| Achievements | |
|---|---|
| English Premier League Champion (13) | 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2012/13 |
| FA Cup Winner (5) | 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004 |
| League Cup Winner (4) | 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010 |
| Super Cup Winner (10) | 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 |
| Scottish Champion (3) | 1985, 1984, 1980 |
| Scottish First Division Champion | 1977 |
| Scottish Cup Winner (4) | 1986, 1984, 1983, 1982 |
| Scottish League Cup Winner | 1986 |
| Champions League winner (2) | 1999, 2008 |
| Winner of the Cup Winners' Cup (2) | 1983, 1991 |
| European Super Cup (2) | 1983, 1991 |
| Intercontinental Cup Winner | 1999 |
| Club World Championship Winner | 2008 |
| Personal achievements | |
|---|---|
| Order Officer British empire(OBE) | 1983 |
| Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) | 1995 |
| Knight bachelor | 1999 |
| Best manager English Premier League years (10) | 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010-11 |
| English Premier League Manager of the Month (26) | August 1993, October 1994, February 1996, March 1996, February 1997, October 1997, January 1999, April 1999, August 1999, March 2000, April 2000, February 2001, April 2003, December 2003, February 2005, March 2006, August 2006 , October 2006, February 2007, January 2008, March 2008, January 2009, April 2009, September 2009, January 2011, August 2011, October 2012 |
| English Football Hall of Fame | 2002 |
| Football Managers Association (LMA) Manager of the Year | 1998–99, 2007–08, 2010-11, 2012-13 |
| Football Managers Association (LMA) Decade Manager | 1990s |
| UEFA Champions League Manager of the Year | 1998–99 |
| BC Sport Personality Coach of the Year Award | 1998–99, 2007–08 |
| BBC Sport Personality Team of the Year Award | 1999 |
| Football Writers Association Award | 1996 |
| Moussabini Medal | 1999 |
| World Soccer Magazine Coach of the Year (4) | 1993, 1999, 2007, 2008 |
| Coach of the Year Onze d "Or according to Onze Mondial magazine (3) | 1999, 2007, 2008 |
| Coach of the Year by version International Federation Football history and statistics (IFFHS) | 1999, 2008 |
| Professional Footballers Association Merit Award | 2007 |
| Laureus World Sports Team of the Year Award | 2000 |
| For years of service according to BBC Sport Personality (BC Sport Personality) | 2001 |
| UEFA Team of the Year Coach | 2007, 2008 |
| Awarded the FIFA Presidential Prize | 2011 |
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born December 31, 1941 in Glasgow, Scotland), better known as Alex Ferguson, is a Scottish footballer and football coach... At the 1986 World Cup, he led the Scottish national team. Since 1986 he has been working with English club"Manchester United". Considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of world football.
Club career
Born December 31, 1941 in Glasgow, Scotland. At 16, he made his debut at Queens Park as a striker, but continued to work as an apprentice at the Clyde shipyard. Despite 20 goals in 31 games, he was unable to gain a foothold at Queens Park and moved to St Johnstone in 1960. The hat-trick against the Rangers in one of the matches impressed the management of Dunfermline - in 1964 Ferguson signed his first professional contract. In his first season for this club, he did not show anything special, and in the next he scored 45 goals in 51 games. In 1967 he moved to the Rangers for 65 thousand pounds - a record transfer in the Scottish League at the time. In 1969 he was transferred to a double - all the dogs were hanged on him for a missed goal in the final of the Scottish Championship. The following season Ferguson wanted to move to Nottingham Forest, but his wife did not want to move to England. As a result, Ferguson moved to Falkirk, where he soon became a player-coach. But new coach took away his coaching authority, and Alex left the club - to Air United, where he ended his football career in 1974.
