Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - 2OLEgend

He always used to put the team before his personal interests and always considered himself just another cog in the wheel. Solskjaer displayed this trait in another defining moment during the 1998 season against Newcastle United when he was sent off for committing a professional foul on Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee. The match was all square at 1-1, and United needed at least a point to keep themselves in the hunt for the title. Rob Lee, the Newcastle midfielder, found himself through on goal, and would have certainly scored, until Solskjaer who ran two thirds of the pitch, committed a professional foul, knowing that he would be given his marching orders and would be suspended for further games, and thereby denying the Toons a victory. This was immediately recognised by fans all over the world, which earned him the praise for his selfless act for the club.

After coming on a ‘super sub’ for few years and scoring his customary goals, he was also used as a right winger by Sir Alex Ferguson during the early 2000′s.

On the field, the Norwegian became an embodiment of Manchester United’s never-say-die attitude, and a firm fan favorite. Off the field, however, he had to admit one defeat – in his battle with persistent knee injury, due to which he had to finally call time on his trophy laden years with Manchester United, where he scored a total of 126 goals in 366 appearances. He last played for United in the testimonial match against Espanyol in 2008, which was attended by a massive crowd of 69000 people, and thereby, setting a record as the second-highest-attended testimonial in British history. However, he remained with United in a coaching role where he managed their reserves team for a couple of years until 2010.

Displaying their continued support for the Norwegian, the fans added a banner at Stretford End of their home stadium that read 2OLEgend ( 20 being Solskjaer’s jersey number). They also sang songs in the honour of their super sub even when he was absent from the pitch during his injury laden seasons. He further enhanced his status with the fans when he became a patron of the Manchester United Supporter’s Trust (MUST).

The ‘Baby-faced Assassin’, unlike his nickname, was a man with the purest of hearts. He used to donate a percentage of his wages to the UNICEF, and was also the ambassador for global charity UNICEF. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Peer Gynt prize, given by the Norwegian Parliament, for his work as a worthy ambassador of the sport and his great social commitment. David Gill, the former United chief executive, perfectly summed it up during Solskjaer’s testimonial match at Old Trafford by saying, ” He is a player who no-one has a bad word to say about…he is a fantastic ambassador to this club and to this sport.”