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Alex Ferguson

Not to be confused with Alex Fergusson (politician).

Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a retired Scottish footballer and retired manager. He has managed St. Mirren, Aberdeen, and Manchester United. He is widely considered to be the greatest football manager of all time, and has won more trophies than anyone else in the history of English football.

Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson.jpg
Ferguson in December 2006
Personal information
Full nameAlexander Chapman Ferguson[1]
Date of birth (1941-12-31) 31 December 1941 (age 83)
Place of birthGovan, Glasgow, Scotland
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Playing positionForward
Youth career
Harmony Row Boys Club
Drumchapel Amateurs
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1957–1960Queen's Park31(15)
1960–1964St Johnstone37(19)
1964–1967Dunfermline Athletic89(66)
1967–1969Rangers41(25)
1969–1973Falkirk95(37)
1973–1974Ayr United24(9)
Total317(171)
National team
1960Scotland Amateurs[3]1(1)
1967Scotland XI[4]7(9)
1967Scottish Football League XI[5]2(1)
Teams managed
1974East Stirlingshire
1974–1978St Mirren
1978–1986Aberdeen
1985–1986Scotland
1986–2013Manchester United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

As a player, he played as a forward. He play for multiple Scottish teams, including Dunfermline Athletic and Rangers. After retiring from playing, he started managing at East Stirlingshire. He would be hired by St Mirren, Aberdeen, and the Scotland national team, due to the death of Jock Stein. He was the manager of Scotland at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

In November 1986, he was appointed the manager of Manchester United. He won 38 trophies with Manchester United, including 13 Premier Leagues, 5 FA Cups, 4 Football League Cups, 10 FA Community Shields, 2 UEFA Champions Leagues. He would manage the team until his retirement in 2013.

Playing Career

He made his debut for Queen's Park at age 16.[6] He would score 20 goals in 31 games for Queens Park. He joined St Johnstone in 1960 to try to get regular gametime. He would score a hat-trick for St Johnstone against Rangers. He signed for Dunfermline in 1964.

In the 1964-65 season, Dunfermline finished 3rd with 49 points. They finished 1 point behind Hearts and Kilmarnock. Ferguson was dropped for the 1964–65 Scottish Cup final. In that final, Dunfermline lost 3-2 against Celtic. He was the joint top scorer in the 1965–66 Scottish Division One season. He and Joe McBride both scored 31 goals. He joined Rangers in 1967, for a Scottish record of £65,000. He would only spend 2 season at Rangers, before joning Falkirk in 1969.

He retired in 1974, after spending 1 season at Ayr United. He scored 171 goals in 317 games throughout his career.

Managerial Career

Early career as manager

In June 1974, Ferguson became the manager of East Stirlingshire. A year after that, St Mirren offered Ferguson the job as their manager. Ferguson took the job. In 1974, St Mirren were playing in the second division. By 1978, Ferguson had led the club to the First Division title. St Mirren fired Ferguson from his role in 1978.[7]

Aberdeen

Ferguson became Aberdeen manager in 1978. At that time, Aberdeen had only won the league title once. Ferguson was still a young manager. His start with Aberdeen did not go very well. Aberdeen lost the Scottish Cup semi-final and the Scottish League Cup final in his first season, and finished fourth in the league.

In the 1979-80 season, Aberdeen won the Scottish league. In 1982, the team won the Scottish Cup. As a result of winning the cup, Aberdeen played in the European Cup Winners' Cup the following season (1982-83). Impressively, Aberdeen beat Bayern Munich on their way to the final. They faced Real Madrid in the final. Aberdeen won that game 2-1 and won the competition.[8] In the next season, Aberdeen beat the European Cup champions Hamburger SV to win the European Super Cup.

Aberdeen won the league title in 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons and won a couple of domestic cups. He left for Manchester United in November 1986.

Manchester United

On 6 November 1986, Manchester United appointed Ferguson as their manager. The team was in the 21st position (out of 22) when he took over, but they finished 11th. Manchester United finished second in the following season, 1987-88.

Career statistics

As a player

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Queen's Park[6][9]
1958–59 8 4 – 8 4
1959–60 23 11 – 23 11
Total 31 15 – 31 15
St Johnstone[9] 1960–61 –
1961–62 –
1962–63 –
1963–64 –
Total 37 19 –
Dunfermline Athletic[9] 1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
Total 89 66
Rangers[10] 1967–68 29 19 5 0 6 2 6 3 46 24
1968–69 12 6 1 0 4 2 3 3 20 11
Total 41 25 6 0 10 4 9 6 66 35
Falkirk 1969–70[11] 21 15 3 3 –
1970–71[12] 28 13 0 0 –
1971–72[13] 28 9 2 1 9 4 – 39 14
1972–73[14] 18 0 2 1 0 0 – 20 1
Total 95 37 7 5 –
Ayr United 1973–74[15] 24 9 4 1 0 0 – 28 10
Total 24 9 4 1 0 0 – 28 10
Career total 317 171 6 0

