Solbakken’s support apparatus: Picking up «just» old acquaintances
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This has resulted in a childhood friend and a number of long-standing employees being his closest supporters.
The most recent signing – Martin Langagergaard – the national team manager worked closely with FC Copenhagen.
– We are entering a year where a lot is at stake. The EC in Germany in 2024 is going to be a fantastic championship, and then we have to do everything we can to get there, says Ståle Solbakken about the team he has now put together.
Langagergaard is far from the only one with FCK history who has become part of the national team’s support apparatus.
– It is deliberate, of course it is. It is easier for me to get what I want in the entire Norwegian Football Association when I have a lot of people with me who I know, who know the subject and who can complement each other, Solbakken previously told TV 2.
FCK 2.0
Analysis manager Andrew Findlay, Bård Wiggen, physical trainer Bjørn Vidar Stenersen and assistant Brede Hangeland have all collaborated with Solbakken in the Danish capital.
– I have never worked with Brede. So he is completely new, says Solbakken.
– But you bought him for FCK and made him captain?
– Yes, we have had a dialogue for a long time. But still, this is a new team in many ways. I also brought the entire support apparatus from the period for Lars (Lagerbäck) and Perry (Per Joar Hansen), points out the national team manager.
While Findlay was brought to FCK as chief scout, Stenersen was involved as a physical trainer both in FCK and in Cologne.
Brede Hangeland was Solbakken’s first signing in FCK, where he played 63 games under his management. Wiggen was Solbakken’s assistant in FCK and has reached subject coordinator in NFF.
– Not too tight
In addition to the FCK history, Solbakken has brought in childhood friend Kent Bergersen as assistant coach.
– «Kenta» is a childhood friend, yes, but he is fantastic on the field. Neither have I ever worked with football, says Ståle Solbakken.
– Could it be too close ties with those you have brought in?
– No, because we have never worked together like that. In any case, we must not use it as an excuse or explanation for anything, he replies.
The only exception to recent signings who work closely with the rental football professional, who does not have a history with Ståle Solbakken, is Pål Fjelde who helps to analyze. He currently works at Viking.
Another exception who has no Solbakken connection from the past is deadball coach Bernardo Cueva.
He was brought in last October, but his engagement in the NFF is already over.
– All natural
TV 2’s football expert Solveig Gulbrandsen, who was present in Dublin and followed the match against Ireland on Thursday evening, less that the national team managers have historically been given quite free rein to bring in assistants.
In his time, Per-Mathias Høgmo received, among other things, criticism for bringing in a very large support apparatus.
– I think it is quite natural and common for a national team manager to bring in people he trusts. The fact that he can work with people he knows well, I think is more important than that you absolutely have to bring in people from outside, says Solveig Gulbrandsen.
She believes that the team for Ståle Solbakken seems broadly composed.
While Kent Bergersen has worked as a coach in Norway, analysis manager Andrew Findlay has a background in English football.
Brede Hangeland has the same – as a player.
– I feel the team at Solbakken has quite complementary skills. Among other things, I think it was smart to bring in Brede Hangeland, who has a slightly different and fresher background as a player and others in the team and is also very good at defending.
– What you can ask is whether the team should have had more championship experience, but they should bring that in when they come to the championship, says Solveig Gulbrandsen with a smile.
She points out that it can be a pitfall by bringing in so many old acquaintances.
– The day things don’t go so well, then it’s something people will use against him. Should Norway not make it to the EC in 2024, people will soon be able to use it against Ståle Solbakken, says Gulbrandsen.
– People I trust
In the main, Solbakken has brought in new impulses when it comes to the support apparatus on the field, but here too it is an exception.
Frode Grodås – by the way, a man Solbakken played a total of 107 official matches in the team together at both Lillestrøm and the Norwegian A national team – has been the national team’s goalkeeper coach for a number of years and continues to be so.
But when it comes to contributing more behind the scenes, Solbakken has brought with him the team that has been with previous national team generations.
Among other things, the physiotherapists Thomas Ødegaard and Leif Arne Lystad have a long history with the national team, player Ola Sand has been involved for several years and behind the scenes Are Hokstad is the man who has run much of the organization for the national team for a number of years.
Ståle Solbakken also had a say in the team when media manager and former Stabæk profiler Morten Skjønsberg was hired – this is another person Solbakken has not worked with before.
But among those who really work most closely with sports, seven out of nine appointments under the Solbakken regime are people with whom the main character has worked in the past.
– So far, I think this team has impressed me tactically. They are gaining more and more experience and think Norway is taking a step every game in important areas to get to a championship. In addition, they have created a layer and a common understanding of roles and what Norway must stand for and requirements for it to be done. That is the most important thing you do as national team manager, says Solveig Gulbrandsen.
Ståle Solbakken is confident that it is a strength for the national team that he has people he trusts in his team.
– When I hire someone, they are allowed to do the job with one hundred percent. These are people I trust, says Solbakken.
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