Norway manager Stale Solbakken will lead his team against England in a World Cup quarter-final on Saturday night in Miami. Solbakken, 58, has transformed Norway's fortunes since taking charge in 2020, guiding them to their first major tournament in 26 years. The team currently ranks 19th in the world, one of the highest in the nation's history. But his life could have been very different after a near-fatal heart attack in 2001.
Heart Attack During Training
On March 13, 2001, Solbakken, then 33 and six months into his stint at Danish club Copenhagen, collapsed during a training session. Club doctor Frank Odgaard rushed to his side and administered cardiac massage as the squad watched in shock. When the ambulance arrived, Solbakken was pronounced clinically dead after his heart stopped for seven minutes.
Incredibly, he was revived in the ambulance and placed on a life-support machine for 26 hours before gradually regaining consciousness. Doctors later discovered he had been born with a heart defect. Solbakken was fitted with a pacemaker, which he still wears, and retired from football.
Family Trauma
Solbakken remembers nothing of the event, saying, 'It was simply as if the lights went out.' He added, 'For those who saw all this, what they went through must have been a trauma. My wife still cannot talk about it, even though so many years have passed. At that moment she was left alone with two children — four and one years old.' His mother even began planning his funeral on the flight to Denmark.
'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,' Solbakken said.
Pacemaker Saves Him Again
Solbakken turned to coaching after retiring. During his first spell as Copenhagen manager in 2009, his heart stopped again, and his life was saved by the pacemaker fitted eight years earlier. 'I was running across the pitch and suddenly felt my body go weak. What the hell is going on? I thought. And then I was simply knocked to the ground. It was like a real kick up the backside. But after that I was fine,' he recalled.
On the eve of the 2026 World Cup, Solbakken felt a vibration in his chest during an interview. 'My pacemaker suddenly started vibrating. That had not happened since 2009. I had everything checked, now everything is fine and I am calm,' he said. It turned out a journalist's microphone had interfered with the device.
No Regrets
Despite the scares, Solbakken no longer considers his heart condition an issue. 'I live perfectly well with the pacemaker, which kicks in as soon as the heart starts beating incorrectly. I do not feel any pain, I have no consequences except for the scar on my chest where the device is placed. I consider myself to have got off very lightly,' he said.
Solbakken's coaching career has been successful, aside from a brief spell at Wolves in 2012. He now leads Norway against England in a high-stakes World Cup match.
