A rather mediocre footballer, and at the same time the most titled coach in the world, leading his club to victory for 27 years; a unique person with an unusual fate, a symbol of family fidelity, a loving husband and father of three sons; excellent writer, honorary doctor of nine universities, officer and commander of the Order of the British Empire, knight, spirit and banner of English football. All this is Sir Alexander Ferguson, an inconspicuous gray-haired Scot who cannot be admired.
early years
Alexander was born on the last day of 1941 in the Scottish town of Govan. His family lived quite modestly, his father worked as a tinsmith in the port and dreamed that his son would continue his career.
But young Alex dreamed only of football, and at the age of 16 he played for the local Queens Park club. Subsequently, he changed many teams, where he was not particularly distinguished by talents, although he regularly scored. After his 20th goal, Alex still had no place in the first team, and so in 1960 he moved to St. Johnston, followed by several more clubs, and in 1974 Ferguson ended his football career.
In the same year, he was offered a coaching position on the East Sterlingshire team, followed by four years of work as a trainer at St. Mirren, and even then Ferguson realized that he had found his calling. In 1978, Alex led "Aberdeen, " where he was nicknamed "Raging Fergie." Iron discipline and incredibly effective tactical moves made him a respected figure in the coaching environment. “Aberdeen” just took off under the leadership of Ferguson, winning three times in a row the Scottish Cup, and then the European Championship.
Career at Manchester United
In early November 1986, Ferguson was appointed head coach of one of the top English clubs - Manchester United, but Alex began rather sluggishly. Perhaps the reason for this was the death of his beloved mother Elizabeth, who died of lung cancer.
Alex began the 87/88 season with high-profile acquisitions for the club, creating an iron discipline within the team, as usual. And the following years were really stellar. The club became a five-time winner of the FA Cup, a prestigious award, ten-fold - the Super Cup of England, the Cup Winners Cup. This is only a small part of Ferguson's triumphal victories. To list all the achievements of this person as a coach of Manchester United, I would have to write a book.
He called the players his children and preferred young talents rather than loud transfers for a lot of money. A strict, very demanding father, who plowed like a damned for the success of his children, demanding efforts from them only for the sake of victory, and was ready for everything for them. And they paid him the same.
Thanks to these incredible achievements, Alex Ferguson was inducted into the Scottish and English Football Halls of Fame, has many awards, and in 1999 received the title of Knight-Bachelor.
