Sir Alex Ferguson: The Legendary Journey to 38 Trophies with Manchester United

There is no doubt that Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest Manchester United manager of all time. It is attributed to Sir Alex Ferguson’s magic during his time at Old Trafford that the Red Devils have become one of the world’s most successful and globally renowned football teams. In short, Sir Alex Ferguson led Manchester United to its golden era.

Having won more trophies than any other manager in the history of the sport, Sir Alex Ferguson’s legacy is nothing short of legendary. After successful stints at St Mirren, Aberdeen, and the Scotland national team, Ferguson began his fairytale journey with Man United in 1986. Over a tenure that lasted nearly three decades, the Scotsman brought home every honour imaginable and did so numerous times. 

As a result of the impact that he had in his managerial role at Manchester United, Ferguson has even been honoured with a statue outside Old Trafford which was unveiled in 2011. Notably, it was in 1999 that owing to a year of historic achievements, the Scottish manager became the first English football club manager knighted and has henceforth been known as Sir Alex Ferguson. Like all good stories, Ferguson’s story at Man United had its highs, lows, and everything in between, finally coming to an end in 2013. 

That said, let’s take a deeper dive into Sir Alex Ferguson’s time at Manchester United and gloss over his many incredible triumphs over the years.

How did Sir Alex Ferguson’s journey at Manchester United start?

Owing to Sir Alex Ferguson’s successful stint at Aberdeen, he had caught the attention of many clubs in the English top flight. Prior to his appointment as the Manchester United manager in 1986, many clubs had already sounded their interest in the Scottish manager. Initially, Fergie was approached by Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1982, however, owing to their financial instability, the manager opted to stay put instead. At the end of the 1984–85 season, the option to take over as the new Liverpool manager arose, however, former player Kenny Dalglish ended up taking the position.

After an underwhelming campaign with the Scotland national team in 1986, North London clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal also threw their name in the hat to try and secure Ferguson’s services. However, in the end, he took over his career-defining post as Manchester United manager in November 1986, after Ron Atkinson was sacked. Naturally, there were high expectations from the club, which was at somewhat of a low point at the time. That said, Ferguson managed to avert disaster and ensured that his team finished the season in 11th place, having been second from the bottom when he’d taken over.

However, the next season he fared much better, finishing second in the league. Unfortunately, the 1988–89 season saw the club finish 11th, a big regression from the previous season. Notably, the 1989–90 season, despite significant investment, wasn’t much better, prompting the fans to turn on the manager as well. That said, victories over Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace in the final of the FA Cup effectively saved his position at Old Trafford. Despite this, there were still some reservations regarding Fergie’s ability, and whether he would be able to achieve what Sir Matt Busby was unable to, win the League title.

Then in 1991-92, fortunes started to change with United bringing home the League Cup and European Super Cup. However, it was 1992-93, the first season of the new FA Premier League which saw Manchester United crowned as the first Premier League champions, effectively ending the club’s 26-year wait for a league title. Further, Alex Ferguson would add to this success with a League and FA Cup double in the next year, thus ushering Manchester United into their Golden Era of triumph and success.

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List of Sir Alex Ferguson’s triumphs at Manchester United

That said, the fruits of Sir Alex Ferguson’s labour would finally start to bear fruit as in the 1995–96 season Manchester United secured their second double in three years. Despite an influx of numerous youth players like Gary Neville, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt, United would continue their winning trend, securing a fourth league title in five seasons by the end of the 1996–97 campaign.

Despite Arsenal clinching the title in 1997-98, Ferguson and Manchester United were not ones to be outdone as they secured yet another League and FA Cup double and had put themselves in pole position to contest the elusive Champions League trophy in the very next season. Then, a historic night in Barcelona saw Manchester United crowned the Champions League winners, beating Bayern Munich 2-1 in extra time, thanks to a goal by Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

With the club now finally achieving European success, they maintained a strong hand domestically as well, retaining the League title until 2000-01, their third year in a row. Despite setbacks and internal turmoil with the board, Alex Ferguson decided to stay at the helm and delivered another league title in 2002-03. Most notably, further disruptions took place in 2005-06, when Ferguson clashed with investors John Magnier and JP McManus, aka the ‘Coolmore Mafia’ over the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’.

Despite what was one of the most bizarre yet crucial turning points in Manchester United’s history, Ferguson kept his composure and carried on with his duties as the manager. Whilst his troubles with the club’s majority shareholders had become a fiasco discussed from every newspaper to the courtroom, the Scottish manager showed he was built of sterner stuff. As the ownership of the club changed hands in 2005, Sir Alex Ferguson showed that he was still the man for the job, delivering three consecutive Premier League titles in 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09.

By the end of his tenure in 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson had won 38 major trophies, sealing his legacy as the greatest manager in Manchester United history. In what was certainly one of the biggest and most impressive trophy cabinets across Europe, Ferguson had personally contributed to 2 European Cups, 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, the European Cup Winners’ Cup, the European Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, bringing his career tally to an extraordinary 49 trophies.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s historic moments and record-breaking achievements at Man United

All things considered, throughout his nearly 27-year tenure, Sir Alex Ferguson has had numerous historic moments at Manchester United. Be it the innumerable instances of “Fergie Time” doing its magic or the time when the manager himself took to the field alongside his assistant, there have been many unbelievable moments throughout Ferguson’s incredible career. Naturally, along the way, the Scottish manager has also set some lofty records as well. 

Notably, Sir Alex Ferguson won more matches (528) while his teams have scored more goals (1,627) than any other manager in Premier League history. As mentioned previously, Ferguson won the league in three consecutive seasons twice throughout his career, making him the only manager in league history to do so. Additionally, a quality for which he was praised so often, Sir Alex registered the most number of comeback victories in league history, registering 71 victories after falling behind. 

Similarly, Alex Ferguson’s side became the first in league history to defeat their opponents by a 9-goal margin when Manchester United beat Ipswich Town 9-0 in March 1995. Lastly, he also ended 2,284 days with his teams atop the Premier League table, which is also another league record. That said, a key part of his achievements includes the incredible players that have gone on to achieve legendary status among the United faithful. During his tenure, Ferguson was not shy of spending the big bucks and securing some of the best players in the world. 

As such, some of his most expensive and important signings include Steve Bruce, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Teddy Sheringham, Peter Schmeichel, Jaap Stam, Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and many more such talents. However, it was not just Sir Alex Ferguson’s reliance on superstar names, but his ability to identify and develop young talents that places him just a step above the rest among the best managers ever. 

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