Walking in a Fergie Wonderland

This in-depth biography charts the unstoppable rise of the Premier League's longest-serving manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

---

Sir Alex Ferguson is undoubtedly the greatest British football manager in living memory. With a reign at Manchester United approaching 25 years, Sir Alex has brought countless trophies and records to Old Trafford and has transformed United into the most popular football club in the world. Born in Govan, Glasgow, in 1941, Ferguson started his playing career at Queen's Park and Dunfermline, later moving to Rangers for a record GBP65,000. He retired in 1974 to begin his managerial career. Ferguson's biggest club before Manchester United was Aberdeen, where he led a struggling side to an incredible Scottish league championship and oversaw a 2-1 win over Real Madrid to seal the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup. But it is Manchester United that has brought Sir Alex world domination. Joining the club in November 1986 following the sacking of Ron Atkinson, Ferguson immediately set about imporving the players' discipline and strengthening the squad. Things didn't go exactly to plan in Sir Alex's first few years at United, with the team still underperforming, but his signing of Eric Cantona for a bargain GBP1.2million in 1992 helped to secure their first League trophy in 26 years.
An incredible run of success followed, with the emergence of Welsh Wizard Ryan Giggs and 'Fergie's Fledglings', including Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Nicky Butt, contributing to United's dominance of English football during the 1990s. And Fergie's finest moment was still to come in 1999, when Manchester United staged a dramatic last-gasp comeback to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 and clinch an unprecedented Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies. He was knighted the same year for his services to football. Under Sir Alex, United have won 11 Premier League titles - drawing level with arch-rivals Liverpool on 18 League titles in total - and have reached the Champions League final three times, winning the trophy on two occassions. Fergie has also brought some of United's biggest and best-loved stars to Old Trafford and has truly made Manchester United one of the most powerful footballing forces in the world today.