Coaching career
And already at the age of 32 he became a coach of the East Stirlingshire team. For his work, he received 40 pounds a week, and at that time there was not a single goalkeeper in the team. Even then, Ferguson showed himself to be an adherent of strict discipline and a skillful tactician. In the same year, he accepted an offer from St. Mirren, and led the team from 1974 to 1978. It was a phenomenal success - “St. Mirren” from an outsider in the second division turned into a triumphant in the first division, and Ferguson also opened up the likes of Tony Fitzpatrick and Billy Stark. But due to numerous violations related to player payments, Ferguson was fired. In June 1978 he took over as head of Aberdeen. The first season was unsuccessful - a loss in the League Cup final and 4th place in the championship. But already in the next season, Ferguson won universal respect by winning the championship. For the first time in 15 years, neither Celtic nor Rangers have won gold. In 1982, "Aberdeen" won the Cup of the country, and Ferguson earned the nickname "Furious Fergie" - he threw objects not only at Beckham. In 1983, Aberdeen won the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Real Madrid in the final, and become the third Scottish club to win the European Cup. In the next two seasons, Ferguson repeats his success in home championship, receives invitations to Arsenal and Tottenham and is awarded the OBE Order of the British Empire. From 1985 to 1986 he worked for the Scottish national team preparing them for the 1986 World Cup. In the same 1986 he left Aberdeen and moved to England - to Manchester United.
Alex Ferguson and his Manchester United
The first three seasons did not go very well - Ferguson put discipline in the team and pulled it out of the basement of the English championship. In 1988 he succeeded - “MU” finished second. But already in the next season, he again fell to 11th place. The 1990 FA Cup is called the trophy that saved Ferguson's career at Manchester - after an expressionless game and bad results everyone was in favor of his resignation. In the championship, things were still not going well - 13th place at the end of the 1989/90 season. They did not go well in the next season, but things were not bad with European cups - “Manchester United”, having beaten Barcelona in the final, won the Cup Winners' Cup. V next year the game began to improve - victory in the League Cup and second place in the championship.
Eric Cantona's purchase
The purchase of Eric Canton was one of the most important decisions of Ferguson, which predetermined his subsequent career: already in the 1992/93 season, Manchester United celebrated the long-awaited victory in the Premier League, and Ferguson was recognized the best coach of the year. The following year, Manchester United added another league and League Cup win to their trophy collection, and acquired Roy Keane for a record-breaking title at the time. English football money - 3.75 million pounds.
Seasons 1994-1997
In the 1994/95 season, "Manchester United" was left without trophies, won nothing, but a year later repeated the golden double of 1994, having in its composition a group of young pupils of the club academy - David Beckham, Nikki Butt, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville ... The next two seasons saw big changes: the Champions League semi-finals, Canton's retirement from football, and a major roster change led by Alex Ferguson poured new blood into Manchester United's game - Beckham and Scholes, the Neville brothers, shone in the squad. In 1995 Alex Ferguson is awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Legendary Treble and the title of sir
Ferguson paid £ 23m for Yap Stam defender, Teddy Sheringham and Aston Villa striker Dwight Yorke to strengthen the team in 1998/99. The latter teamed up with his attacking partner Andy Cole in a game that was dubbed "Calypso Football" and helped United win another championship, beat Newcastle 2-0 in the FA Cup final and win the European Cup final. Cup - in 1999 Manchester United succeeded in a golden hat-trick: the crown of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League. The final match against Bayern Munich became truly legendary. In June of the same year, Ferguson was awarded a knighthood - Knight-Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire, for his contribution to football and became Sir Alex Ferguson.
Season 2000/01
The following year, Ferguson announced that he would retire at the end of 2002. The FA Cup winners also made a very controversial decision to refuse to participate in this competition in favor of playing in the FIFA Club World Cup in Brazil. United did not perform well in the Brazilian sun, but the drop was only a catalyst for Ferguson's side, which again won the championship by 18 points over their main rival Arsenal. The 2000/01 season was another league campaign for United, and by mid-April Ferguson was the first coach to win three championships in a row and become the most successful coach in English football history.
Season 2001/02
Getting ready for your last season at Old Trafford, Ferguson has spent nearly £ 50m on striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, but high-value contracts have failed to prevent Arsenal from winning the championship and the FA Cup. In Europe, United ended both semifinals with Bayer Leverkusen in a draw and prevented Ferguson from fulfilling his dream of ending his coaching career with a European final in his native Glasgow, and the Mancunians ended the season without any trophies.
