Arise, Sir Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will forever have a place in United’s history books and in the hearts of the supporters, as a class act, a great goalscorer, a trophy winner, a model professional, and generally, a bloody good bloke.

His great nature has been recognised at the weekend with the presentation of the Royal Norwegian order of St.Olav First Class, for being an important role model. The ceremony took place in his home town, Kristiansund, where he became the youngest ever recipient of the Norwegian knighthood.

“This award is the result of the work of all those around me, both family and coaches,” said Solskjaer. “I have just tried to do my best as a footballer.”

When the announcement of the knighthood was made at the start of the year, Egil Vindorum, head of the Oslo place chancellery, explained the reasons behind it.

“What is being honored are his attitudes, his way of being. He is a role model for children and young people,” said Vindorum. “What he did on the soccer field has nothing to do with it. We’ll leave that to others, like the Norwegian Football Federation.”

The mayor of Kristiansund, Dagfinn Ripnes, reinforced this message. “Many in his position become playboys and suffer symptoms from being a star,” he said. “Ole Gunnar remained the same down-to-earth, good guy.”