Norway head coach Stale Solbakken famously survived a heart attack after being clinically dead for several minutes in 2001. The former Copenhagen midfielder unexpectedly collapsed during a training session. Now, Solbakken is preparing to lead Norway into a World Cup quarter-final against England, 25 years after the incident.
Collapse and Revival
Solbakken collapsed during a training session with FC Copenhagen in 2001. Club doctor Frank Odgaard saved his life by manually massaging Solbakken's heart while emergency services were on their way. Once the ambulance arrived, he was successfully revived seven minutes later. "He was clinically dead," Odgaard later said. "It is a miracle that he is still alive; his heart had stopped beating."
The future Norway boss was placed on life support and remained unconscious for 26 hours. Doctors later discovered the episode had been caused by a heart defect. After receiving a pacemaker, Solbakken was forced to retire from professional football at the age of 33.
Impact on Family and Career
"Yes, it was a dramatic experience, but it was really worse for my family than for me because I didn't feel anything," Solbakken told UEFA in 2002. "It was simply as if the lights went out." He later added to Tribuna: "My parents flew to Denmark straight away. I was told that on the plane my mum started planning my funeral. At first they worried whether I would survive, then whether my brain would be damaged. Those were the thoughts that tormented my family and team-mates, who witnessed me collapsing, dying and being brought back to life."
Managerial Success and World Cup Run
After retiring as a player, Solbakken moved into management with Norwegian club Ham-Kam in 2002 before later returning to former side Copenhagen. During two separate spells in charge of the Danish outfit, he collected eight league championships. Surviving his heart attack gave him a different outlook on football and life. "Something like that definitely changes some things," Solbakken told the Guardian in 2006. "I guess it is afterwards, when things have calmed down, that it has helped me differentiate between what is really important in life and what isn't. I put everything into (my job) but I also know that there are other, more important things."
Solbakken's career also included spells in English football. He briefly played for Wimbledon in 1997, making six league appearances before a falling-out with manager Joe Kinnear. Years later, he became manager of Wolves following their relegation in 2012, although he remained in charge for only seven months. Internationally, Solbakken represented Norway at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. The 2026 World Cup marks the first major tournament Norway have reached since Solbakken retired as a player.
Leading Norway to the Quarter-Finals
After taking over as Norway manager in 2020, Solbakken guided the national team to a major tournament at the third time of asking. Once Norway secured qualification for the knockout stage by beating Senegal in the group phase, he celebrated by climbing into the stands to kiss his wife, Anniken, who had also supported him throughout his recovery. Norway ended Group I as runners-up behind France before recording knockout victories over Ivory Coast and Brazil. They will now face England on Saturday in the nation's first-ever World Cup quarter-final.
