ImagesPA; Getty ImagesGORDON STRACHAN
“The music he chose for the
team bus was bad – some pub
singer. The players decided the
tape had to go, and we threw it
out of the window. Fergie wasn’t
happy – he threatened us all.
Everyone laughed when we
got off. We weren’t laughing in
front of him on the bus, mind...”RYAN GIGGS
“When I first got into the team,
someone told me that when
you make 25 appearances, you
were allowed a club car. Bryan
Robson and Steve Bruce said,
‘You should ask the gaffer – he’ll
get it for you, no problem’. When
I asked him, I could see his face
turning purple. He said, ‘Club
car? You’ve got more chance of
getting a club bike!’ I walked
out and the lads were there
listening at the door, laughing.”OLE GUNNAR
SOLSKJAER
“He wanted us to express
ourselves, and he created an
environment with inner justice.
Giggsy, Gary Pallister, Keano,
Brian McClair, Cantona, Peter
Schmeichel – we demanded
100 per cent of ourselves.
From 2000, I made notes of our
sessions; I realised that I was
experiencing something only my
team-mates could experience,
because he’s unique. I’ve got
a picture of us together at the
end of the Champions League
final, and I’ll always remember
thinking at that moment, ‘You
deserve this – you deserve so
much to win the Champions
League’. We did it for him.”STEVE MCCLAREN
“The morning after the
Champions League final, the
gaffer had all the staff in at
The Cliff, planning the following
season. That’s why Fergie
was so successful for 27 years- 99 per cent of people would
want to go off on holiday but
he got the staff in, medals
away, asking, ‘How are we
going to repeat this?’”
RIO FERDINAND
“Sir Alex didn’t really praise me- he was fearful that I would
get big-headed. He’d say,
‘Cristiano, Rooney, Tevez,
Berbatov, Giggs, Scholes –
brilliant’, but he’d never really
name-check me or Nemanja
Vidic. We used to think, ‘We’re
keeping clean sheets every
other week here – what’s going
on?!’ But it kept us hungry. We
wanted to prove ourselves to
him, and get the recognition
we felt we deserved. It was
a great bit of management.”
ARSENE WENGER
“I do sometimes get annoyed
with Alex Ferguson, just like he
gets annoyed with me. I don’t
believe that you can compete
at this level and be friends.
But there’s no bad feeling.
Do I enjoy the mind games?
Yes, I do.”ERIC CANTONA
“The philosophy of the club will
never change while Ferguson
is there. He’s so strong and
so popular. He can control
everything. After he leaves –
that’s what makes me worry.”Brondby. Despite scoring 20 goals in six
games, United finished second behind
Bayern, which might not have been enough
to qualify: the Champions League had six
groups, and only the two best runners-up
progressed. On the final matchday, United’s
draw with Bayern meant their fate depended
on Rosenborg or Galatasaray slipping up in
Group B. Facing two winless teams, both sides
managed to lose.
Defeating Inter in the quarters gave United
a semi-final tie with Juventus, who Ferguson
regarded as ‘a benchmark’ for his side –
they’d reached each of the three previous
finals, even if this campaign had seen them
labour in their group and need a late goal to
beat Olympiacos in the last eight. In the first
leg at Old Trafford, Juve dominated the first
half and could have had more than just
Antonio Conte’s goal. Ryan Giggs rescued a
1-1 draw in stoppage time.
Giggs missed the second leg through
injury, days after that FA Cup semi-final goal
against Arsenal. Jesper Blomqvist, who’d
been part of the IFK Gothenburg team that
stunned United in 1994-95, started instead.
“Ferguson told us that Juventus were a great
team but that they didn’t have the players
we did,” said Blomqvist. “He was talking
about Davids, Zidane, Del Piero and Inzaghi!
He really believed in us.”
United trailed to two Pippo Inzaghi goals,
then proceeded to play Juve off the park.
Led by Roy Keane, they roared back to win
3-2. Weeks later, the Champions League
was theirs – as was the Treble. Football...
bloody hell.
MANCHESTER UNITED 3-2
ASTON VILLA 2009
“This isn’t just a job to me. It’s a mission.
We’ll get there, and believe me: when it
happens, life will change for Liverpool.
Dramatically.”
When Ferguson uttered those words in
1988, even he didn’t realise how
dramatically things would change. He’d
been a contender for the Liverpool job three
years earlier, but the Reds chose Kenny
Dalglish to succeed Joe Fagan.
By 1990, Liverpool had 18 top-flight titles
to Manchester United’s seven. Then
Ferguson set about shifting the balance of
power. When the 2008-09 season arrived, he
had won the league 10 times with United;
win it again and they’d equal Liverpool’s
record. Their rivals for the title that season?
Liverpool themselves.
Rafael Benitez’s side led the league by early
January, seven points clear of Manchester
United, who were 3rd despite having won the
Champions League again just months earlier.
Ferguson unleashed the mind games:
“There’s no doubt that in the second half of
the season, Liverpool will get nervous.”
That sparked Benitez’s infamous ‘facts’
monologue to the press, days later. “It killed
him,” chuckled Ferguson. “I didn’t need to say
anything after that.” Liverpool won only two
of their next seven games as United went top.
Benitez’s side would respond, though,
winning 4-1 at Old Trafford. When United
played their next home game against Aston
Villa in early April, Liverpool were back in first
place, albeit having played two games more.
Three minutes after Villa surged into a
shock 2-1 lead, Ferguson summoned a
17-year-old Federico Macheda from the
bench for his debut. His game plan was
simple. “Gamble,” said the manager.
Cristiano Ronaldo levelled, then Macheda
bagged the winner in the third minute of
stoppage time.
United won eight of their last nine games
to bag their 18th league title. A full 29 years
after Aberdeen’s thrashing at Anfield,
Ferguson had matched Liverpool’s record. By
retirement, he’d won the league 13 times,
taking Manchester United’s tally to 20 – two
clear of their rivals.
“My greatest challenge was knocking
Liverpool right off their f**king perch,” said
Ferguson once. “And you can print that.”WHAT THEY TOLD FOURFOURTWO...
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