I remember the situation well. It was the say the least remarkable. It’s rare that a striker takes a defensive, run and take such a cynical foul, ” says Kenneth Fredheim, who commented the fight for Canal Plus.
the Date is 18. april 1998. Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjær face Newcastle at Old Trafford. The score is 1-1, and after 79 minutes, replacing alex Ferguson in his super-substitute Solskjær.
They shall hunt a management.
But when one is hunting desperately for a ledermål, are usually vulnerable defensively. Midfielder on Newcastle’s Rob Lee comes alone with the keeper Raimond van der Gouw, and have a whole half to run on.
Norwegian Solskjær is the nearest man, and get just stretched out the bones of their in time to stop something after all solemerker would have been goals. the
He is not in the vicinity of the ball, and Lee naturally goes right in the ground.
the Judge is not in doubt, and provides Solskjær his only red card as a Manchester United player in the Premier League. It is almost as Norwegian goes against the locker room before the red card is pulled up. Solskjær receives a standing ovation from the fans. He has just held the red devils inside the tittelkampen against Arsenal.
1-1 being the final result, and Solskjær rescues a vital point for Manchester United. Later, it would still not hold to a ligatittel. Arsene Wenger and Arsenal take the league title in the frenchman’s first season with two games left to play. Tittelracet could have been settled earlier, had it not been for Solskjær.
– I was totally dumb
It believe it was extra surprising that it was Solskjær with his image who made the tackle.
– I was totally dumb when it happened. It shows the cynical side of Solskjær. He took one for the team, ” says Fredheim.
Therefore, Solskjær have a lot of the credit for manchester United’s transformation
He adds:
I thought that Solskjær would go for a clean tackle, and if he doesn’t reach so he would not overcome.
Commentator believes that the incident had no negative consequences for the Solskjærs relation to the fans, but rather the positive.
” I think the fans were just as shocked as me. They thought enough, “boy, this is our man”.
Got the bot and “hårtørkeren”
Ferguson has on several instances stated in the positive ordlag around the United manager. This time he was, however, long from satisfied, despite the fact that he had held rødtrøyene inside tittelkampen against Arsenal. Solskjær got the well-known “hårtørkeren” by his manager in front of the whole team.
– Ferguson would probably rather had dignity instead of running the type of tackles. ^ The academic degree awarded would be on his side certainly seem that this was great, ” says Fredheim.
In the evening meetings, therefore Solskjær Newcastle as Manchester United manager. Fredheim don’t think that Solskjær would have been particularly excited about, even if one of his men should be carried out to tackle.
Honestly Solskjær: – I don’t know if I belong on this level
He got a clear lesson to be learned from Ferguson in 1998. The way I perceive him and he can’t stand cheating. He could not really playing either, end It.
Solskjær has previously confirmed this above FourFourTwo in 2015:
I would tell the players my to not do it, because I ended up with the bot and “hårtørkeren”. I had to take again Rob Lee before he got into the elevations box. I thought I was going to take him again, but the last five meters, I realized that I was not going to do it.
bitter
the Victim Rob Lee told in the same interview that he is not bitter in retrospect.
– No, I’m not bitter. I came alone with the goalkeeper, and he looked very big out. I didn’t know what I should do with the ball, so I’m pretty happy with that Solskjær could kill me, ” said Lee to FourFourTwo.
He told further that he would done exactly the same if he were in the same situation.
– There are no sour memories. It was a draw, and he did it right in order to avoid the loss, said Lee.
Such was the ” Solskjær-visit
