Ståle Solbakken

Date of birth: 27 February 1968
Nationality: Norwegian
Playing career: Grue IL, Ham-Kam Fotball, Lillestrøm SK, Wimbledon FC, Aalborg BK, FC København
Coaching career: Ham-Kam Fotball, FC København (twice), 1. FC Köln, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC

• Discovered at lower-league Grue, Solbakken represented Ham-Kam but made his mark as one of Norway's finest midfielders at Lillestrøm between 1994 and 1997, earning the first of his 58 caps for Norway before an ill-starred move to English side Wimbledon.

• A five-month Premier League spell ended with a switch to Denmark's AaB in 1998, where he got his career back on track, starring in the 1998/99 title success. He represented Norway at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000 prior to joining København for 2000/01.

• His København playing career lasted just 14 league games before Solbakken suffered a heart attack in training on 13 March 2001; he was revived in an ambulance 12 minutes later.

• With a pacemaker fitted he went into coaching with Ham-Kam before unexpectedly being named as Hans Backe's successor at København in 2005 by club chairman Flemming Østergaard, who has Solbakken's playing shirt hanging in his office.

• The first of five title successes in his first season vindicated the decision, Solbakken also leading the club to the 2006/07 and 2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage – reaching the round of 16 in the latter campaign – and the 2008/09 Danish Cup. After short, unsuccessful spells at Köln and Wolves, returned to København in August 2013 following Ariël Jacobs' dismissal and won the Danish league and cup double in 2016.