The Super Sub

I remember back in August 1996, when Astro was still non-existent and football fans like us have to wait at the edge of our seats, hoping, wishing that Dunhill might just sponsor a game for us to watch on the tele. I remember my heart would skip a beat every time I see an Dunhill advert on tele. I would wish with all I got hoping -- with the power of my mind I could manipulate the future -- that they might announce a live game. In August they did. And not only that, it was a double whammy...they are showing:

Manchester United v. Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford.

My team is playing. It made my week.
Getting a chance to watch the likes of Eric Cantona, Schmeichel and co taking on our then arch-rival on home soil was lovely. I don't need to watch cameo shots of them in the sports highlights. Then a bombshell was dropped. Early in the second half, -- if I'm not mistaken -- we were trailing Blackburn and it didn't seem like we were gonna break out of it. Cantona was literally chain downed by the whole Blackburn defence. Well, it's Cantona, any team would do that. That was when Ferguson unleashed an unknown. I saw at the distance, someone wearing a no. 20 shirt was ready to come on. A certain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is making his Old Trafford debut.

"Who the hell is that? Ole-what?" slowly accepting the fact that we're screwed. If Cantona can't score, we're proper screwed.

Barely 6-minutes after he came on, he scored and secured a 2-2 draw for Man Utd. He went on and score 19 goals that season, (roughly-lah, can't really recall). He consistently scores an average of 18 goals per season. Not bad for a sub, huh? Thus sealing his reputation within the Red Devil folklore. "The Baby-faced Assassin" as he is fondly called famously saved us in an FA Cup 3rd Round game with Liverpool, scoring a late winner, again, from the bench. That turn out to be his trademark as a super-sub. Which evidently lead to Man Utd winning the FA Cup that season. 1999 was Ole reaching his peak. Remember Nottingham Forest? Solskjaer scored 4-goals in just 19 minutes to trash them 8-1. That was off the bench again.

And who could forget the 1999 UEFA Champions' League at the Nou Camp. Which won us the unprecedented Cup and securing the treble. Again, he come off the bench.



Sadly, 2003 was a signal of trouble times ahead for the super-sub. Sidelined for the whole season with a cartilage injury after scoring in the 5-0 trashing of Panathinaikos. It didn't get any better for him, as he went under the knife 3 times in hope to finally shake off that injury. But it never entirely part ways with him. He made the occasional come-backs now and then, but never long enough before the injury start to haunt him again.

Somehow, in the previous season (2006/2007), magically it seems, as sudden as the injury came, it seems to have magically disappeared. Well, for the first half of the season anyway before the injury resurfaced. He did manage 11 goals in what proved to be his final season.

He announced his retirement yesterday, I couldn't believe my ears when I first heard it on Virgin Radio UK. I couldn't. I text JM about it. I think he fainted for a brief 5-seconds. Shame that it was that bloody injury. That same one that has plagued him for past 4 years. Though if you look at at. His last goal in the league is incidentally scored against Blackburn, when we beat them 4-1 last term. As a sub, on the 90th minute. A little bit poetic, no?

"I've been asked many times what's the greatest moment of my United career,' said Solskjaer.

"Scoring that goal in my first game and turning round to see that Eric Cantona was the first one coming towards me to celebrate, that just made me realise, 'I'm at Old Trafford now'."

I love that quote.
Well, here's to the Ole! The striker that won us the treble and our hearts.

We'll miss you.