Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is Manchester United through and through.
He scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for United, he took his first steps into coaching by taking charge of the club’s reserves in 2008 and Solskjaer now finds himself in the dugout of Old Trafford.
Last week, Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho until the end of the season and got his first game in charge off to the perfect start with a 5-1 victory over former side Cardiff City, the first time the Red Devils have scored five goals in a game since Alex Ferguson’s 2013 retirement.
With United in his blood, Solskjaer understandably isn’t the biggest fan of arch-rivals Liverpool and that was made clear in an exchange with a Liverpool-supporting Irish reporter five years ago.
JJ Devaney was covering a Champions League qualifier between Sligo Rovers and Molde, then managed by Solskjaer, and the journalist’s post-match revelation that he supports Liverpool brought about a telling reaction from the Norwegian.
“I went up and there were a few journalists gathered around,” Devaney told the Caught Offside podcast, as transcribed by Manchester Evening News. “You know me in social situations – shameless and straight to the point – so I stuck out my hand and I said, ‘Ole, I’m delighted to meet you’.
“And he fixed me with those blue eyes and they are kind of piercing and he does look younger than the age he actually is.
“So I shook hands with him and said, ‘Listen I thought you were a fantastic player, brilliant player, and even though I’m a Liverpool fan I just wanted to shake your hand.’
“You would think that’s really nice. He didn’t move a muscle in that face. His eyes fixed on me and he said, straight up, with no jocularity: ‘If I’d known you were a Liverpool fan, I wouldn’t have shaken your hand.'”
