Volker Finke
On 15 May 2011, it was announced that Solbakken would take over as manager of 1. FC Köln of the German Bundesliga from sporting director Volker Finke, who acted as interim manager after Frank Schaefer quit during the season. Solbakken had been due to take the Norway national team job in January 2012 but Köln bought out his contract for a reported €400,000.