Being United boss is as big a thrill as scoring winner in 1999 Final
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Almost 20 years on, he reckons that managing the club might just match that magical night in the Nou Camp when his dramatic injury-time strike to beat Bayern Munich claimed both the Champions League and a Treble that has never been done either before or since.
Solskjaer was asked whether the best memories of his Old Trafford career might still be to come after accepting a six-month offer to rescue the beleaguered Reds – almost 12 years since he hung up his boots.
He said: “Wow! Is it comparable? I would have to say yes and no.
“The difference is that I make all the decisions now.
“When you are a player you just give your best and do what the gaffer asks you to do.
“Now I have to make decisions for the whole team. I have to leave players out and tell them that they are still part of a team that wants to do well.
“If you’re a coach – or a chef or a cleaning lady – you just want the team to play well. When you’re a player you just concentrate on what you have to do for 90 minutes.
“Having said that, the thrill of managing is huge.”
Solskjaer is the fifth manager to sit in the hot-seat vacated by Sir Alex Ferguson since the Scot retired in the summer of 2013 with United champions.
Ryan Giggs’ temporary reign lasted just four games after David Moyes was sacked. Louis van Gaal and now Jose Mourinho have been axed. Solskjaer, 45, feels no sympathy for the men who followed in Fergie’s footsteps before he himself marched back into Old Trafford. He believes the nature of the job has changed hugely since he was part of the team that dominated both at home and abroad. He said: “It was always going to be difficult following Sir Alex.
“But I’m coming in after two of the best managers in the world in Mourinho and Van Gaal.
“In fact, I am coming in after four fantastic managers.
“Results have been mixed but football and the Premier League has changed.
“Back when I played, we maybe had one challenger in Arsenal for a period, and then Chelsea. Now there are five or six teams challenging, so it is a completely different competition.
“But do I feel sorry for a United manager? No. You