20 Legend

The media follows up the story first posted here on Sunday night: http://208.101.38.218/showthread.php?t=83859

From the Times:

'Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed his retirement from football today. The Manchester United striker, who famously scored the winner in the 1999 Champions League final, has decided to quit after a long-running battle with knee injuries.

'Solskjaer, who said his decision was taken "after much deliberation and with deep sadness", will remain at the club in a coaching capacity and will represent Manchester United as an official ambassador.

'"I would like to thank the manager, the coaching and medical staff and most of all the supporters, who have supported me through my career," Solskjaer said. "They have been fantastic and were a real inspiration to me when I was out injured.

'"The support the fans and the staff showed me during that time was the main motivation for me making my comeback. I feel proud to have represented Manchester United for 11 years and have some very special memories."

'Solskjaer, 34, joined United for £1.5 million from Molde in 1996 but has spent the last four seasons struggling with injury and did not appear for the club this season.

'Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager paid tribute to his long-serving striker, saying: "Ending your playing career is a sad day for anyone, in the case of Ole, he has 11 fantastic years he can look back on.

'"Ole has achieved everything a player could ever wish to achieve. He has been a great servant to the club and has always remained a model professional in his responsibility as a player, in his demeanour and his manners have always been exemplary. Ole will hopefully go on to be a good coach."

'David Gill, United's chief executive added: "Ole has provided us all with some exceptional memories during his time here at the Club. Nobody will ever forget his dramatic winner in Barcelona, but much more than that his dedication and professionalism make him one of the great role models in football. Ole will be dearly missed as a player, but will go on to serve the club as an ambassador and a valuable coach."

'"He wanted to keep playing," Solskjaer's father Oyvind said. "This is sad for us, and for him, that he has to quit. He'd hoped to recover 100 per cent, but now something has happened in his knee that makes it impossible for him to continue. But he believed himself that he still had a lot to offer on the football field, if he'd just recover."'

The Guardian look back at six of Ole's greatest moments:

'1. v Bayern Munich, Champions League final, Barcelona, 26/05/99

There's not really much to add to this one, is there?

2. v Newcastle, Premiership, 18/04/98

One of the main reasons for Solskjaer's extraordinary popularity - apart from trivial stuff like Champions League-winning goals - is his selflessness in a footballing age of rampant egotism. He was happy to take one for the team throughout a career in which he was a reserve for all bar two seasons, and in 1998 he sacrificed himself for the cause with a deliberate foul on Rob Lee.

United, drawing 1-1 at home to Newcastle, were losing their grip on the title race, and looked set to be in even greater trouble when, with everyone forward for a late corner, Lee ran the length of the pitch to go through on goal. But Solskjaer, who started 10 yards behind Lee, chased him all the way and, just outside the box, hacked Lee down before being shown the inevitable red card.

3. v Charlton, Premiership, 23/08/06

In sporting terms, this was a dying man's last wish. During three years of injury misery, Solskjaer was motivated by one thing: the prospect of scoring one more goal in the United shirt. When he did, at Charlton in the second game of last season, he bowed adoringly to his disciples in the away end, who recripocated the gesture in a show of unity that would have melted even the hardest heart.

4. v Liverpool, FA Cup, 24/01/99

Four months and two days before Barcelona, Solskjaer patented the rescue act that would change the lives of so many in the Champions League final. United were 1-0 down in a cup match of huge importance, equalised just before the end and then won it through Solskjaer's opportunism. His winner, in as cacophonous an atmosphere as it is possible to imagine - there were no prawn sandwiches on sale that day - was staggeringly nerveless: he picked up a loose ball 12 yards out, signalled with his eyes that he was going to shoot to the right of David James, only to drag it inside the near post as James dived the wrong way.

5. v Nottingham Forest, Premiership, 06/02/99

Some strikers struggle to score four goals in a season; at the City Ground Solskjaer did it in 10 minutes. Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole had both scored twice as United raced into a 4-1 lead against a pathetic Nottingham Forest, and with 20 minutes to go the only interest centred around which striker would be first to notch up a hat-trick. The answer was neither: Solskjaer came on and, in an extraordinary finale, rammed in four goals. The definitive supersub had just supersized the accepted parameters of his trade, and no cause would ever be lost again.

6. v Bordeaux, Champions League, 01/03/00

Solskjaer's career was defined by his match-saving or match-winning goals from the bench, and this was perhaps the most spectacular. With United struggling to break down 10-man Bordeaux, Solskjaer came on for Denis Irwin with seven minutes to find a winner. He needed barely seven seconds. With his first touch he killed a long punt from Raimond van der Gouw and with his second curved the ball coolly past Ulrich Rame.'

From the Telegraph:

'Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed his retirement from football, aged 34. Solskjaer, who famously scored the winner in Man Utd's 1999 Champions League triumph, has endured a long-running battle with knee injuries.

'He did manage 11 goals in United's title-winning campaign last season, with his most recent appearance in the FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea on May 19, when he came on as an extra-time substitute.'