Copenhagen/Oslo - Danish side FC Copenhagen is to begin the search for a new coach after it was announced Tuesday that Stale Solbakken has agreed to coach Norway's national team from 2012. Solbakken was to replace Egil "Drillo" Olsen as of January 2012 under the terms with the Norwegian Football Association.
The contract with Solbakken was to last through 2015 and will be extended if Norway qualifies for the 2016 European Championships.
"It is an ideal solution for the Norwegian national team. Egil (Olsen) has shown good results in his comeback as national manager," Sondre Kafjord, president of the Norwegian Football Association, said, noting that Solbakken would gain two more years of experience.
Solbakken, 41, said he had been offered "a dream job" and that he looked forward to completing his contract with FC Copenhagen with which he has won three league titles and a Danish Cup.
FC Copenhagen's contract with Solbakken expires in the summer of 2011 and the management had wanted to keep him, the club said in a statement.
"On the other hand, Stale's brilliant work at FC Copenhagen has qualified him for the post as national trainer in his homeland," FC Copenhagen sports director Carsten V Jensen said. Jensen noted that the club has 20 months to find a new coach.
