The Legend of Sir Alex - By Matela Lechesa

The Legend of Sir Alex

The great American football coach Vince Lombardi once famously proclaimed: “If winning isn’t everything why do they keep score?” This maxim could easily be ascribed to the greatest manager in the history of club football (not the American type), Sir Alexander Chapman ‘Alex’ Ferguson.

Since taking over in 1986 as manager of Manchester United, Ferguson has outworked and dominated the football landscape in the United Kingdom and Europe like no one in the history of the game.

Football is a funny old game. Often the gods of football turn back to laugh and mock mortals who value their ideologies more than they are worth, and this is exactly what happened this past season.

Going back to the start of the 2010/2011 season, Manchester United were considered an average team by majority of experts and pundits. Many felt the squad was not deep enough and lacked cutting edge quality especially as the club had still not invested to fill the gaping hole left by the concurrent departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez at the beginning of the previous season.  

The pundits’ logic was simple – United’s senior players had not had a good 2010 World Cup in South Africa by any stretch of the imagination. Rooney had seemingly lost his scoring boots as evidenced by his lacklustre performance for England. Captain Nemanja Vidic was barely average for Serbia while Patrice Evra was at the middle of the whirlwind debacle of France’s World Cup appearance.

The Winners Cha Cha Dance

What the experts forgot to factor in though is ‘The Legend of Fergie.’

Though the Red Devils had never really gone on a real shopping spree since the departure of the 60 goal a season duo of Tevez and Ronaldo, one thing remained intact; Sir Alex Ferguson was still at the helm, and while that is still the case Manchester United has to be the favourites at the beginning of any season. This is a right United have earned under the tutorship of the canny Scotsman.

Sir Alex Ferguson has Manchester United at his heart and his ability to strive on for success when the odds are visibly against him is something that has been woven into his club’s fabric. It seems when the naysayers are at their loudest that’s when Sir Alex is most able to rally his troops around a common mission.

When United kept grinding out results when their rivals could not the pundits began to change their tune but only to say, ‘the team is winning but lacks the flair and charm of Manchester United teams of past.’ Needless to say Fergie used such statement to fuel his troops with further fire. The end result was a league title which was won quite comfortably in the end and a loss in the final of the Uefa Champions League to Barcelona – arguably the best assembled team in the history of the game... far from a season the pundits had predicted at the end of it all. 

"Ref! It's Fergie Time!"

No doubt before Ferguson United was already one of the elite teams in the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent Europe – the Red Devils had already won seven league titles, six FA cups and one continental title – but the hiring of the Scot would catapult the club into the pantheon of legends over the next quarter century. Twelve league titles later, along with two more European titles, Manchester United has become the most successful club in the history of professional football in the United Kingdom. Along with that, the club has also gone on become the most recognisable and most financially valuable sports brand in the world.

Now, you may ask what makes Sir Alex Ferguson so special. Is it his ability to motivate? His unparalleled record? His loyalty towards to one club, or perhaps his understanding of the game? No. Though all of the above are commendable and have made Sir Alex a legend of our time, what strikes me the most about this man is his ability to carry on. Many have come and gone but Fergie has remained at the summit at the highest level, year after year.

When a man becomes so dominant in one field whereby it becomes impossible to find comparisons within the sport it always leads to comparisons with others in other sports. For me Sir Alex is the equivalent of a Vince Lombardi in the NFL or a Phil Jackson in the NBA. But, having said that, football is a global sport unlike these two American sports and perhaps even this comparison does him a disservice.

At 69 years Sir Alex Ferguson still looks fresher than ever and he should go on for at least five more years. In football this is a long time and you would be foolish to bet against Fergie breaking all the managerial records he is yet to.

The Greatest of all-time?

When it is all said and done Ferguson’s life will serve as a manual for anyone who aspires to be a leader in any vocation of life. And one thing is for sure: Manchester United will be favourites for the English Premiership title this season for Fergie has reminded the pundits one again that it is he who is the true talisman at this legendary club.