Wednesday will see Manchester United in their very first cup final in the Solskjaer era and the Norwegian will need all the help he can get.
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Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has flown to Gdansk for the final of the UEFA Europa League against Villareal with the team on Tuesday as current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to recreate the spirit of the 1999 UEFA Champions League final. Solskjaer was a part of the legendary 1999 treble-winning side that beat Bayern Munich in the final in injury time to lift the treble. To this day, that squad remains the only English side to ever lift the treble. It was also the match that had made Solskjaer a United legend as he scored the winning goal in injury time to hand the Red Devils a dramatic victory.
Wednesday will see Manchester United in their very first cup final in the Solskjaer era and the Norwegian will need all the help he can get. He had previously held a record of crashing out of the semi-finals at almost every single competition, therefore, the match will mean more to him than anyone. Solskjaer also believes that winning the Europa League could be the trigger for the team to re-live its glory days.
Ferguson, who was manager of the club for 26 years, has won countless trophies, including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues. He is considered to be one of the greatest managers in the history of the game and the best ever in the Premier League.
The only players in the current squad who have had the privilege of working with the Scot are goalkeeper David De Gea and midfielder Paul Pogba. Pogba, however, was very young at the time and probably did not have as many training sessions with him as De Gea.
As a former player under Sir Alex, Solskjaer will hope that his former manager can instill the same level of confidence as he did during his managerial days and see the Red Devils win the first trophy of the Solskjaer era.
United will face Villareal on Wednesday in the final of the Europa League. The biggest blow to Solskjaer’s men will be the injury problems of skipper Harry Maguire. The defender has traveled with the squad to Gdanks but it is highly unlikely that he will start the match.
