Man United Europa League triumph would surpass winning treble - Solskjaer
Football
By
Mirror
| Aug 09, 2020
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says winning the Europa League as manager of Manchester United will be his greatest-ever achievement.
United jet out to Germany on Sunday for a mini-tournament having already sealed their return to the Champions League with a third-placed finish in the Premier League.
And Solskjaer is desperate to lift his first trophy as United boss.
The 47-year-old, who won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League as a player and scored the goal that clinched the 1999 Treble, insists prevailing in Cologne on August 21 would be his finest moment.
Solskjaer said: “I am ambitious - and one of my dreams is to lift the trophy as a manager for this club.
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“That would be the proudest moment of my life.
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“I owe my football career to this club so, to lift a trophy as a manager, would be the biggest achievement in my career.
“I was part of a fantastic team. Sometimes you just ride a wave on the sea you are in.
“The team I was in carried me. Roy Keane would say his back was sore because he carried me! And he is probably right.
“I contributed as well as I could, I was always ready for the team and the club.
“But if I could lift a trophy as a manager, that would be the proudest moment of my career without a doubt.”
United face Copenhagen in Cologne on Monday night.
Roma or Seville are looming in the quarter-finals.
And Solskjaer believes lifting a European trophy can be a springboard for another period of success after seeing his side lose two semi-finals this season.
He said: “Winning trophies makes you think ‘I want more of this.’
“It also means more dedication and more focus because it makes you think ‘this is what I wanted.’
“Some players may rest on their laurels once they have won something, but looking at this group it would mean what we’re doing now is working.
“It’s all in their hands. They know they’re at Man United and know we have the resources to build.
“We put a plan together as a club 18 months ago when I sat down with Ed Woodward and it wasn’t going to be a quick fix.
“We want to build. We have been to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup and the FA Cup and the next step is to get past that.
“That would be another step forward for this team.”