MAN UNITED v FC COPENHAGEN HOW SOLBAKKEN ROSE FROM THE DEAD

Ole’s pal and Copenhagen boss Stale had a heart attack in 2001 and it took seven minutes to bring him back to life

WHEN Manchester United play Copenhagen in the Europa League on Monday, they will be facing a rival manager who was dead for seven minutes.

Back in 2001, Copenhagen coach Stale Solbakken was playing for the same Danish side – then coached by Roy Hodgson – when he collapsed with a heart condition during training.

Paramedics took seven minutes to bring him back to life in an ambulance en route to hospital.

The cause was a previously undetected cardiac defect and although Solbakken made a full recovery after surgery, he retired from playing to launch a successful managerial career.

“It wasn’t a heart attack, it was something I was born with, a small error around the heart,” said Solbakken. “So that was corrected with an operation. When you have a situation where you’ve been dead for seven minutes, that obviously makes you more thoughtful for things in life.

“But it was harder for my family and the people around me, because when I woke up, I was fresh and fine. I was in a coma for 30 hours, so I don’t have a real memory of what happened. I’ve had no setbacks since the successful operation, so it’s not something I think about.”

In Cologne, the teams meet at the start of the Europa League’s knockout tournament taking place in Germany.

And Solbakken is convinced United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will prove a success at the club because of the way he is.

“His biggest strength is he’s very calm,” said Solbakken. “He knows which direction he wants to go in.

“He was able to look to the longterm, even when results and performances weren’t up to the standard expected at United, and the club stood by him.

“With one or two more additions to the squad, and one more preseason with the team, they will gradually close the gap to their neighbours. We’ve been texting each other this week. He texted me before our game on Wednesday and straight after. We’re not close friends but we’re good friends, and of course we were together for a long period with Norway.

“We did our coaching badges together in Copenhagen, so we have a good relationship.”

Solbakken, 52, who had an illfated six-month spell in charge of Wolves in 2012-2013, has won eight Danish titles in two spells at Copenhagen. He famously beat Sir Alex Ferguson’s United 1-0 in the Champions League group stage in 2006 in his first spell.

Ferguson blamed the poor pitch at the Parken Stadium, which had hosted a Bruce Springsteen concert the weekend before.

“It’s correct what Ferguson said, that the pitch wasn’t perfect,” said Solbakken. “But it was not only the pitch that night. To beat United we had to play at our best and they had to have an error or two, which is what happened.”

Ahead of the reunion with Solskjaer in Cologne, Solbakken admitted United are firm favourites to advance to the semi-finals in the one-off game knockout format.

“Everything has to go for us and against United if we’re to stand any chance,” he added.

DL

Solbakken and Solskjaer on opposite sides in their playing days