Sir Alex Ferguson, an eminent football manager, was born to
Alexander and Elizabeth on December 31, 1941 in Glasgow, Scotland.
He married Cathy and they have three sons; Mark and twins, Darren
and Jason. Of his sons, only Darren has followed his father’s profession
and is the manager of the Peterborough United FC.
He managed the Scotland national football team for a brief period in
1986 before he moved to the Aberdeen Football Club.
Between 1957 and 1974, Sir Alex Ferguson spent his playing career
with the Queen’s Park FC (1957-60), St. Johnstone FC (1960-64),
Dunfermline Athletic FC (1964-67), Rangers FC (1967-69), Falkirk
FC (1969-73) and Ayr United FC (1973-74). Being a talented striker,
he helped the Saints’ to win the Scottish First Division in 1962-63 and
the Bairns to secure the Scottish First Division in 1969-70. By the end
of the 1973-74 season, Sir Alex Ferguson completed his stint as a
player scoring 167 goals in 327 appearances that he made for various
clubs.
At the age of 32, Sir Alex Ferguson began his management career as a
part-time job in June 1974 with the East Stirlingshire FC. It was only
when he moved to the St.Mirren FC, that he started his full-time
management career. With him as the coach, the Saints’ team won the
Scottish First Division in 1976-77. During his stay at St.Mirren, Sir
Alex Ferguson coached the team and spotted young talents like Billy
Stark, Tony Fitzpatrick, Lex Richardson, Frank McGarvey, Bobby
Reid and Peter Weir.
In June 1978, when he joined the Aberdeen Football Club (FC), he was
younger than a few senior players of the team. Sir Alex Ferguson
earned the respect and trust of his team players only after the Dons
won 5-0 against the opponent team on the final day of the Scottish
league that season (1979-80). Being a strict disciplinarian with
brilliant managerial skills, he helped the Dons’ to become the runner-
up of the Scottish League Cup in 2 seasons, 1978-80, and clinch the
Scottish Premier Division title (1979-80). The outstanding team-
building talent of Sir Alex Ferguson helped the Dons’ team to take
the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup Winners’
Cup in 1982-83 and secure the UEFA Super Cup in 1983-84. With his
guidance, the Aberdeen FC bagged the Scottish Football Association
(SFA) Cup for 3 consecutive seasons, 1981-84 and also during 1985-86.
After his efficient training, the Dons’ performed well to fetch the
Scottish Premier Division titles for 2 consecutive seasons, 1983-85 and
the Scottish League Cup in 1985-86.
On November 6, 1986, Sir Alex Ferguson took up as the manager of
Manchester United. After a few initial disappointments from players,
he came back with a bang when his team won the League Cup during
1991-92 and the Premier League in 1992-93. His team-building tactics,
by bringing-in talent from other teams to the Red Devils’ squad
showed remarkable results. Sir Alex Ferguson worked with talented
players like Dwight Yorke, Ryan Giggs, Teddy Sheringham, Paul
Scholes and Ole Gunnar Solskjær and won the memorable the FA Cup
Final against Newcastle United (2-0) in 1998-99. In that season, the
Red Devils’ squad also bagged the UEFA Champions League and the
Intercontinental Cup. Under the efficient coaching of Sir Alex
Ferguson, Manchester United won the Premier League (10 times), the
FA Cup (5 times), the League Cup twice, the FA Charity/Community
Shield (8 times), the UEFA Champions League twice, UEFA Cup
Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup once each.
In 1983, Sir Alex Ferguson was honoured in 1983 with an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire (OBE), for his service to football. He
received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in
1995 and the Knight Bachelor in 1999. In recognition to his
achievements with the Manchester United FC, Sir Alex Ferguson was
inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Being the most successful league manager, Sir Alex Ferguson became
the Football Association (FA) Premier League Manager of the Year, 8
times (1993-94, 1995-97, 1998-2000, 2002-03, 2006-08). In 1996, he
received the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Tribute Award for
his success with the Red Devils’ team. By winning the FA Premier
League Manager of the Month, 21 times, Sir Alex Ferguson became the
only manager in the history of English football to have accomplished
such a feat. He received the League Managers Association (LMA)
Manager of the Year in 1998-99, 2007-08 and the LMA Manager of the
Decade for the 1990s. When the Red Devils’ walked away with the
UEFA Champions League in 1998-99, the coach of the team, Sir Alex
Ferguson was awarded the UEFA Champions League Manager of the
Year for that season.
For his commendable contribution to the game of football, Sir Alex
Ferguson received a number of awards in 1999, including, the BBC
Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award, BBC Sports Personality
of the Year Team Award, World Soccer Magazine Coach of the Year,
Mussabini Medal, International Federation of Football History &
Statistics (IFFHS) Club Coach of the Year and Onze d’Or Coach of
the Year. Sir Alex Ferguson was conferred the Laureus World Sports
Award for Team of the Year (2000) and BBC Sports Personality of
the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.
The year 2007 was yet another successful year for the winning manager
of the Manchester United FC, Sir Alex Ferguson, who went on to
claim the World Soccer Magazine Coach of the Year, the Professional
Footballers’ Association Merit Award and Onze D’Or Coach of the
Year.
In 2008 Sir Alex Ferguson led Manchester United to his 10th Premier
League championship and his second European title. The club from
Manchester beat the club from London, Chelsea, in the UEFA
Champions League final held in Moscow, to lift the most prestigious
European trophy. It was speculated that Sir Ferguson will retire soon
after this incredible success, but these rumors were soon put to rest
when he vowed to stay on.
At the end of the 2008-09 United won the Premier League title for the
third consecutive time, a feat that made Alex Ferguson the first
manager in the history of the Premier League to win three titles in a
row. The English football empire also added to its trophy case the
2009 Football League Cup. It won the Football League Cup again in
2010.
In 2011 Ferguson's team won the championship once again, against all
odds and in convincing fashion. The 2011 championship was especially
meaningful for the Scot manager and for the team's fans, as it allowed
the club to move ahead of Liverpool on the all-time championship list,
with 19 trophies, compared to the Reds' 18. For many,turning
Manchester United into the most successful English football club in
history, has cemented Alex Ferguson's place in history, as the most
successful football manager of his era.
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