Season 2002/03
The setback stung Ferguson, his retirement was postponed and he signed a new three-year contract with the club. The Scotsman invited his assistant to the role former coach the national teams of Portugal and South Africa Carlos Queiroz. He also broke England's transfer record to secure Leeds defender Rio Ferdinand in the 2002/03 season. The 2002/03 Champions League final was due to go to Old Trafford, United and Ferguson sought European glory once again, but after a draw in the quarterfinals with Real Madrid, they were eliminated from the competition, losing on aggregate with a score of 6 -5. The defeat sparked rumors of Manchester United, with several players being linked to overseas clubs. David Beckham was associated with the transfer to Real Madrid for 35 million pounds, Ryan Giggs was associated with Inter Milan, the names of Fabien Barthez and Juan Veron were also named in the transfer speculations. Domestically, the Red Devils were knocked out by Arsenal in the fifth round from the FA Cup, but a week before the end of the championship, the Reds managed to eliminate the Gunners' 9-point lead in standings, and won their eighth championship title in 11 years.
Season 2003/04
In the summer of 2003, what was so much talked about happened: Beckham went to Real Madrid for 25 million pounds, Verona was sold to Chelsea for 15 million pounds, in April, Fabien Barthez went to Marseille after receiving free agent status. The team was joined by the American goalkeeper Tim Howard, the star of the Lisbon “Sporting” Cristiano Ronaldo and who did not live up to the hopes and the money spent on them - David Bellion, Eric Djemba-Djemba and the world champion, Brazilian Kleberson. Arsenal went through the entire 2003/04 season without defeat , reclaiming the league title, and by United's standards, the season was unsuccessful. In September, Rio defender Ferdinand misses a doping test, explaining this as childish forgetfulness. Fergie and the club stand firmly in defense of the footballer, but despite all these attempts, Ferdinand receives an 8-month suspension. Manchester United's only success this season was the FA Cup, in which the Red Devils beat Millwall 3-0 in the final. And although Ferguson managed to win this trophy (5th in his career), on the whole this season was unsuccessful for his players. Arsenal became the champion and Porto's Jose Mourinho knocked United out of the Champions League.
Season 2004/05
This disappointing trend continued in the 2004-2005 season. Despite the addition of £ 30m Everton striker Wayne Rooney and Leeds star Alan Smith, Sir Alex's side have managed to score just 58 league goals, their lowest record since 1991. Due to injury, Ruud van Nistelrooy was absent from the field for a long time, which was probably the main factor in this, and critics argued that the team had lost their attacking power. United lost only 5 matches, but drew 11 games and lost too many points to seriously fight for the title. By the beginning of March, it was clear that Sir United were again without a championship, and as a result, the Red Devils finished the championship in 3rd place, 18 points behind Chelsea. In Europe, United ended the season with two 1-0 losses to Milan. The last hope of winning any trophy of the season was with the Mancunians in the FA Cup. In the final, the Reds attacked Arsenal's gates for 120 minutes, creating one chance after another, but the poor implementation of chances turned out to be fatal and in the penalty shootout, United undeservedly lost 5-4, giving the trophy to the Gunners.
Season 2005/06
In the offseason, Ferguson was able to strengthen the defensive order of the team by acquiring the most experienced Dutch goalkeeper "Fulham" Edwin van der Sara, in the midfield was bought the player of the Dutch "PSV" Ji-Sung Park. But that was not enough as injuries plagued the team's midfielders and Chelsea managed to build a decent lead over United in the first few months of the championship. it was at this point that Fergie's men won a 1-0 win over Chelsea, ending a 40-game match. unbeaten streak Abramovich's team, Darren Fletcher scored the winning goal, and Alan Smith was named man of the match, and Ferguson once again challenged his critics. In January 2006, to the surprise of many, Fergie secured cash from Glazer and signed two defenders, Serb Nemanju Vidic and Frenchman Patrice Evra. Ferguson's team still did not remain without trophies: having completed the tournament path in the League Cup in a brilliant style, United in final match in Cardiff defeated Wigan 4-0 for the second time in history. Following this victory, the Reds narrowed the gap from leading Chelsea to seven points with seven straight wins. But at the decisive moment Fergie had to settle for second place. As he has proved more than once before, Sir Alex always responds to defeat, returning to the victorious path and becoming even stronger, while refuting his critics.
