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Sir Alex rules the roost Man Utd prepares to replace legendary Ferguson
Sometimes, when things are shoved down your throat from all possible angles, it's easy to get tired of them. Goodness knows, I could do without hearing about Britney Spears or the dot-com meltdown for a while. But equally, when they are in your face 24/7, it's easy to forget whether they are any good at what they do and lose sight of whether they are worth celebrating or not. Folks, it's time to tip our hats to Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United. Last weekend, he won his seventh Premiership title in nine seasons. The two times he did not win, his Manchester United side finished second, by a single point (to Blackburn Rovers in 1993-94 and to Arsenal in 1997-98).
He is far and away the most successful manager in the history of the game, having won an astounding 26 trophies: seven Premiership titles, four English FA Cups, one English League Cup, three Scottish titles, four Scottish FA Cups, one Scottish League Cup, two European SuperCups, two Cup Winners' Cups, a Champions League/European Cup and a World Club Championship (Toyota Cup). Actually, Celtic legend Jock Stein also won 26, but six of those were League Cups, and all those titles -- barring the 1967 European Cup -- were won in Scotland, which is hardly among Europe's major leagues. Take the League Cups out of the mix (since most nations don't have them) and Sir Alex still rules the roost with 24 trophies. Behind him are Dynamo Kiev legend Valery Lobanovksy (22), Stein (20), current Italy boss Giovanni Trapattoni (18) and Austrian guru Ernst Happel (17). The funny thing about Ferguson is that his shortcomings are obvious. His teams play an exciting, attractive and effective style, but he is hardly a master tactician, as he showed once again in the first leg of United's Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern Munich, when he failed to adjust to Ottmar Hitzfeld's formation and was played off the park. In terms of personality, he can be prickly. Just ask his former proteges Gordon Strachan and Brian Kidd, both of whom were slaughtered in his best-selling biography. Or consider the fact that he punished David Beckham after his star midfielder missed training to tend to his sick baby son. Beyond that, you'd be hard-pressed to find faults. Ferguson has an uncanny ability to motivate players, to foster the self-belief that they can beat anyone on the day and to capitalize on opponents' mistakes. Few sides are as good as Manchester United in getting from one penalty box to the other with three or four passes. It's a function of movement and understanding, something built up over the years (indeed two-thirds of his squad has played together for five years or longer, a rarity in today's revolving door game). He rules Old Trafford with an iron fist, which sometimes can rub people the wrong way, but he is also the first to stick his neck on the line for his players. In return he demands (and usually obtains) a near fanatical loyalty, which has helped him keep Manchester United's wage bill down to manageable levels. Indeed one of the most amazing aspects of the club is that United's entire first-choice eleven combined makes only slightly more than Inter Milan's striking tandem of Christian Vieri and Alvaro Recoba. Granted, Ferguson had the luxury of inheriting a group of talented home-grown players (Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Wes Brown, the Neville brothers), but it was he who had the courage and foresight to nurture them and give them space in the first-team. In fact, the two go hand in hand. Maintaining a modest wage bill is that much easier when you're dealing with home-grown players. Some of his detractors point to his record in Europe and suggest that it could be better. Indeed, his Champions League victory (two goals in the final 90 seconds against Bayern Munich two seasons back) came in twilight-zone circumstances. But again, the numbers are in his favor. Ferguson has won six international trophies, a success few managers can match. And he has earned his stripes not just with a traditional juggernaut like Manchester United (which, incidentally, had not won the English league in 20 years before his arrival in 1987) but also with a perennial also-ran like Aberdeen. Before he took over the club in 1978, Aberdeen had exactly one Scottish championship (way back in 1954-55). With Sir Alex at the helm, they stormed to three titles in seven years. What makes the feat all the more remarkable is that, for those who don't know, there are only two legitimate clubs in Scottish football, Celtic and Rangers. Together, they have won each of the past 17 Scottish titles. And, in fact, since 1965, apart from Aberdeen's three championships, Celtic or Rangers have triumphed every single year bar one (1982-83, when Dundee won it). The fact that Ferguson, with little money, could break the Old Firm stranglehold is simply astounding. Furthermore, he was equally impressive in Europe, taking little Aberdeen to three European quarterfinals (including the Cup Winners' Cup he won in 1982-83). Sir Alex will retire from management in the summer of 2002, which means next season will be a farewell road-show reminiscent of Michael Jordan's retirement from the NBA. Dozens of names are being bandied about as a possible replacement, but then it could well be a poisoned chalice. Replacing a legend is impossible. No matter who takes over, he is bound to do worse than his predecessor. Based in London, Gabriele Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com.
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