Yang penting bukan berapa lama kita hidup, tetapi bagaimana kita hidup. No substitute for super-sub Ole
They do not make strikers like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer any more. There are frontmen who score more goals, who play more matches, who suffer less injuries and possess bigger egos. But in a world in which strikers invariably receive the richest rewards, Solskjaer, whose enduring knee problems have finally prompted his retirement at the age of 34, was an example to all. A man who put loyalty to Manchester United above personal fortune and whose willingness to put the team above his own self interest was perhaps his greatest asset. In these days of grasping agents, third party ownership and perennial club-hopping it is good to see that United recognise such qualities so much that Solskjaer will stay on at Old Trafford as a coach and continue in his role as a club ambassador. When Solskjaer kissed the United badge after scoring one of the 126 goals he netted in 366 appearances in 11 years at Old Trafford you knew the sentiment was heartfelt and not the empty gesture it appears from more vacuous characters. More than anything that loyalty was what endeared the Norwegian striker with the innocent smile to football at large. That and an uncanny knack to come off the bench and score vital goals. Lots of them. Such as the four he once scored in the space of 12 minutes in an 8-1 away win at Nottingham Forest. Or the four he scored at home against Everton. One, however, transcends all others, the reflex lunge which won the Champions League final for United against Bayern Munich in 1999 to secure a famous Treble which ensures Solskjaer his place in history. You had to be there at the Nou Camp stadium on that heady night in Barcelona to appreciate the drama of that moment. To see the sheer joy on the faces of United old-boys such as Tony Dunne, Alex Stepney and Nobby Stiles up in the stands. To appreciate the gut-wrenching effect on the Germans who had dominated that final only to see the trophy wrested from them so cruelly in injury time. No wonder they called Solskjaer the "baby-faced assassin". The fact is that a fit Solskjaer, free of the cruciate knee damage which was to blight the latter years of his career, was Sir Alex Ferguson's banker. The player he could trust and would turn to when inspiration from other sources had run dry. Perhaps only Liverpool's supersub of the 1970s, the carrot-haired David Fairclough, has come close to providing the impact from the bench which Solskjaer supplied so regularly. How ironic then that Solskjaer should be forced to bow out just when Ferguson needed him most. United may have spent more than £50million on team strengthening during the summer but their stuttering start to the season can be traced directly to a dearth of strikers. With Alan Smith having been sold to Newcastle and Guiseppe Rossi to Villarreal plus Wayne Rooney suffering from a fractured foot and concerns over the fitness of Louis Saha, in reality Carlos Tevez, a man still finding his feet at his new club, is the lone striker still standing. That is no way to begin the defence of a Premier League title and why a swirl of speculation still surrounds Ferguson's potential interest in capturing a Dimitar Berbatov or a Nicolas Anelka before the transfer window closes. Football's big trophies are won by teams with deep squads and prolific goal-scorers. And, as Ferguson knows only too well, there is no substitute for a substitute like Solskjaer. sumber : http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1778_2690971,00.html Solskjaer the perfect professional Premier League Manchester United by Phil McNulty - BBC Sport 28 August 2007 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brings the curtain down on 11 years at Old Trafford with one simple statement of fact proving his worth. No-one - inside or outside Old Trafford - can muster up a single bad word to say about the Norwegian whose boyish appearance won him the nick-name "The Baby-Faced Assassin." Solskjaer has caused many a curse from opposing teams and supporters with his unerring eye for the target, or his uncanny habit of scoring the goals that win matches, and on occasion trophies. But once partisanship is removed from the equation, Solskjaer will receive nothing other than praise or respect from every football fan. In an era of big-spending and even bigger egoes, has there ever been a better value-for-money deal than the £1.5m Sir Alex Ferguson paid Molde for Solskjaer's services in 1996? 366 appearances and 126 goals later, it is difficult to come up with a better transfer concluded by Ferguson. At a time when many clubs, paricularly Liverpool, were having mixed fortunes in the fledgling Norwegian market, Ferguson hit the jackpot in quite spectacular fashion when he unearthed Solskjaer. The highlight of Solskjaer's career will always be that winner in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich, capping United's dramatic injury-time comeback. But earlier that season he kept the treble bid on course with another late, late winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup at Old Trafford. This was Solskjaer in essence - maybe not a scorer of great goals, but a great goalscorer and a scorer of priceless goals. He was a better footballer than many gave him credit for, so much more than a penalty area predator. Indeed, it was his ability to flourish in a right-flank role that helped persuade Ferguson it was time to sell David Beckham to Real Madrid in 2003. Sadly, persistent injury problems meant Ferguson's theory was never fully put to the test. Solskjaer the player has been suitably decorated, his career well-chronicled. But admiration is just as great for Solskjaer the professional. Solskjaer has never put a foot out of place at Old Trafford, never caused Ferguson a moment's trouble. He has taken his place on the bench when he may have felt he deserved to be in the starting line-up. The striker made his point emphatically, but not with words or threats. He responded by turning games too numerous to mention after emerging as a substitute. And on one memorable occasion, he scored four times in the last 20 minutes after coming on in an 8-1 win at Nottingham Forest. And in a time when foreigners infiltrating our game are often portrayed as money-grasping mercenaries, Solskjaer has displayed nothing but unswerving loyalty to Old Trafford. Contrast his demeanour with Gabriel Heinze, a player who never came close to touching his achievements or affection at United. Heinze attempted to engineer a move to arch-rivals Liverpool before eventually skulking off to Real Madrid. It was behaviour that would not have entered the head of Solskjaer. It was loyalty repaid by Ferguson when he handed him a new contract despite constant injury problems. Solskjaer's retirment will sadden Ferguson both professionally and personally, but he may yet return in a coaching or ambassadorial role. And, knowing Solskjaer, he would continue to be a credit to himself, United and football. sumber : http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A26353523 Salah satu pemain united yang selalu memberikan harapan terciptanya keajaiban adalah OLE.. Saat United membutuhkan harapan, sang supersub itu selalu hadir membawa keajaiban.. Saat dia dimasukkan sebagai pengganti, harapan keajaiban selalu muncul kembali di setiap pecinta united.. Mudah untuk menemukan striker hebat..tapi semudah itukah menemukan sosok sefenomenal OLE yang mampu selalu membawa keajaiban finishing ketika ia dimainkan sebagai pengganti.. Mudah menemukan pemain hebat untuk menjadi legenda..tapi semudah itukah menemukan legenda yang rela dan setia menanti kesempatan untuk bermain sebagai pemain pengganti.. OLE mungkin telah pensiun, tapi ia meninggalkan fenomena bagi setiap pemain bola dunia bahwa bintang tidak harus bermain setiap saat, tapi seorang bintang hanya membutuhkan mental untuk memaksimalkan setiap saat yang diberikan untuk membuat keajaiban.. Farewell OLE, you are legend for us.. forever n ever you still UNITED.. by : raveexs "You r my Solksjaer, my only Solksjaer, You make us happy, when skies r grey Cause when it's boring, you just keep scoring Please don't take my Solksjaer away..." Anda cuma bisa hidup sekali saja didunia ini, tetapi jika anda hidup dengan benar, sekali saja sudah cukup. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
