Ole Gunnar Solskjaer trying to win his first trophy as manager of Manchester United against Villarreal in the Europa League final on Wednesday, confident the victory could ignite another period of continued success at Old Trafford. The 48-year-old Norwegian will always be remembered for his late winner in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich, and Solskjaer is keen to integrate into the club’s rich history.
After helping Alex regain their first four consecutive rankings for the first time since Alex Ferguson’s retirement from the club’s last Premier League title in 2013, Solskjaer ended his four-year wait for a silverware in Gdansk. Manchester United will face Villarreal tomorrow on 26th May for the UEFA Europa League final in Poland.
He said, “You always feel pressured to win things at Manchester United.” Progress in the league shows progress. The next step is to win trophies and challenge in the Premier League. “
“Winning a trophy can give you confidence, but it can make you more hungry. When you win things, you just want to earn more, you want to feel the feeling of taking trophies again. I know my players will think they can win it and we can move on to better things, but when you get a taste of the first one, it’s a big step in the right direction.”
Solskjaer’s first four semi-finals as United’s head coach ended in defeat, including a 2–1 defeat to eventual champions Sevilla in last season’s Europa League reshuffle.
Since replacing Jose Mourinho in December 2018, the club has finished sixth, third and second in the Premier League this season due to United’s gradual improvement under Solskjaer.
Solaskar said, “We worked together for two-and-a-half years and almost made the finals after the lapses. It is one thing to reach the finals, but when you reach the finals, you have to win it. On those nights when you win the trophy, it brings everyone together, it is a celebration.”
“It didn’t make me a better player when we won in ’99. It didn’t make us a better individual player, but as a group, we thought we could win more things and we won the league comfortably over the next few seasons. “
