Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits interest in manager job
Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has expressed interest in becoming the next head coach of Norway’s national team.
Solskjaer hasn’t returned to a formal role in football since his three-year spell in charge of United came to an end in November 2021 but could be tempted back if his country comes calling.
The 51-year-old, who values a peaceful family life in his remote hometown, has been careful about not diving back into management for something that may not be the right fit.
Stale Solbakken is the incumbent Norway boss and has been since 2020. And while Solskjaer is keen not to step on any toes, he wouldn’t rule out holding talks if the role became vacant.
„I am a proud Norwegian. If the question comes up, when Stale finds out that he doesn’t want it anymore, I’m happy to enter into a conversation,“ Solskjaer said, appearing at the Oslo Business Forum.
„It just has to be the right job and I depend on working with the right people.“
Solskjaer also admitted he would „say yes every day of the week“ if he was ever to be asked to return to Old Trafford.
Although he had his critics in English football, Solskjaer was an accomplished club manager in Norway across two spells at Molde.
Prior to his ill-fated time at Cardiff City, he won league titles in 2011 and 2012 – the club’s first two ever. They won a third within a few months of him leaving for Wales in 2014 and, having returned for a second spell, a fourth in similar fashion a year after he left for Manchester in 2018.
Emerging towards the end of a early/mid-1990s golden generation, Solskjaer scored 23 times in 67 appearances for Norway during an international career that spanned 12 years. He played at the World Cup in 1998, as well as Euro 2000 two years later.
Norway haven’t qualified for a major tournament since. But with Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard spearheading a new generation that features a number of players at clubs in Europe’s top five leagues, there is renewed hope ahead of an expanded World Cup in 2026.