Who is the greatest football manager in history? What are his honors?

One of the greatest head coaches

Sir. Alex Ferguson In December 1999, Alex Ferguson, the head coach of Manchester United in England, was awarded a knighthood by Buckingham Palace. Thus becoming an officially canonized figure of meritorious service in English football and going down in history. It is unique in football history for a head coach to receive such an honor.

In the history of English football, there are three coaches who can write a lot about it. They are Chapman who created the WM formation, Busby who revitalized Manchester United and Ferguson who revived Manchester United. Chapman's contribution was to pioneer the formation of modern football with the WM formation; Busby's achievement was to rebuild Manchester United after the Munich air crash; Ferguson's contribution was to revitalize Manchester United when the team was in decline. The team created an era of glory for Manchester United again.

Ferguson was born in December 1942. He played in several clubs including Glasgow in his youth, but in general, he did not achieve particularly eye-catching results as a player.

In June 1974, he began his coaching career at East Stirlingshire Club. But in October of the same year, he accepted an invitation from St. Mirren and led the team to the Scottish Premier League in 1977. The following year, Ferguson was fired by the club for very strange reasons due to conflicts with the club. This was the only time in Ferguson's coaching career that he was fired.

In June 1978, Ferguson immediately switched to the then unknown Aberdeen team. Although the team only ranked fourth in the league this season and lost in the final and semi-finals of the two cup competitions, the following year Aberdeen defeated the two strongest teams in Scotland, Rangers and Celtic. Monopolized the league for 15 years and won the championship.

In eight seasons at Aberdeen, Ferguson won three league titles, four Scottish Cup titles and one Scottish League Cup title. But in comparison, the most amazing result is undoubtedly the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup. This season, Aberdeen defeated Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and other European giants to win the European Cup Winners' Cup, becoming the third Scottish team to win European honors, and subsequently won the European Super Cup. In the 1984 New Year's Honors list, Ferguson was awarded an OBE.

Afterwards, Ferguson's ability attracted the attention of English teams, and news continued to spread that he was about to leave Aberdeen. In 1985, Jock Steyn, the legendary coach of the Scottish national team, passed away suddenly. Ferguson, who was also the assistant coach of the national team at the time, had to prepare for the 1986 World Cup as the head coach of the national team. At the beginning of 1986, he was elected to the board of directors of Aberdeen Club, but there were still rumors that he would go south to coach Manchester United.

On November 6, 1986, Ferguson officially succeeded Atkinson and began coaching Manchester United. He spent many years building Manchester United into one of the strongest teams in the world. He also introduced a continental style of play, changing the situation in which English teams only knew how to play "long passes and quick attacks." Manchester United under Ferguson has never finished outside the top three in the English Premier League and has won 11 championships in 17 seasons.

In the 13 games before Ferguson took over, Manchester United won only 3 games, lost 6 games and drew 4 games. In comparison, the former defeated team Liverpool is in the limelight and leading the way. Manchester United fans are full of complaints, and the club is even more dissatisfied. Ferguson took over as manager under these circumstances, tasked with reviving United's hopes of defeating Liverpool and regaining top spot in England.

At the beginning of taking office, Manchester United had no strength at all, and Ferguson's focus was on avoiding relegation. Without introducing new players, he led the team to struggle in the first season and retained its first-class status. But the fans are still not satisfied. What they want is glory, not the fear of relegation. Ferguson must look to the future and take a long-term approach. At that time, there were not many players in the youth team who could be promoted to the adult team, so they turned their attention to the player transfer market, and the club had no money to buy new players. He was in a dilemma and decided to start developing young players.

After successfully avoiding relegation in the first season, Ferguson began to transform the team in the 1987-88 season. He completed three important signings and introduced Brian McClair, Vivi Anderson and Steve Bruce. . During this season, McClair, who had just joined Manchester United, scored 31 goals in the league and cup, helping the team win the league runner-up. Just when people had hopes for this team, Manchester United fell into a slump in the 1988-89 season, ranking only 11th and failing to perform in the League Cup and FA Cup. At the same time, Ferguson continued to transform the team. , he signed Gary Pallister and Paul Ince. The anxious fans did not see any surprises from Ferguson. On the day when he served as the head coach of Manchester United for three years, a fan held a placard that read: "Looking for excuses for three years, Ferguson." This was the darkest moment in Ferguson's life.

