It was probably just the heat that prompted Ole Gunnar Solskjær to go for the controlled casual look in Manchester United’s last game against Copenhagen, though there was no mistaking that the figure sitting alone in the dugout in white shirtsleeves looked cooler and more relaxed than his more animated counterpart, Ståle Solbakken.
Perhaps that is no big deal, though Solskjær at the moment can arguably do relaxed better than Jürgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola. Less than two years after returning to Manchester United as manager he is almost at the Carlo Ancelotti level of detached serenity, but with considerably better results. The background noise that accompanied his first year back in the Premier League, the good luck charm effect of a fresh-faced antidote to José Mourinho wearing off as soon as his caretaker status was made permanent and the doubts that surrounded the club sticking with a relative novice when Mauricio Pochettino had made himself available for the job subsided some time ago.
You don’t have to scroll too far back on United messageboards to find supporters still disparaging their manager as Noddy and disputing his every decision, but finishing third in the Premier League has put paid to all that. That and the palpable improvement since Bruno Fernandes arrived in January and Paul Pogba was successfully reassimilated after a long period sitting on the sidelines.
As even Solskjær would admit Liverpool and Manchester City are miles in front of everyone else, there is a widespread acceptance that third is the best United can currently manage. To say there was scepticism at the start of the season over whether they could achieve a Champions League finish would be to understate the case considerably, but Solskjær and his players delivered, and in the end it was no fluke. Arsenal and Tottenham are now the teams with problems, while United can concentrate on reinforcing their already strong position by making Champions League type signings, difficult as that may prove in the case of Jadon Sancho.
The manager, his staff and – unpopular opinion alert – executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward deserve credit for this steady improvement, if only because so many people who said they were wrong 12 months ago have now been forced to reconsider.
The two main criticisms of Solskjær were that a) he was far too inexperienced to be in charge of a club the size of Manchester United, and b) that he was simply and deliberately a mini-me version of Sir Alex Ferguson, complete with regular references to United’s DNA and the club’s fondness for attacking football.
Both those charges can now be easily denied. In search of experience and know-how United first turned to Louis van Gaal and then Mourinho, two unimaginative appointments that duly fell flat. There would be no takers at Old Trafford for a return to their soporific style of football over what is on offer at present.
Solskjær was not supposed to be an imaginative appointment, he was more of a stop-gap, a friendlier face, perhaps even an act of desperation, but if the brief was to turn the clock back to happier times at the club then he has more than fulfilled it. Not only has he achieved third place in his first full season; he has brought young players through from the Academy, improved Anthony Martial, moved out some big names and produced a leaner, fitter, infinitely more watchable side.
Having accomplished that much, Solskjær could be forgiven for turning his back on the Europa League to give his players a much-needed rest and begin preparations for next season, though evidently he does not think that way. When Mourinho won this glorified consolation prize in 2017 it was necessary for Champions League qualification. Solskjær has no need of such a safety net, yet he still named his strongest side for the quarter-final against Copenhagen, and in advance of today’s game against Sevilla has insisted that semi-final exits can never be satisfactory for a club of United’s stature. He has suffered two already this season, in the Carabao and FA Cup, so he should know.
There would be no particular disgrace at going out at this stage of the competition to a team as handy as Sevilla, but Solskjær wants more.
When you are 90 minutes from a final you have an opportunity, after all. The Europa League will not count for much when set against the grander prizes in United’s silverware collection, but a first trophy with the club would mean a great deal to Solskjær. It famously took Ferguson four years to win anything at United, four years during which his suitability for the job was constantly questioned.
Pochettino’s credentials as Tottenham manager were never scrutinised in the same way because of the demonstrable improvement season on season, but in the end one of the most uplifting periods in Spurs’ history concluded without a trophy. Solskjær does not need to be told any of that. Ferguson is his great mentor, Pochettino the cloud under which his Old Trafford managerial career began.
No one would pretend that success in this competition will buy as much time for Solskjær as the 1990 FA Cup did for Ferguson. The value placed on various trophies has changed enormously over the past 30 years, while managers’ timeframes have concertinaed alarmingly. But reaching a final is never a bad idea, whether it proves to be the first of many or the only such opportunity that arises.
Solskjær knows that, too. Quite possibly through his DNA.
