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The decade of speculation is over. Sir Alex Ferguson will retire after 1500 games in charge at Manchester United at the end of the 2012/13 English Premier season, and he will go down in sporting legend as not only the most successful manager ever involved in British football, but as the greatest coach in history.
Now I know that there are and have been a number of great coaches across different sporting codes including Vince Lombardi, Phil Jackson and Jack Gibson a bit closer to home. However, what makes him the greatest is this:
Almost 39 years of coaching, 27 at Manchester United. At this one club he has won 13 Premier League titles which has taken them past Liverpool, five F.A. cups, 4 League Cups, 10 Community Shields, two Champions Leagues, one FIFA Club World Cup, one Super Cup and one European Cup Winners Cup.
That is 37 trophies by my count, which means he averages more than one trophy a season at this club.
This is an unprecedented achievement in any sport, let alone arguably the greatest football league in the world. These numbers alone cement him as an incredible human being.
The past few seasons highlight why Alex Ferguson is such an incredible football manager.
He has had teams of superstars during his tenure, including the treble-winning team of 1999 which saw the likes of Beckham, Giggs, Keane, Schmeichel and Yorke line-up on the field. The team that won the 2008 Champions League had Ronaldo doing whatever he wanted.
However, 2010/11 though saw Ferguson take a bunch of almost no names not only to a record breaking 19th title (making them the most dominant club in Premier League History along the way) but also the final of the Champions League for the third time in four seasons and fourth in 12 years.
He then followed this up by losing last year’s title merely on goal difference, a score that was settled with aplomb after securing Robin Van Persie as Rooney’s partner upfront, and what an incredible managerial move that proved to be.
These 27 incredible years have all been possible because Alex Ferguson provides his players with the two greatest qualities any sportsman can have: passion and confidence.
He arms his players with these weapons, making them feel invincible, and it is for this reason that Manchester United will keep winning titles once he is gone.
He has left them with the perfect balance of age and youth, a heritage that will continue to be built upon and never surpassed, and a mindset of winning that is invaluable.
The game will miss you Sir Alex; take a well deserved bow.
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