Season 2006/07
And yet, with Michael Carrick as Ferguson's only acquisition during the summer transfer period, United fans were not very optimistic ahead of the 2006-07 season. By the end of 2006, United were 6 points ahead of Chelsea, and that lead had once grown to nine points. Ferguson's side have won consistently in their attacking manner, scoring many goals. Ferguson's players advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals. In the FA Cup, the team also made good progress, and soon there was talk of winning Treble again. A 3-2 home win over AC Milan drove Fergie towards the Champions League final in Athens, but the return game at San Siro was shattered by a 3-0 defeat. But four days after that, everyone forgot about this defeat, as United became the champion of England on May 6, 2007. Chelsea beat United 1-0 in the FA Cup final, but this cast only a small shadow on the team's achievement. By taking and defeating Abramovich's financial resources and Mourinho's very strong team, Ferguson achieved one of his most impressive triumphs. Another Premier League gold leaves no doubt that Sir Alex is building new team- fourth in his long reign at Old Trafford.
Season 2007/08
In the summer of 2007, Manchester United spent a lot of money, acquiring two young and promising midfielders Nani and Anderson, as well as Argentine West Ham striker Carlos Tevez. Fergie also brought in a long-planned £ 17m transfer for midfielder Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich. Cristiano Ronaldo has reached unimaginable scoring heights, breaking the record of George Best, who held for more than 40 years for the number of goals scored by a Manchester United midfielder in one season. After the disappointments of the past, the Red Devils looked very powerful in European matches and were considered favorites to win the Champions League. After beating West Ham 4-1 at home, they were to beat Wigan away on the final day of the championship. United won 2-0 and Ferguson, along with goal-scoring Ryan Giggs, secured his 10th Premier League title. Ten days later, his team was to face the Champions League final at the Moscow Luzhniki Stadium against Chelsea. The tense game ended in a 1-1 draw additional time also did not reveal a winner, and the teams faced a series of penalty shootouts. Cristiano Ronaldo didn't score from a point and Chelsea captain John Terry could bring his team to European glory. But he slipped on the wet lawn and the ball hit the post. United were almost buried, but are now back in the game and after Ryan Giggs was accurate, Nicolas Anelka had to score. Edwin van der Sar deflected this blow from the Frenchman and Manchester United became the European champion for the third time. For years, Ferguson has been accused of having won the Champions League once and not being considered a truly great coach. Having won in Moscow, the Scotsman silenced his critics once and for all. His second European Cup win put him ahead of Capello, Lippi, Trapattoni, Van Gaal, Hiddink, Mourinho and Benitez in the number of Champions League victories. And not only because he made Manchester United again the best club in European football. Also this year, Cristiano Ronaldo received the FIFA Golden Ball.
Season 2008/09
In the 2008/09 season, Manchester United re-won the English Premier League and Ferguson became the first coach in history to win the Premier League title twice in three consecutive seasons (first from 1999 to 2001, second from 2007 to 2009). The victory in the Premier League was 11th for Ferguson, and in total, Manchester United won their 18th English title (taking into account 7 First Division cups Football league), catching up on this indicator with Liverpool. The club also won the Football League Cup in 2009, beating Tottenham on penalties in the final match.
In May 2009, Manchester United played in the Champions League final against Barcelona, but lost the trophy to the Spanish club, losing the match 2-0.
Season 2009/10
In the 2009/10 season, Manchester United won the Football League Cup again, this time beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the final. In the Champions League, United made it to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Bayern on the away goal rule. In the Premier League, the club lost the championship title to London's Chelsea, just one point ahead of United.
On 8 August 2010 Ferguson won another FA Super Cup following United's 3-1 victory over Chelsea.
On December 19, 2010, Sir Alex Ferguson became Manchester United's longest-serving manager, breaking the record held by Sir Matt Busby (24 years, 1 month and 13 days).
Season 2010/11
On 14 May 2011, Manchester United won their 19th English title and became the record holder for national championship victories, beating Liverpool.
Season 2011/12
On 7 August 2011, Ferguson won another FA Super Cup following United's 3-2 victory over Manchester City.