As a manager

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
P W D L Win %
East Stirlingshire June 1974 October 1974 17 9 2 6 52.9 [16]
St Mirren October 1974 May 1978 169 74 41 54 43.8 [16]
Aberdeen June 1978 6 November 1986 459 272 105 82 59.3 [16][17]
Scotland 1 October 1985 30 June 1986 10 3 4 3 30.0 [18]
Manchester United 6 November 1986 19 May 2013 1,500 895 338 267 59.7 [19]
Total 2,155 1,253 490 412 58.1 —

Honours

Player

St Johnstone

Falkirk

Individual

Manager

St Mirren

Aberdeen

Manchester United

Individual

Orders and special awards

Honorary degrees

Ferguson has received at least eight honorary degrees.[28] These Include:

Country Date University Degree
  England 1996 University of Salford Master of Arts (MA)[29]
  Scotland December 1997 Robert Gordon University Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[30]
  Scotland 2001 Glasgow Caledonian University Doctorate
  Scotland 2002 University of St Andrews Doctorate
  England 2009 Manchester Metropolitan University Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)[31]
  Scotland 29 June 2011 University of Stirling Doctor of the University (D.Univ)[32]
  England 12 October 2011 University of Manchester Doctorate[33]
  Northern Ireland 2014 University of Ulster Doctor of Science (D.Sc)[34]

Alex Ferguson Media

  • Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, in march 1992.

  • Under Ferguson, United acclaimed a treble of trophies in the 1998–99 season.

  • United signed Cristiano Ronaldo in August 2003.

  • Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United F.C.

  • Ferguson in 2008, standing beside assistant manager Carlos Queiroz

  • Ferguson with Sebastian Piñera in 2010

  • Ferguson with Mark Clattenburg in 2016

  • Ferguson receiving an honorary degree from Salford University in 1996

  • Ferguson managing Manchester United in 2009

  • Statue of Sir Alex Ferguson at Pittodrie Stadium by Andy Edwards, unveiled 25 February 2022

References

  1. ↑ "Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson". mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "Alex Ferguson". IMDb. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  3. ↑ McColl, Brian; Gorman, Douglas; Campbell, George. "FORGOTTEN GLORIES – British Amateur Internationals 1901–1974" (PDF). p. 318. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  4. ↑ Bell, Stephen; Zlotkowski, Andre (6 June 2008). "Scotland XI Tour of Asia and Oceania 1967". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  5. ↑ "Alex Ferguson". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Ferguson, Alexander Chapman". QPFC.com – A Historical Queen's Park FC Website. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "No Regrets: When Alex Ferguson Was Sacked By St Mirren On This Day In 1978". The Sportsman. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  8. ↑ "Glory In Gothenburg: How Aberdeen Conquered Europe". Football News, Views & Transfer Rumours | Football Whispers. 2016-05-12. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Alex Ferguson". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player/alexferguson.html. Retrieved 19 January 2018. 
  10. ↑ "Rangers Player Alex Ferguson Details". www.fitbastats.com.
  11. ↑ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1970–71, pp. 724, 740–741. Queen Anne Press, London.
  12. ↑ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1971–72, pp. 563, 537. Queen Anne Press, London.
  13. ↑ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1972–73, pp. 648–649, 683–684, 688. Queen Anne Press, London.
  14. ↑ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1973–74, pp. 572–573, 626–628. Queen Anne Press, London.
  15. ↑ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1974–75, pp. 570–571, 642–644. Queen Anne Press, London.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Bartram, Steve; Bostock, Adam (20 October 2010). "Boss greets landmark game". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  17. ↑ Inwood, Benji (4 November 2011). Timeline: Sir Alex Ferguson's 25 years at Manchester United. London. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/nov/04/sir-alex-ferguson-25-years-manchester-united. Retrieved 30 March 2017. 
  18. ↑ "History archives: Managers: Alex Ferguson". Scottish Football Association. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  19. ↑ "Managers: Alex Ferguson". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  20. ↑ "Scotland – List of Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Manager profile: Alex Ferguson". Premier League. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 22.7 "Trophies: Sir Alex Ferguson". Manchester United F.C. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013.
  23. ↑ "Greatest Managers, No. 1: Alex Ferguson". Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  24. ↑ 📸 France Football ranks the 50 greatest managers of all-time - OneFootball
  25. ↑ FourFourTwo have ranked the 100 greatest managers of all-time | GiveMeSport
  26. ↑ No. 49969. 31 December 1984. p. 9. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/49969/supplement/9 
  27. ↑ "Road named after Sir Alex Ferguson". BBC News. 10 September 2013. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-24030048. 
  28. ↑ "Sir Alex Ferguson's Eight Degrees". Top Universities. 8 May 2013.
  29. ↑ http://www.salford.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1060871/Honorary-Graduates-as-at-20161013.pdf
  30. ↑ "Honorary Graduates – News & Events – Robert Gordon University (RGU) Aberdeen Scotland". www3.rgu.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  31. ↑ University, Manchester Metropolitan. "Honorary Graduates 2011 – 1970, Manchester Metropolitan University". Manchester Metropolitan University.[dead link]
  32. ↑ "2008 – 2017 – About". University of Stirling. Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  33. ↑ "Sir Alex receives University's highest honour on Foundation Day". The University of Manchester. Archived from the original on 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  34. ↑ "Honorary graduates". www.ulster.ac.uk. 8 July 2022.

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