Alex Ferguson: A Career Retrospective

Sir Alex Ferguson is set to receive honors for his monumental UEFA Winners’ Cup win as the Aberdeen coach over Real Madrid in May of 1983, and looking back, it seems that his career only improves with age.

The great success he showed in the Scottish football landscape had, until now, been a footnote in the illustrious career he would proceed to have. 

1986 saw his induction as manager of Manchester United, a team that at that point hadn’t won league honors in 19 years. It didn’t take long before his presence as manager was felt, having integrated a famously offensive yet team-centric style of play.

Through developmental focuses in players like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and David Beckham, he catalyzed improvements for the now, so to speak, as well as establishing mentors for the championship teams he would go on to head.

Though the early Ferguson-United teams showed gradual improvements to round out the 80s, it would be the next two decades that spelled dominance for the reds. 

Through investing in talent to come, as well as constantly adapting his gameplans to adhere to the evolution of football as a tactical sport, Ferguson notched 2 Champions League Trophies, 5 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 1 UEFA Winners’ Cup, and a whopping 13 Premier League Titles.

As Alex Ferguson sets to receive a medal for the pinnacle of his stint at Aberdeen, it is said without doubts that he is one of the greatest coaches and managers to grace the field.