Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s departure from Manchester United has proven that not every uncoupling between manager and club need end with bitterness.
The pitchforks were put away and the stagnation of the club forgotten, as instead people largely chose to focus on the positives when it was confirmed two days ago that he had been sacked.
Solskjaer’s exit interview, published by the club, is a concept that’s basically unheard of – but showed a relationship between the player, who scored the winning goal in a Champions League final, and the club, was still strong.
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“Ole will reflect with sadness, but he can be proud of the work he did in the first two years. He rebuilt the soul of the club, the club was in a dark place at the end of the Jose Mourinho era,” his old teammate Gary Neville said on Sky Sports.
Others such as David Beckham, Patrice Evra, Andy Cole, and Michael Owen all voiced their support for the departing manager as well – but perhaps most telling were current striker Cristiano Ronaldo‘s words.
“He’s been my striker when I first came to Old Trafford and he’s been my coach since I came back to Man United,” the Portuguese superstar wrote on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/cristiano/status/1462723282323615752?s=21
“But most of all, Ole is an outstanding human being. I wish him the best in whatever his life has reserved for him. Good luck, my friend! You deserve it!”
Such plaudits for managers who’ve just been sacked are rare. Players may privately be sad to see a coach leave but an outward display of affection from someone with one hundred million followers is another thing all together.
https://twitter.com/StretfordPaddck/status/1462745199088746500
Current player Brandon Williams also sung Solksjaer’s praises, saying on Instagram: “You made a boys (sic) dream come true. Thank you boss.”
There can be no arguing that time was up for Solskjaer at the club – despite spending untold amounts of cash, the team was getting no closer to running down their domestic rivals, nor making headway in the Champions League.
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The Red Devils are currently languishing in eighth place on the ladder roughly one third through the season, 12 points behind Chelsea, nine behind Manchester City, and eight behind arch-rivals Liverpool.
Solksjaer said in that exit interview how proud he had been to manage such a prestigious club, and despite the way it ended, he will always have a home at Old Trafford.
“It’s one of those things you dream of in your life. When you’ve been a player, when you’ve been a reserve team coach, the next job then, the only dream and the only thing you haven’t done is to manage the club, and I have now,” he said.
“It’s been a ball, it’s been absolutely enjoyable from the first to the last minute.”
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