Baby Faced Assassin: The Biography of Mancester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

by Ian Macleay

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is an Old Trafford legend. After three injury-ravaged years, he blazed back to reignite his career and that of his club, Manchester United. His fantastic goals have thrown out a challenge to the Abramovich empire which had emerged in his absence and risen to dominate the Premiership, challenging Man United's position as the world's greatest club. Famous for his youthful looks and uncanny ability to score in the dying minutes of important games, often coming on as a 'super-sub', he's one of football's most cerebral and naturally gifted strikers. His last-gasp winner in injury time against Barcelona in 1999's Champions League final helped secure the crowning glory of Man Utd's glorious Treble. Plagued by a knee injury, Solskjaer has nonetheless earned sixty caps for Norway, and continues to put them away to deadly effect for his club, who never tire of singing 'You Are My Solskjaer' whether he's on the pitch or not. And he's committed his future to Old Trafford with the prospect of coaching duties after 2008, where his knowledge of the game, skill and attitude can continue to benefit his adopted home. In this informative and insightful book, sports writer Ian MacLeay charts the highs and lows of The Baby Faced Assassin's career to provide an in-depth look at both the man and the striker who looks set to go down in history alongside Denis Law and Jimmy Greaves. It is a must-read for any sports fan.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Trae Mitten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the name, this is hardly a biography of Ole. It is really a recap of how United performed during Ole's tenure as a Red, with footnotes about Ole's performance during the seasons and matches. The book touched on Ole the man at barely a surface depth, and really robbed the reader of getting to know this amazing player. Disappointing.

[Geoff Airey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite massively enjoying Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's career as a player at Manchester United, I did not enjoy this book.
In lots of ways, the book is barely even about Ole, it's about events based around him, descriptions of matches and unneeded tangents about other players.
The book is slack and lazy trotting out incorrect "facts" like that Law's backheeled goal relegated United in 73 (United were relegated despite the result of that match), misspelling Eric Morecambe's surname, when talking about the end of the 1999/2000 season Cristiano Ronaldo is describes as an emerging superstar (he didn't even start playing professionally until 2002), describing Everton and Manchester United as Lancashire neighbours (when neither club sat in Lancashire during Solkjear's time at the club) and disgracefully dubbing the Blackburn owner Jack Walker as a "Mini Abramovic"
Tangents about other players, Robbie Earle "Now a TV Pundit", Neil Ruddock "Who later went on I'm a celebrity", and Irrelevant information 96/97 United are about to play Everton, the author makes a point that Rooney wasn't yet a player.
The writer regularly gives the impressions that only goal scorers affect a game, when for a significant period United's Back four and Goalkeeper were responsible for the fact that United was regularly at or near the top of the table for most clean sheets and Least goals conceded year after year.
Only read this book if you're a massive Solskjaer fan.

[Eirik Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rett og slett dødsbra

[Michael G Dickinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

superb book about a true legend