Season 2012/13
In the 2012/13 season, United won the Premier League, becoming the English Champion for the 20th time in their history. It was Ferguson's 13th Premier League win.
On May 8, 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson announced his decision to step down as head coach at the end of the season. At the end of the season, Ferguson was named the best coach of the year in the Premier League for the 11th time.
Sir Alex Chellin Ferguson - coach with capital letter and a person worth looking up to.
Alex Ferguson's childhood
Baby Alex was born in the Scottish town of Govan on December 31, 1941 in the house of his grandmother. His parents were not rich, his father Alexander Beaton Ferguson worked as an apprentice for a local tinsmith-shipbuilder, and Elizabeth's mother was a housewife and was involved in the upbringing of Alex and Martin (younger brother). The Ferguson family lived in an apartment building. Like many boys, little Ferg was fond of football from an early age and loved to play the ball in the yard of his house. Already in those years, football began to take up a lot of the boy's time, he regularly trained and improved his skills. All thoughts of Alex Ferguson were occupied with football and even then he dreamed of a brilliant football career... (See also about the great coach)
Alex Ferguson's career as a footballer
Future coach Sir Alex Ferguson began his ascent to football Olympus as a regular teenage football player in an amateur club. At the age of sixteen, Alexander first entered the field as part of the Queen's Park amateur team. Since football at that time did not take much of the young man's time, he combined it with work in the field of shipbuilding and active trade union activities. Alex Ferguson did not have any consistency in the game for Queens Park, he was put in the main team, then removed again. Fergeson has always had the qualities of a leader and a stubborn character, so this attitude did not suit him.
This was followed by a transition to football club St. Johnstone (1960). 1964 was marked by the entry of Ferguson into the Dunfermline Athletic team and the beginning professional game Alexa Between 1964 and 1966 was recognized best striker Championship of Shotandia.
In 1967, Ferguson was bought out by the Rangers, 1969 brought disappointment and defeat to Alex Ferguson in the Scottish Cup, followed by a decline in his career as a football player and he moved to Falkirk football club as a player-coach.
Coaching beginnings and successes of Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson's coaching career began in 1974, when Alex became the coach of East Stirlingishre, although his stay there was not long. This was followed by coaching in the St. Mirren team (October of the same year). Thanks to the diligence and work with the squad, coach Alex Ferguson has been able to transform an ordinary football club into real champions and leaders. Alex was known as a strict and picky coach, but the results were worth the effort and justified his behavior. He was a coach this club to 1978 and it was a rapid and successful start of his career as a coach.
Thereafter, in June 1978, Sir Ferguson became head coach. large club Aberdeen. Thanks to Alex's talent, correct tactics and smart attacks, after a long period of time, the team won the long-awaited Scottish Cup (1982). Under the guidance and guidance of coach Ferguson "Aberdeen" won the title of champions three times, and four times became the owners of the Cup of the country. 1983 was marked for the team by the victory in the struggle for the Cup Winners' Cup, as well as the acquisition of such a trophy as the European Super Cup. In 1986 the club won the Scottish League Cup.
1986 became the most successful and significant year in the life of A. Ferguson, because it was this year that the famous English football club ""
Sir Alex Ferguson has become a real symbol of success for the team, thanks to his coaching, the club has won a huge number of trophies and awards. Over the 25 years of work with the great coach Manchester United, the club has played over a thousand matches. Trophies won between 1986 and 2013 the following cups, awards, trophies and titles were won: FA Cup - 5 times; Champions of England - 12 times; Champions League winners -2 times; English League Cup - 4 times; Super Cup of England - 9 times; 1 Cup Winners' Cup; 1 UEFA Super Cup; 1 Intercontinental Cup; Winning FIFA.
Thanks to the knowledge, teaching and skills of Sir Alex Ferguson, the world of football has acquired the following stars: Ryan Geese, Nikki Butt and other celebrities of English football.
May 2013 - The end of the successful career of one of the most famous and talented coaches in the history of football. Wherever coach Sir Alex Ferguson appeared, whatever team he took under his wing, he always brought success and fame with him.
