After just a couple of practices with the Red Bulls, a couple of things were readily apparent regarding newcomer Jan Gunnar Solli. The Norwegian National Teamer is going to do a lot of working and running; and he’s going to do it from multiple positions all over the field, an do it with a smile.
“I see myself as a team player, and, wherever the coach wants me to play, (I’ll play),’’ Solli said yesterday. “Based on my last season, I played mostly midfield and had some good games, obviously, or else they wouldn’t have signed me.
“Hopefully, I can be the running midfielder, the guy that works really hard from box-to-box, and who likes to do the long runs. And also for me, it’s not important to be on the ball full-time. If I can make a long run to open up space for other players, that’s a part of my game.”
Coach Hans Backe has been a huge fan of Solli game for awhile, trying to acquire him years ago when managing in Copenhagen. The Red Bulls offered SK Brann a transfer fee for him last summer, but Brann _ whom Solli helped lead to their first Norwegian title since 1963, and the UEFA Cup Round of 32 _ rejected it.
Backe and GM Erik Soler patiently bided their time and landed Solli on a free transfer this winter. And what they got is a versatile team player who can and probably will line up at right midfield, central midfield and right back at various times throughout the season, a coach’s dream.
“He can play different positions. He has been a very all-around player,’’ said Backe. “He can play right fullback, he can play wide right, half-right and probably also in a central midfield position; but I think at the beginning now we’ll try to use him more in the midfield, more in like a half-right because of his work ethic.”
He’d put that work ethic on display for a decade in his native Norway, starting his pro career at Odd Grenland in 2000. Eventually Norwegian power Rosenborg BK scooped him up and he played 85 games from 2003-06, helping them win three league titles and a Norwegian Cup in 2003 before moving to Brann.
Now the 29-year-old Solli is ready for a new challenge, and longtime admirer Backe offered him a challenge on the New York stage, alongside world-renowned co-stars Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez.
“I think I just needed a new challenge,’’ said Solli. “I’ve been playing professional back in Norway for 10 years and have experienced a quite lot in my life; so now I felt like I was just ready to do something a little bit new.
“And of course Hans wanted me here; that was a big reason why I wanted to make the move…(and) of course to be able to play on a team with Thierry Henry or Rafa Marquez. And also now, I’ve just experienced there’s a lot of other good players here as well, so the challenge, I think that was the main thing.”
The coaching staff regards Solli _ who has 40 caps for Norway _ to be as impactful on the field as Estonian import Joel Lindpere was last season, when he was named the Red Bulls’ team MVP. But Solli, a bachelor, is likely to enjoy himself off the field as well in New York, an accomplished DJ who has played in Las Vegas, and here in Oslo.
“The thing is, I keep my priorities straight though, so it’s no trouble for me,’’ said Solli. “I’ve chosen a little different in my life: I’m 29-years-old, still single guy, so whenever we have some days off, that’s something I can go here in New York as well. It’s all about networking and stuff like that. We’ll see; when the time is right, maybe I’ll spin a few records.”
Here is another example of Solli spinning here:
“People ask me “What do you want to see in New York?’ What is there NOT
to see?” said Solli. “It’s so big a city. To come here and experience soccer and that challenge, that was my main thing. And to have the city there, whenever we have the days off and I feel I have the energy enough to experience some of it, then I’m a happy guy.’’
If he performs the way the Red Bulls expect him to, New York fans will be happy as well.
