Norway’s leading international soccer player of all time, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, steps down from the sport after 11 years in England's Premier League.
8/29/2007 :: The internationally renowned soccer player announced his retirement from Manchester United on August 28, 2007. The reason is the lasting effect of a knee injury he sustained in 2003. Although he will no longer be seen in action as a player at Old Trafford, Solskjaer is set to appear as a coach for the club.
After 366 matches and 126 for Manchester United, there is not even the slightest sign of a celebrity attitude within the Norwegian soccer player. He is still just a humble 'kid' from Kristiansund, on the west cost of Norway.
Low key man
“I’m very pleased with my achievements as a soccer player. I can look at myself in the mirror and tell myself that I did what I could,” Solskjaer said in a typically modest way only Scandinavians know, at a press conference.
UNICEF ambassador
He holds the name of one of the world’s best soccer players, but he is also a man of social consciousness, and has taken action to promote children’s rights through his work as a UNICEF ambassador with his team.
Many names
Solskjaer is a legend within his sports genre. In Manchester he is known by many names, such as “Sunny,” “20Legend” or just “Legend.” The supporters have even granted him with his own chant. While he was still playing in Norway, he soon got the nick-name “Goalskjaer” (“Målskjær”).
Early start
Solskjaer made his debut for Clausenengen in his hometown when he was 17 years old. In 1994, Åge Hareide, the current coach for the Norwegian national team, brought the legend to Molde Football Club, before he headed off to Manchester in 1996.
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs