FOOTBALL | Perceived slight from Ferguson spurred me on in Champions League final: Ole Gunnar

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reflects on his famous 1999 Champions League-winning goal and discusses player responsibility.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the centrepiece of one of the most dramatic moments in club football. With a stab of the right foot and a late, late winner against Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final, Solskjaer scripted a famous Manchester United title win. 

The Norwegian, who came on as a substitute on that night at Barcelona, stated that the goal came as a result of a perceived slight from his manager Alex Ferguson.

At half-time, with Manchester United trailing 0-1, Ferguson chose to bring Teddy Sheringham on first, which upset Solskjaer. Sheringham, of course, went on to score the equaliser before Solskjaer stole the show.

“At half-time, Sir Alex talked to Teddy and got him ready to go on. But I was in good form that season, so I was thinking, ‘Why are you not speaking to me? Why are you talking to Teddy?’, Solskjaer said here on Friday.

“So I got myself ready because I knew something special was bound to happen. I play better when I’m a bit angry. I wanted to show Sir Alex that he made a mistake by not putting me on earlier.”

The former Manchester United forward and manager is in the city on a visit hosted by Tilak Gaurang Shah, founder of ‘Ace of Pubs’.

As a child, Solskjaer often dreamed about scoring a magical goal. “I have scored that goal thousands of times when I was a kid. I remember playing football on my own and telling myself, ‘If you score this, you win the European Cup’. I imagined myself being Marco van Basten or Zico. And when it actually happened in 1999, it was all a blur,” Solskjaer said.