May 26, 1999 – “Beckham…into Sheringham…AND SOLSKJAER HAS WON IT!”
Those were the words uttered by Clive Tyldesley on that famous night in Barcelona when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored perhaps the most memorable injury time winner in living memory to help Manchester United beat Bayern Munich, win the Champions League title against all odds and complete the Treble.
But things could have been very different if Alan Shearer had signed for the Reds in the summer of 1996. Sir Alex Ferguson had once again entered the race for Shearer’s services, after missing out the first time around to Blackburn Rovers. After joining the club from Southampton, Shearer had helped Rovers to their first ever Premier League title, pipping United at the death, and was turning into a prolific scorer for club and country.
Furthermore, Shearer had just come off a brilliant tournament for England at Euro 96, scoring five goals as England were knocked out on penalties against Germany in the semi finals. With Blackburn finishing seventh in the league after their title-winning season, Shearer was bound for a move away from the club.
United went in for Shearer again after his fantastic tournament, and indeed the striker came close to a move to Old Trafford after holding extended talks with Ferguson, but Shearer’s hometown club Newcastle United would put a spanner in the works. Both clubs agreed fees with Blackburn Rovers, and it would be down to Shearer to decide which club he would be joining.
Shearer’s love of his hometown club won out, and he would join Newcastle for a then world record fee of £15 million. Shearer later said that he would have joined the Reds if the Magpies hadn’t joined the race for his signature. Speaking to the BBC back in 2013, he said: “If it wasn’t for my love of Newcastle then I would’ve had to sign for Sir Alex. I was that close I’d actually found a house in Manchester.”
Shearer’s move would turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Solskjaer, who had just arrived at Old Trafford that same summer for a fee of £1.5 million from Norwegian club Molde. 31 goals in 38 league appearances had convinced Ferguson to take a punt on the striker, who was a virtual unknown outside of his native Norway. It was expected that upon his arrival, Solskjaer would play a bit-part role behind Eric Cantona and Andy Cole in the pecking order, but within weeks he would prove to be a key component of the side and the bargain signing of the Premier League season, if not the decade.
Solskjaer was renowned for being the ultimate impact substitute, coming off the bench late in games to score crucial goals. Six minutes into his debut, he scored his first goal against Blackburn Rovers, and in his first season at Old Trafford, he scored 18 goals to finish as United’s top goalscorer and helping the Reds to the Premier League title. He was also nicknamed the “Babyface Assassin” by the British media, due to his youthful looks and his deadly finishing ability.
Solskjaer wanted to make the best of any situation, and spent most of his time analysing the opposition on the bench and taking advantage when he came on. Speaking to Norwegian magazine Josimar, he said: “I had to think about myself, how can I do the most damage for the opposition if I come on? I sat there and I studied football games but I didn’t exactly analyse their strikers. Thierry Henry could do whatever he wanted as far as I was concerned, that was Jaap Stam’s problem. Instead I would pay attention to what the defenders and full-backs were doing wrong.”
Some of his most notable goals off the bench came in that Treble-winning season, including the winner against Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup, the four goals in the span of 10 minutes against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, the most scored by a substitute, and of course, THAT goal against Bayern in the Champions League final in Barcelona. Solskjaer was the man that Sir Alex counted on when he needed a goal in the crucial moments – and the Norwegian never failed to deliver. With the arrival of Shearer, Solskjaer may well have been have shunted to the wayside, and perhaps not have had the same impact as he did.
Shearer’s arrival may have well prevented the partnership of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole being put together by Sir Alex. Yorke might have never been brought in if Shearer had made the move to Old Trafford, and that may have prevented United fans from seeing one of the greatest striker partnerships of all time. Yorke was signed from Aston Villa for a fee of £12.6 million at the beginning of the Treble-winning season, and from the moment the two were paired together, there was that instant chemistry, the sort which you would usually find in a cheap romantic comedy.
The Yorke/Cole partnership spent that season causing havoc in England and Europe. Of the 36 games they started, the Reds lost just one (against Sheffield Wednesday) and scored 81 goals. Between the both of them, they scored 53 goals to drive United towards the Treble. The most memorable goal scored by the pair was in a enthralling 3-3 draw against Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the group stage of the Champions League, and it was a sight to behold.
With the scores level just after the break, Roy Keane sent a good ball in towards Yorke. Yorke brilliantly dummied the ball through his legs, dumbfounding the defender and allowing Cole to get the ball. Cole then played the ball back to Yorke, who had run into an acre of space and dragging the defender who had been marking Cole, before Yorke played the ball to Cole, who was now free. He took a moment, composed himself, and slotted the ball past Ruud Hesp, the Barcelona keeper. The ball nestled in the bottom corner, and Cole ran off in joyous celebration.
Other goals against Brøndby, Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham showcased that telepathic ability that Yorke and Cole possessed, one that struck fear into the hearts of many sides on the continent. The arrival of Shearer would have certainly denied the opportunity for Sir Alex to put together the partnership.
Shearer’s arrival would have also perhaps jeopardised the harmony of the side. He would have wanted to start at all costs and would not have been content with a place on the bench, as Solskjaer was. In many ways, Solskjaer was happy to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to come to him, as he loved the club so much. Many clubs showed their interest in signing the Norwegian, but he wanted to stay at Old Trafford. He came very close to leaving United at the start of the Treble-winning season, as the Reds accepted an offer from Tottenham Hotspur, but Solskjaer rebuffed the approach, and would go on to play a pivotal role.
Solskjaer’s love for the club also manifested in other ways, such as the fact that he was always willing to take one for the team. The most famous instance was in April 1998, where he sacrificed himself for the cause with a professional foul on Newcastle’s Rob Lee. With United drawing 1-1 at home and slowly losing their grip on the title race, things were about to get worse when, with almost every United player up for a late corner, Lee ran the length of the pitch to be through on goal. However, he wasn’t expecting Solskjaer, who was about 10 yards behind him, to chase him down and hack him down on the edge of the area. He was inevitably shown the red card, but it helped United salvage the draw.
Solskjaer’s later seasons at Old Trafford were plagued by serious knee troubles, but he never lost hope that he would play again and his only wish was to score another goal in a United shirt. He got that wish, scoring his first Premier League goal in three years against Charlton Athletic in August 2006, and bowed towards the fans in the away end, who reciprocated in delight. The fans never lost faith while he was out recovering, and Sir Alex paid tribute to Solskjaer after the game, saying: “It was a great moment for Ole, United fans everywhere, the players and the staff. Ole has been through a torrid time with injuries for the last two years, but he’s persevered and never lost faith and has got his repayment tonight. Everyone is over the moon for him.”
Solskjaer wasn’t the most skillful of players, but his finishing ability was among the best in the world at the time, and he had the knack of coming up with the goods when it mattered the most. He will always have a place in United folklore, and up in the Stretford End hangs the banner stating: “20 LEGEND”, referring to Solskjaer’s shirt number. Undoubtedly, he proved that he was better suited for the Reds than Shearer would ever have been.
