"Football, bloody hell", Sir Alex Ferguson

26 May 1999: the last act of the Champions League is played at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. The competition, firstly known as European Cup and then replaced by the UEFA Champions League in 1992, was being played by two of the strongest and most winning teams of that decade: Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Despite the great number of champions playing on the pitch that night, the decisive match was played on the bench. While the Bavarians were led by Ottmar Hitzfeld, who had won the Champions League two years before with Borussia Dortmund, on United's bench the rules were dictated by a Scottish red-cheeked lord: Sir Alex Ferguson.

"The Boss"

It is natural to recall Sir Alex Ferguson as United's longest-serving coach after having seen the clamorous results achieved: 38 trophies in 26 years of management. However, the Boss of Manchester is not only this: born and raised in Glasgow, given the poor performances as a player he decides to become a coach. In 1978 he was given by surprise the Aberdeen's bench. The successes didn't take long to come: between 1980 and 1986 he achieved incredible successes with the Scottish club, the most striking of which takes place during the '82 -'83 season when the Aberdeen makes a historic treble winning the League, the Cup League and the European Cup defeating Real Madrid. In 1986, after a break as head coach of Scotland, Manchester United hired him.

By observing the success of Ferguson, what is immediately evident is his organizational and managerial capacity: during his 26 years managing the English club, United has seen three, if not four, generations of champions. Despite the fact that he has always been able to create new gaming solutions for the best players, he agreed that these would sacrifice for the team. One of his strengths has always been the observation. In the autobiography published in 2013 entitled "Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography" the Scot emphasizes immediately one of the keys of his success:

“In a lifetime’s journey in football, you will have dips, lows, defeats and disappointments. In my early years at Aberdeen and Man Utd, I decided right away that in order to build trust and loyalty with the players, I had to give it to them first. I was helped by my ability to observe. Some people walk into a room and don’t notice anything. Use your eyes; it’s all out there. I used this skill in my assessment of players’ training habits, moods and behaviour patterns.” 

Although sometimes it seems that coaches are all about love and harmony, the reality is different. Sir Alex Ferguson, for example, felt admiration for some coaches and indifference to others. At the end of each match played either at Old Trafford or away, it was a practice that Sir Alex would stop to drink a glass of wine with the rival manager, following a certain code of honour in sport, apart from alcohol. Benitez and Wenger were not certainly the coaches with whom Ferguson had too much desire to spend time drinking wine after the game. However, he always had words of appreciation and esteem for the football conducted by Marcello Lippi, considering him a source of inspiration. After eliminating Juventus in the semi-final Ferguson said: “This victory shows how the team improved in the last few years. Beating Juventus is a reason to be proud for us".

Regarding Josè Mourinho, the current manager of the United, Sir Alex has always had words of appreciation, in part for his winning choices. He said about José when the Portuguese was a coach of Chelsea: "He was certainly full of it, calling me "Boss" and "Big Man" when we had our post-match drink after the first leg. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint-stripper."

Start, go! 1-0 Bayern Munchen 

During his 26 years managing the United, Alex Ferguson experienced every type of emotion in football: however, it is unlikely that he had imagined a final season as the one he lived that night in Barcelona. That Spanish midsummer night, Ferguson decided to field a compact line: at the center David Beckham and Butt Nicki attacking, while the Scot chose the twin goals of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole. In contrast, Bayern took the field with Lothar Matthäus and ten other players. The final of the Camp Nou immediately began badly for Ferguson and the rest of the team: after 5' Mario Basler scores outside the penalty area. 1-0 for Bayern Munich. 

Apart from Beckham, Butt, Yorke and Cole, already mentioned, the United could count on first-level champions, found and brought up by the Scottish magician in addition to a young Paul Scholes who had often been decisive during the tournament. The Red Devils had talents of the likes of Jaap Stam, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville not counting those who were not first-string at the Camp Nou: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham.

In that period of United's management Ferguson was not only a coach, but an all-round manager as was rarely seen before in the world of football. He ran the locker room assisted by his trusted assistant coaches personally selected by him, he decided incoming and outgoing transfers, he oversaw the youth sector. It was he who launched the most promising talents of the Red Devils after the English press thought "You cannot win anything with kids". Between 1995 and 2001 the same team, thanks to the great leadership of Sir Alex, won five Premier League, one Champions League and some other trophies. What is striking by reading "Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography" or "Managing My Life: My Autobiography" –  the prequel released in 1999 –  is the attention that the Scottish manager has always had for detail. First, a detail not insignificant: the assistant coach. Ferguson has always chosen those who are able to represent and embody the values of the United. During the final of Barcelona, a young Steve McClaren, who had recently replaced a legend like Brian Kidd – current assistant coach of Guardiola at City – studied to become one of the leading coaches of the English football. But the most meaningful is often also the most unexpected: Carlos Queiroz. The Portuguese was assistant coach in two different periods, spaced out with an experience as coach of Real Madrid. Sir Alex has always had great admiration for Carlos as much as to define him as one of the best partners that he has had in his entire career.

