Johan Lange was head coach of Lyngby in the Danish second tier when his old friend Stale Solbakken called to tell him he was in the wrong job.
They had worked closely before. At FC Copenhagen during Solbakken’s first spell in charge, Lange coached the young professionals in transition from the academy to the first team.
Later, they were together as manager and assistant at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship and sacked after six months.
Back in Denmark, in his second spell as Copenhagen boss towards the end of 2013, Solbakken was juggling two roles as head coach and sporting director when he called Lange with a career proposal.