Charlton Pays Grand Tribute

Sir Bobby Charlton believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ranks among the best ever finishers in the game, including Jimmy Greaves and Ferenc Puskas.

Manchester United's number one legend knew both players well, of course and he's one of the few who may compare them to anyone.

I daresay he knew Ole well, too and has offered grand tribute to the retired Norwegian.

'Ole is one of the best finishers I have ever seen. He was phenomenal,' Charlton said in Manchester Evening News.

'He had the same instincts in front of goals and scoring qualities of Puskas and Greaves.'

'Ole was a lethal forward and the qualities as a finisher that reminded me so much of Puskas and Greaves was firstly the fact he was a very quick thinker.

'He made his decision to hit a ball faster than most strikers and faster than goalkeepers expected. While they were setting themselves up for a shot Ole had already hit the ball.

'Also, in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper you would bet your life on Ole finishing. He never missed, just like Puskas and Greaves.

'I think that ability to think and strike quicker than most was never better illustrated than his Champions League-winning goal against Bayern Munich in Barcelona.

'There was nobody more likely to score that goal than Ole. We'd had trouble getting into the box and we needed the bounce of the ball in there.

'Once we did that then he was the ideal person to react quickly to Teddy Sheringham's knock on.'

But of course he knew Ole in person, as I said - therefore its the Norwegian's qualities as a human being that made the most lasting impression on Sir Bobby.

'Ole was very personable, polite and a true professional.'

'If anything needed to be done for the club, then he was always the first to put his hand up to do it. He did things correctly.'

'He was someone that you could put in a crowd of people and they'd be able to speak to him and he would be very receptive.

I expect that's why UNICEF appointed him as one of his ambassadors and by all accounts, he's very good at that job, something Charlton also appreciates.

'He's a very nice young man and I know, for instance, the people at UNICEF like him and appreciate his work.

'Ole has not been an ounce of trouble at United and on and off the field he is a manager's dream. He's been a great ambassador for us and I hope he will be able to stay on in some capacity.'

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