Discover Glimt's Comet: - He saw great potential in it

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There is no doubt that Ola Solbakken from Bodø/Glimt has made great strides in recent years. But it was only now when he was 23 that he had a real impact.

– It is not uncommon to break into the elite series at the age of 22-23 years. It’s unusual for you to pierce yourself when you’re 19 years old, former Ranheim Solbakken coach Sven Malin tells TV2.

Ex-Ranheim coach Sven Malin. Photo: Andersen, Christoffer / NTB Scanpix

– Ola is an example of a path that Norwegian players can often take. He was a young talent, but faced adversity in the form of injuries at a young age and spent time. He adds that Ola is good proof that you can succeed if you stick with it, develop along the way and be patient.

As part of Rosenborg’s G19 team in 2017, Solbakken was not offered any A-team contract with Team Trøndelag, but there were others who pursued the talent for a long time.

At Ranheim we were very interested in following Trøndelag football and had a very good overview of the good young players. Ola was one of the guys we followed who we saw in great potential, says Mallin.

Triple the number of minutes played

In his first season with Ranheim in 2018, Solbakken had a total of 671 minutes of play in the series and the cup. Season after increasing the number of minutes to 1967, numbers from Transfer Market. He’s nearly tripled in minutes of play from season to season.

He spent a lot of time playing in the first year and even more in the second year. Mallin thinks it’s a fantastic minute-play progression for a player in the Elite Series.

Although the 2019 season was a huge boost for Solbakken, it also saw a relegation. The season of good and bad.

– I probably think Ola 2019 had a very difficult year as we fell behind. It was another difficult arena for him to play in the elite league football very early on, but at the same time it was not too difficult because he learned a lot, Mallin says and confirms:

Landing a useful experience. You learn to stand in different positions.

– Badly installed when Glimt came to the field

In the past two years, many have opened their eyes to Solbakken, and ahead of the 2020 season, the 2019 silver winner, Bodø/Glimt, has come onto the field.

– We wanted to keep him, and it wasn’t very good when Glimt came onto the field. We’ve seen him as a key player who will help us get back into the Elite Series, says Mallin and adds:

– At the same time, it was a good opportunity for Ola. And so, we let him go, and that was good for him. Its development continued.

There is no doubt about that.

In addition to distinguishing himself in the domestic series, Solbakken has also confirmed himself in Europe for Bodø / Glimt. Four goals have been scored so far in the Conference League, two of them when Glimt crushed Roma 6-1. After that match, Solbakken, with Eric Bothem, hero mode.

– It is interesting to see that Ola has distinguished himself and introduced himself. It is important to evolve as a player. The only challenge will be dealing with what happens next in the form of attention and anticipation, Malin says and confirms that he trusts the network around Solbakken in Glimt.

– Ola faced challenges like most young players. You expect things to go really fast, and you think you’ll be able to master things. That’s fine, but there will be a reality one day in which adversity, prosperity and external pressure will be dealt with. He adds that he is likely to become more and more important in today’s football.

He has few other qualities

The goal is not surprising that Solbakken performed as well as he did in the 2021 season.

– I’m not surprised, because potential and talent were the reason we chose him. I’m also not surprised that Bodø/Glimt has repeatedly managed to develop his players, and there is a good group at the club where they manage the art of playing with each other so well. Ola is good, but it is also part of a good group in Bodo.

The goal refers to the club’s culture.

– There are values and a culture in Glimt where they manage to keep each other’s ears in, where the best will show the way to the team and no one cares about raising themselves, but rather raising the team.

The road ahead for Bodø/Glimt, both in the Elite Series and in Europe, will be exciting. It will certainly be interesting to follow the evolution of Ola Solbakken.

– Ola has some qualities in the offensive game that few others have. He has the ability to outrun people, and has quick and exciting technical skills. Malin stresses that these are the qualities he should develop further, and I really hope he succeeds.