Sir Alex Ferguson decided to retire as coach of Manchester United in May 2013 after presenting the 2012-2013 Premier League title as the closing of his sweet career. Hence, a friend who has been known as Manchunian (as MU fans) said wisely, “Life must go on” .
However, in just seven years, the Red Devils have changed five coaches: from David Moyes, Ryan Giggs (carateker), Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. An indication that MU has not fully ‘moved on’ from Sir Alex and has difficulty in achieving the required performance.
The leadership of the man whose full name is Alexander Chapman Ferguson needs to be admired. He came to ManU in November 1986 when the English club was again in disarray. Then, he brought the Red Devils to dominate modern Premier League football between the 90s and 2000s. He has successfully presented a total of 38 championship titles (13 Premier League, 5 FA Cups, 4 Premier League Cups, 10 Community Shields, 2 Champions Leagues, 1 Cup Winners’ Cup, 1 European Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup and 1 Club World Cup) .
Well, what can be concluded from the figure of Sir Alex and his leadership style at MU?
Firstly, Sir Alex is a “Pioneer” type person. A figure who builds from scratch, not the “Successor” type who is present when everything is available and established. Sir Alex did not immediately succeed at MU. It took three years which made the Red Devils fans almost lose their patience. The 1989-90 FA Cup trophy became Sir Alex’s first title in England. And we know the list goes on with MU.
Second, Sir Alex believes in young people. Every team does need star players who are full of experience, but don’t forget about young people as the foundation for the future. At the beginning of the 1995/96 season, Sir Alex was criticized sharply by Alan Hansen, a BBC pandit who was a former Liverpool player. However, Sir Alex did not flinch and continued to rely on a group of talented young players from their own football academy.
What happened at the end of the 1995/96 season?
The Red Devils grabbed the double title, Premier League and FA Cup! A group of young people became known as’ Class of ’92’ and ‘Fergie Babes’. They are such as: David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Philip Neville, and Nicky Butt. They developed into the backbone of MU’s success tin dominating English football.
Then another example is Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. They were bought by MU as nobody who become somebody in futre. But as a human, Sir Alex has also made blunders. Figures such as Gerard Pique and Paul Pogba were in vain in MU but shone at other clubs.
Third, Sir Alex believes that the interests of the team are above all else. No player is bigger than the club itself. If there are players whose attitude disturbed the harmonization of the squad, they are welcome to come out even though the player is great.
For example, the case of Jaap Stam who wrote an autobiography; David Beckham’s lifestyle that led to the flying shoe incident; Roy Keane who criticized his team-mates in public, or Cristiano Ronaldo, who began to feel uncomfortable in the team when approached by Real Madrid. They can go, but MU is still a big club.
Sir Alex points out that he is ‘The Boss’ – the leader. On the other hand, the Scottish man likes loyal and unreasonable players, like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Garry Neville.
Finally, Sir Alex instilled a winning mentality and an unyielding attitude. In his hand, MU always competes for the championship in local competitions and the Champions League. Before the match ended, there was no word of giving up even though he was left behind.
All football lovers will remember the Champions League final 1998/1999 as the most dramatic final. Bayern Munich was 1-0 ahead over MU until the 89th minute. but what happened? Entering the injury time period of only three minutes, Sir Alex’s troops managed to turn things around with two goals scored by Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer! ‘It’s the best Fergie Time’!
Having had an extraordinary career of nearly 27 years at Old Trafford, of course it is rare in the era of modern football that there is now a coach who is synonymous with one big club for a long time like Sir Alex. After all, the Manchester United coach will always be under the shadow of the Scottish man.