Unbelievable at the Camp Nou!

At half-time Ferguson entered furious to the locker room: “At the end of this game, the European Cup will be only six feet away from you, and you’ll not even able to touch it if we lose. And for many of you, that will be the closest you will ever get. Don’t you dare come back in here without giving your all.”

In the second half that ability to observe of Sir Alex, until then barely present, within a few minutes it was transformed into two decisive substitutions: changing Blomqvist and Cole for Sheringham and Solskjær. But it is precisely in the 3 minutes of addition time given by Pierluigi Collina when the incredible happens, in the first minute of additional time, Beckham shoots the corner kick that the Bavarian defense fails to ward off properly, allowing Teddy Sheringham to score the 1-1 from close range. Sir Alex rejoices it but not too much: his sixth sense tells him to wait. Two minutes later during another of the many corner kicks, always taken by the English number 7, Solskjær scores the decisive goal. It incredibly ends 2-1 for Manchester United. Sir Alex wins the first of two Champions League achieved with the Red Devils.

In 26 years of career at the United Ferguson has always managed to recreate successful periods from the ashes of the previous ones: from the first trophy won in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace to the last Premier League won in the 2012/2013 season – last season on the United’s bench for the Scottish coach – Sir Alex has had the unique ability to make wearing the shirt of Manchester to some of the greatest champions that the world of football has had. From Cantona to Yorke, together with Cole and Cristiano Ronaldo ending with Van Nistelrooy and Van Persie. Many of these have become champions thanks to the daily work carried out by Ferguson and his staff: there was a meaningful episode in which Sir Alex personally went to see a game of Cristiano Ronaldo when he was still playing in the youth of Sporting Lisbon; the Scot managed to get the Portuguese talent – wanted also by Real Madrid – offering him £ 9 million and subsequently leading CR7 to the success that we all admire today.

Yet Ferguson also faced complicated situations during his ever-ending career: there were highs and lows, controversial episodes and power games like it happened with the historic captain Roy Keane and David Beckham – it has been particularly famous the episode where in the lockers Ferguson kicked a boot in the Spice Boys face causing several protests. What seems certain is the sign which Sir Alex left on United’s history: several managers and many years has passed since Ferguson left but the Red Devils has not found yet the right way to start over. 

 The Manager

The season ’98-’99 was unforgettable for all the United’s members considering the Champions League win which gave the Red Devils the third trophy of the season entering the football history with a magical treble: Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League indeed. The same year Ferguson received one of the most important eulogy for a British citizen: he was knighted in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours list, for his services to the game, becoming “Sir”. It’s been one of the most successful seasons for the Scottish manager. 

What has marked the most Sir Alex Ferguson time period has been his ability to introduce a new concept: an all-round manager; He redefined the meaning of winning throughout the capability of each player to give the best to reach the final scope: the victory. 

In his last book “Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United” published in 2015, Sir Alex faces one of the most important topic for a coach: managing a team. Previously it has been highlighted his ability to observe in addition to his talent to find and forge new players: In an interview granted last year to Forbes, just in time for his come-back to Harvard as a teaching professor, Sir Alex underlined few elements which marked his amazing career. First of all, it is necessary to prove to the others to be a winner: by doing this you can demonstrate which objects are achievable since the beginning. Another important ingredient which co-signed his victories it’s his passion for the ethics and hard work: the most important players had the responsibility to drive the team to the final goal. In an excerpt Ferguson highlighted that “Players like (Ryan) Giggs and (Cristiano) Ronaldo were working so hard that the other fellows had to take themselves and say, "Now wait a minute, if he can do it, I’ve got to do it." Maybe they didn’t have the talent of Ronaldo or Giggs or (Paul) Scholes or (Eric) Cantona, but the desire to be the best made them really important players. So I think examples are set by wanting to be a winner.”

Sir Alex Ferguson closed his wonderful manager career in 2013: 49 trophies in 39 years. He left as a winner even if he is still working for Man Utd as an advisor and he has been spotted several times on the stands; at the Old Trafford one of the terraces it’s been dedicated to him becoming “Sir Alex Ferguson Grand Stand”. More likely the Scottish manager did not revolutionize neither the way of playing football nor the schemes like Valeri Lobanovski did with his Dinamo Kiev: yet he has been the first to interpret the coaching role as all-round manager redefining the relationship between players and coach. 

 "The work of a team should always embrace a great player but the great player must always work."