Ferguson's personal titles and achievements
- In 1999, trainer Alex Ferguson was awarded the title of knight and was dedicated by Elizabeth II herself. From that moment on, his full name was as follows: Sir Alex Chellin Ferguson.
- 2002 earned Ferguson a spot in the England Football Hall of Fame.
Scandals and the unbearable nature of the ingenious coach
Because of the unbearable character around the person of Alex Ferguson, scandals often occurred, connected either with the players of his clubs, or with the owners, coach Ferguson never restrained his emotions and expressed his displeasure directly to his face, using profanity at the same time.
One of the most high-profile scandals took place in 2003, the coach had a fight with the now world-famous David Beckham because of his dissatisfaction with his game and threw boots at the player.
Sir Alex Ferguson served on the Manchester United coaching bridge for 27 years, having won 38 trophies with the team. Fergie really " Main coach»In the history of the Premier League, during his career in Manchester United, he won thirteen times in the Premier League, having spent 21 seasons in the league, only eight times under the leadership of the great Scotsman, the Mancunians were able to take away the Premier League championship crown.
SAF left Old Trafford in May 2013, finally winning another league title with United, you can follow the fate of a great club without a great coach, and we will tell you about the beginning of the legendary specialist in Manchester.
"I came to throw off Liverpool"
Ferguson joined Manchester United in 1986 after a successful work with Aberdeen. At the time, Liverpool was in the lead in England, and the new Manchester United head coach set himself the task of throwing the Reds off the top of the football Olympus, and he succeeded.
But the beginning of a career in the camp of the Red Devils was not easy for the Scotsman, he took the club in the penultimate place in the standings and was able to raise his team to 11th place by the end of the championship, Fergie created iron discipline in the team, carried out successful transfers, the game of the Mankunians was getting better. but did not bring any trophies. In the 1989/90 season, Fergie was closest to being fired, at the end of 1989, the Red Devils were located in the relegation zone, and fans demanded the mentor's resignation. The coach himself called this period the darkest of those that he had experienced in football, but that season Ferguson won his first trophy with the club, winning the FA Cup, many believe that it was this victory that kept the mentor's job.
Having survived the crisis, the following year Manchester United won the Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, and three years after the first title with United, Ferguson, led the team to the championship in the newly formed Premier League. In the new tournament, he became a real king and was finally able to dislodge Liverpool from the top of the football pyramid of Foggy Albion. After the formation of the Premier League, Manchester United won 13 championships, while Liverpool, during the Scotsman, did not win a single one, so the SAF achieved the goal it set for itself after coming to Old Trafford.
The first championship was immediately followed by the second, Manchester United firmly took the leading position in Foggy Albion, but the club lacked victory in the main European club tournament, and in the 1998/99 season Sir Alex Ferguson led his players to the treble, winning the Champions League, championship and cup England. After this success, the manager was knighted and became a sir, he still had 13 years ahead of him in Manchester United, another victory in the Champions League and a scattering of other titles and awards.
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Manchester United head coach Alex Ferguson was appointed on November 6, 1986. The team at this time trailed in 21st place (second from the end). Ferguson has not worked in England yet, but he managed to prove himself very well in Scotland, where his Aberdeen succeeded in almost impossible - to squeeze Celtic and Rangers from the championship positions they had long privatized. And not just one crazy one, but three times in six years, adding to this four Scottish Cups, the Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. Ferguson could have ended up in England earlier, but at first the Wolverhampton who called him to work was relegated to the second division, and then Liverpool, who announced his interest in Ferguson, preferred his own chasing coach Kenny Dalglish to him. Despite the difficulties in early stages Alex Ferguson has become one of the most successful CEOs of all time. In 1999, he became the first coach to lead English team to victories in three tournaments at once, in the Champions League, FA Cup and Premier League.
