‘Premier League’ that year. It was the third consecutive ‘Premier League’ win for them.
In his next season, Ole scored another hat-trick, in a 4–0 win against the ‘Bolton Wanderers.’ He finished the season with 17 league goals in 30 appearances but lost the ‘Premier League’ title to ‘Arsenal,’ also known as “the Gunners.”
Ole’s first goal of the 2002–2003 season was against ‘West Bromwich Albion.’ He scored 16 goals in the season, and due to David Beckman’s injury, Ole also captained some matches in the season.
Following this, he remained out of matches until 2004, because of an injury, and returned to play in the 2004 ‘FA Cup Final,’ which his club won. However, he had to go through a knee surgery and had to miss the 2004–2005 season completely.
His fans added “20 LEGEND” on the banners, since his jersey number was 20. This was meant to support him and encourage his comeback. Ole returned on December 5, 2005, against ‘Liverpool.’
Unfortunately, he got his cheek bone broken by Ugo Ehiogu on March 8, 2006, in a match against ‘Middlesbrough.’ As a result of the injury, he had to stay away from matches for the rest of the season.
He returned to ‘Premier League’ on August 23, 2006. Soon, he scored his first ‘Premier League’ goal in 3 years. He continued scoring goals throughout the season until he sustained a minor knee injury again.
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He returned to the game on March 31, 2007, in a match against the ‘Blackburn Rovers.’ He played his last match against ‘Chelsea,’ in the 2007 ‘FA Cup Final,’ which his team lost.
On June 5, 2007, an announcement stated that Ole would have to go through a minor surgery but he would not be able to return to the field, and thus, would be retiring from professional football. He received a standing ovation from the crowd when he walked on the pitch to bid goodbye to his fans on September 4, in a game against ‘Sunderland.’
At the time of his retirement, Ole was the highest goal-scorer of ‘Manchester United’ as a substitute, with 28 goals off the bench.
Other Major Works
In 2008, Ole was appointed as the manager of ‘Manchester United Reserves’ during the summer. Under him, the team won the 2007–2008 ‘Lancashire Senior Cup.’
In 2010, he was made the manger of ‘Molde’ but suffered a defeat in the first match. However, he won the ‘Tippeligaen’ twice, consecutively. In 2014, he joined ‘Cardiff City’ as its manager but left after a few months.
He continued as a manager with ‘Molde’ and finally joined ‘Manchester United’ as a caretaker manager in 2018. He will return to ‘Molde’ as its caretaker manager in 2019.
Awards & Achievements
In 2008, he was honored with the ‘First Class Knighthood of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olev.’ He also won ‘Kniksen Awards’ four times: in 1996, 2007, 2011, and 2012.
He won the ‘Peer Gynt Prize’ in 2009 for his social work and his contribution to football. In 2010, he was named one of the richest coaches in British football by ‘Sunday Times.’
He was named the ‘Premier League Manager of the Month’ in January 2019.
