Nemanja Matic spent five years at Manchester United, with the Serbian having played as both permanent and interim manager during his time at Old Trafford.
Former Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic played for four different managers during his time at Old Trafford. Manager Jose Mourinho brought him to Old Trafford, but it was the Portuguese’s successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who Matic believes was sacked too soon.
Solskjaer was appointed as Mourinho’s successor in December 2019, but was initially appointed on an interim basis before taking over permanently. He was Matic’s second United manager during his five years at Old Trafford, but he ultimately lost his job in 2021.
Michael Carrick and Ralf Rangnick took over as caretaker managers after Solskjaer was sacked following a 4-1 defeat at Watford, and United finished seventh in the Premier League. But looking back on the Norwegian’s tenure four years later, Matic insisted United pulled the trigger too soon.
“We finished second and third under him. There was a feeling within the team that we weren’t happy about finishing second, but if you look at the result now we did an amazing job,” Matic told FourFourTwo.
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“I think Ole should have taken more time. When I say Ole, I also mention his staff, including Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna. They were on the right path to get United back.”
“Of course they decided to release Ole based on the results of his last few games, but he was a great person with the right profile for the club. He and his assistants understand football, their training is perfect and they prepared us down to the last detail.”
Matic praised Solskjær, citing his ability to keep players in the team even when they were not playing regularly. The Serbian only started four of United’s 12 league games in his final season, but admitted the manager knows the club well.
Matic will leave Old Trafford in the summer of 2022 to reunite with Mourinho at Roma. He then played for Rennes and Lyon in France, and is now back at Sassuolo in Italy.
Solskjær took a break after leaving United and finally ended his ouster from management by joining Besiktas midway through the 2024-25 season. However, he was released by the Turkish club in August and spoke about a possible return to the dugout in November.
“I’m open to it. It’s not that I want to go back to England, but I love living here and I think so,” he told Stick to Football. “Kids ask me from halfway through the Championship, but I’m a football man. Is it Norway or Sweden? It’s about working with people. When I was a football manager and a Championship manager, I liked going against the odds.”
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