The GDN’s Editor-in-Chief Stanley Szecowka interviewed Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2015 when the Norwegian visited the kingdom.
At the time, United had just scraped a fourth-place finish under Louis van Gaal in the Dutchman’s first campaign, a year after David Moyes’ reign ended in the Scot’s sacking.
Stan posed the question: “What is the secret to getting Manchester United back to being a championship-winning team again?”
Solskjaer’s reply? “Well, if I knew that, I’d probably get the job.”
So, does Solskjaer have ‘the secret’ and has he learned from his first unsuccessful managerial spell at the club?
The discussion has travelled from ‘can United really give it to Solskjaer again?’ into the direction of ‘can United actually give it to anyone else other than Solskjaer?’
There would still be a huge element of risk given his previous Premier League failure at both United and Cardiff City.
This is a huge decision for Manchester United.
In the interview with Szecowka, Solskjaer also pointed what characteristics were needed to play for Manchester United.
During his playing days, Solskjaer, was nicknamed ‘The Baby-faced Assassin’. He played 366 times for United and scored 126 goals during a successful period for the club.
He was regarded as a ‘super sub’ for his trait of coming off the substitute bench to score late goals. Solskjaer’s defining moment in football came in injury time of the 1999 Uefa Champions League Final, where he scored the winning last-minute goal against Bayern Munich, completing a remarkable comeback and winning The Treble for United.
In 2007, Solskjaer announced his retirement from football after failing to recover from a serious knee injury. However, he remained at United in a coaching role as well as in an ambassadorial capacity, a duty he carried out with distinction.
His advice to youngsters in Bahrain dreaming of one day wearing the red shirt of United was simple: “You have got to eat, live and breathe football and you have to want it more than anyone-else,” he said.
That’s something today’s crop of United ‘stars’ should take into account.
Dedicated United fan, senior Bahrain This Month journalist and long-term Bahraini resident, Kristian Harrison said: “I actually quite like the potential appointment, as long as it’s only until the end of the season and not permanent!
“I don’t think the club should rush into a decision and make yet another mistake, when there’s the potential to get it right in the summer post-World Cup when the likes of England manager Thomas Tuchel, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann or even the dream of PSG’s Luis Enrique might want a new challenge and be available.
“It’s easy to forget since he was subsequently sacked, but when Ole first came in – as a caretaker, don’t forget – we went on the best run of results since Sir Alex ‘Fergie’ Ferguson retired, the catalyst for him being offered the job full-time, and actually played some good football which has been seen very infrequently since.
“He knows the club through and through, he practically bleeds United, and if he can lift the squad then a top five finish will almost certainly secure a Champions League place. It’s definitely possible since outside of Arsenal, Man City and Aston Villa, everyone else seems to have their own issues and be dropping points.
“Just don’t give him the job permanently again as once the ‘bounce’ wears off his tactical shortcomings become apparent.”
Sir Alex, now a race horse owner who regularly competes and wins in Bahrain, is best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, having won more trophies than any other in the history of football.
Can anyone repeat his success?
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