The era of Alex Ferguson
On May 8, 2013, Alex Ferguson announced his retirement as head coach of Manchester United at the end of the 2012-13 season. For 26 years he led the "red devils", winning with them record number titles. Under Ferguson's leadership, the club has amassed more trophies than in the previous hundred years. United was a great club before Ferguson, when he became the greatest. At least in England, he has no equal in the number of achievements. It is difficult to surprise Eastern Europe with the long-term hegemony of one club. Russian Spartak and Ukrainian Dynamo Kiev are not so distant examples of this. But who were their rivals in those years? You can't remember now. And what else did they win besides their national trophies? Manchester United have fought Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea in their most stellar seasons. On short distance for a year or two, the rivals used to get ahead, but then, as if having strained themselves in an unbearable race, they rolled down to save up strength for a new challenge. And since 1991, Manchester has never dropped below third place! He became the champion 13 times, won the FA Cup five times, twice the Champions League and played twice in the League final. Only 38 trophies in 26 years. And exactly one and a half thousand matches under the direction of Alex Ferguson! MJ's golden era. The era of Sir Alex.
19th England gold
Before the season (2010-11), there were minor changes in the Manchester line-up. Finished his playing career Gary Neville. Goalkeeper Ben Foster was released in Birmingham, Serb Zoran Tosic, who did not find himself in Manchester, was at CSKA for 9.5 million euros. They brought in the goalkeeper of the Danish national team Anders Lindegard, the center-back of Fulham Chris Smalling and the Mexican striker Javier Hernandez, who became known simply as Chicharito. Transfer failures include the purchase for almost 9 million euros in Victoria from Guimaraes of the Portuguese Bebe. In Manchester, the forward played a few times, after which he went on leases (Besiktas, Riu Ave), but has not succeeded anywhere yet. But with Chicharito hit the mark. In the championship, they fought with Chelsea and the neighbors from the City who had risen on Arab money.
The key role in the record, 19th, title was played by the better alignment of the game and order in the club itself than among the opponents. Chelsea was gradually aging, while the new players needed time. Man City also needed time to turn from a huge payroll into a real combat unit of the Premier League. United won the championship with a large margin. Berbatov shared the laurels top scorer with Tevez 20 goals each, and Nani became the best assisting with 19 assists per goal. The symbolic team of the season includes Van der Sar, Vidic, Nani and Berbatov. We were eliminated from both English Cups on the outskirts of them, but in the Champions League we again reached the final for the second time in three years! The red group was not difficult (Valencia, Rangers and Bursaspor). In the playoffs, Marseille (0: 0, 2: 1), Chelsea (1: 0, 2: 1) and Schalke (2: 0, 4: 1) fell in succession.
In the final at Wembley, the British were not considered favorites. Barcelona was too good at the time. The game was relatively equal only before the break: Pedro's goal was answered by Wayne Rooney. In the second half, Messi and Villa scored two goals and took the cup to Catalonia.
Season 2011-2012
Before the new season (2011-12), the team said goodbye to two veterans, 40-year-old Van der Sar and 36-year-old Scholes. The latter will still return in 2013 to earn 11th in his personal collection gold medal champion of England. We parted ways with defenders Wes Brown and John O'Shea. More than 57 million euros were spent on three newcomers. The most expensive was the Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea (20 million). Left winger Ashley Young and center-back Phil Jones were paid slightly less.
The championship was held under the sign of the superiority of the two Manchester clubs. City have been in the lead since October and have won both head-to-head matches. And at home, at Old Trafford, United was beaten with an incredible 1: 6 score. After this victory, Man City went into the five-point lead. The Sky blues held the lead until March, when defeat at Swansea threw them behind the Reds. In March, the townspeople were covered by a recession, followed by draws and defeat. As a result, six rounds to go, United was 8 points ahead of its neighbors. It seemed that the fate of the championship was decided, but then it was the turn of the devils to lose points. The defeat at City at the City of Manchester stadium again pushed the townspeople forward, but only thanks to a better goal difference.
In the final round, Man United defeated Sunderland 1-0 away (Rooney) and waited for the outcome of Man City's game against Queens Park Rangers. Any win in this home game made City the champion for the first time since 1968. However, to the indescribable horror of the fans, by the 90th minute of the match the score was 2: 1 in favor of the guests. The incredible outcome of this match and the entire championship will go down in football history. In the 92nd minute, Edwin Dzeko equalized the score, and in the 94th minute Sergio Aguero brought the “blue” half of Manchester into ecstasy. 3: 2, and if the points are equal, the gold goes to the City. United that year was left without any trophies for the first time in seven years, and in the Champions League could not leave the group.