Sir Alex Ferguson: The story of football's greatest manager

Losing his job at United
Easy to forget
A proven winner
The story
Playing career
Scoring goals
Early managerial career
Taking over at Aberdeen
A slow start
European and domestic success
Managing Scotland
World Cup 1986
Taking over at Manchester United
Early success at Old Trafford
Long awaited league title
The 90's
Silverware
Historic season
1999 treble winning campaign
Battle with Arsenal in the 2000's
Fierce rivalry
Winning in his later career
Finishing with a bang
Retirement
Now
Losing his job at United

Sir Alex Ferguson's ambassadorial role at Manchester United will be vacated at the end of the season, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe cutting more costs at Old Trafford.

Easy to forget

With the nightmare situation at Old Trafford and managers like Pep Guardiola dominating football, it seems people have forgotten that Sir Alex is one of the greatest to do it.

A proven winner

His long and successful 26-year reign as Manchester United manager is fondly remembered by football fans all around the world.

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The story

Sir Alex has won more trophies than any other manager in his career, so let's take a look at the most successful managerial reign in all of football.

Playing career

Prior to his managerial career, Ferguson had a decent playing career as a forward in Scotland, having had most of his success with Dunfermline, Falkirk, and Rangers.

Scoring goals

In a 17-year playing career in Scotland, the Scot made 317 appearances and scored 171 goals.

Early managerial career

His early managerial career took shape at the helm of East Stirlingshire and St Mirren, where at the latter, he got his first taste of managerial success, winning the Scottish First Division.

Taking over at Aberdeen

After success in Scotland's lower leagues, Ferguson got his first major job – taking the reigns of Aberdeen in July 1978.

A slow start

In his first year as boss, Ferguson lost in the semi-final of both major cup competitions and finished fourth in the league. However, this was just the start of an exceptional reign...

European and domestic success

With Aberdeen, Ferguson won a staggering 11 pieces of silverware in his time at the club, including three Scottish titles, four Scottish Cups, one European Cup Winners Cup, and a European Super Cup.

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Managing Scotland

Ferguson had been part of the coaching staff in Scotland's World Cup qualifying campaign but due to the collapse of manager Jock Stein, Sir Alex was asked to manage the side at the 1986 World Cup.

World Cup 1986

Sir Alex failed to take Scotland beyond the group stages of the tournament, resulting in him stepping down from the job in June 1986.

Taking over at Manchester United

Sir Alex took over at Manchester United in November 1986, managing to pull a relegation-threatened United team to an 11th-place finish in his first season.

Early success at Old Trafford

After a dark spell at the back end of 1989, Ferguson started to turn the team around at the start of the 1990s, winning an FA Cup, League Cup, and European Cup Winners Cup, despite average performances in the league.

Long awaited league title

After bringing in French superstar Eric Cantona to partner Mark Hughes, United shot from tenth to first in the latter stages of the season, decisively going top with Steve Bruce's 97th-minute goal against Sheffield Wednesday to end the 26-year title drought.

The 90's

The nineties domination Ferguson had become accustomed to cemented his legacy in footballing history.

Silverware

His team would go on to win another four League titles, three FA Cup titles, and a Champions League in the decade, winning all three in one historic season.

Historic season

Perhaps the best and most legendary season in Ferguson's career as a manager was the 1998/99 season.

1999 treble winning campaign

His side beat Arsenal to the Premiership by a point, convincingly saw off Newcastle in the FA Cup final, and dismantled Bayern Munich with less than five minutes remaining in the Champions League final to win a first-ever domestic and European treble.

Battle with Arsenal in the 2000's

Ferguson's team won the league three years on the bounce from 1999-2001, but a fierce competitor in London was starting to take shape.

Fierce rivalry

Ferguson vs Wenger and Keane vs Viera became the box-office attraction in the 2000s, with both winning the league and fighting for the top spot.

Winning in his later career

With the influx of new players hitting their peak, like a young Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, Ferguson wasn't finished reigning mightily over English football.

Finishing with a bang

Ferguson's final years with United would finish with a bang. Between 2007 and 2013, he secured five more Premier League titles, two League Cups, and another Champions League winners medal in 2008.

Retirement

Ferguson retired in 2013 after winning nearly 40 pieces of silverware in his long managerial career as the boss of Manchester United.

Now

Ferguson lives in Cheshire and is still regularly seen at Manchester United games.

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