The 1989-90 season was a critical year for Ferguson. The poor results last season caused his reputation to drop. The continued downturn in the league this season made Manchester United consider firing Ferguson. But Ferguson endured hardship and endured hardship, and moved towards the established goal step by step. At the beginning of 1990, Ferguson arrived at Manchester United's most difficult moment, but the victory in the FA Cup saved him. The quarter-finals were the turning point of everything. Manchester United defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 away from home, Mark Robins' goal allowed Ferguson came back from the dead, and an insider later revealed that Manchester United would fire Ferguson if they lost the game. Later, in the FA Cup final, Manchester United drew 3-3 with Crystal Palace and won 1-0 in the extra round. This championship retained Ferguson's position as coach, although Manchester United only finished 13th in the league. But from then on, Manchester United began to move towards a renaissance, going from victory to victory. In 1991, Manchester United topped the domestic league and defeated Barcelona in the European Cup Winners' Cup to win the Gold Cup. At the same time, Ferguson continued his dynasty puzzle in an orderly manner. This year, he successively signed Schmeichel, Kanchelski and England right back Paul Parker. At this time, perhaps no one realized that a new, unprecedentedly powerful dynasty was brewing, and the founder of the dynasty was none other than Alex Ferguson.

Of course, most Manchester United fans are concerned about the domestic league. They are not willing to lose at Old Trafford, they need to succeed. In the 1991-1992 season, although Manchester United performed bravely for most of the time, they were defeated by Leeds United at the last minute and fell short. However, Ferguson led the team to defeat Nottingham Forest and Yugoslavia's Red Star Belgrade at Old Trafford to win the European Super Cup, which was no small achievement. This year, Ferguson completed the last signing of the dynasty. He poached the future king Cantona from Leeds. In the same year, a group of young people trained by Manchester United’s youth training system won the FA Youth Cup. Among this youth team, there were some names that would become famous in the future: “Lee Sharp, David Beckham, Giggs, the Neville brothers, Scholes, Bart..."

In the 1992-1993 season, Manchester United fans finally got their wish and saw Ferguson lead the team to win the trophy at Old Trafford. First Premier League title. After 6 years of sharpening his sword, Ferguson spent 6 years building a new Manchester United team. Holding the championship trophy in hand, Ferguson knew that the 26 years of waiting would become a thing of the past, and the 26 years of ups and downs would become history. He and Manchester United emerged from the shadows and ushered in sunny days. This year Ferguson was elected coach of the year.

In the 1993-1994 season, Ferguson was once again elected as the best coach because this year he led the team to win the Premier League and FA Cup double championship. In the final of the Confederations Cup, Manchester United led by Ferguson lost to Aston Villa led by Atkinson and failed to win a Grand Slam.

In 1995, things should have been smooth sailing for Ferguson. He bought striker Andy Cole from Newcastle United and captured the league's top rival Blackburn Rovers 1:0 at Old Trafford. Just as they were about to win their third consecutive Premier League title, something happened that shouldn't have happened.

French star Cantona couldn't control his temper and was ridiculed by Crystal Palace fans when he was sent off. He was severely punished by the English Football Association and suspended for 9 months. This year, Manchester United has nothing in the honor room.

The following season, Manchester United rebounded, and Cantona got rid of the shadow of the scandal and once again acted as a killer on the forward line. A strong combination of Kanchelski, Paul Ince and Mike Hughes. With Ferguson's flag at his fingertips, the disciples were invincible and won the double crown again. This year, Ferguson was once again elected Coach of the Year.

The 1996-1997 season was a year of renewal for Manchester United. Under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, the 1992 golden generation of Giggs, Beckham, the Neville brothers, Scholes and others He took over the class of the older generation of Red Devils and took steps towards the top of Europe.

By the 1998-1999 season, Ferguson's performance reached its peak. The Manchester United team he commanded won the Triple Crown and won the Premier League, FA Cup and European Cup championships. The fans at Ford Stadium became the happiest people in the world. Behind Manchester United's three consecutive championships, Ferguson took the greatest credit. He became the first team coach in the history of English football to complete a hat-trick. In the 2002/03 season, Manchester United caught up with Arsenal in the league after being 11 points behind, and finally regained the league championship. Subsequently, after a three-year adjustment period, in the 06/07, 07/08, and 08/09 seasons, Ferguson led Manchester United to complete a hat trick again, and defeated Chelsea on penalties in 2008, regaining the Champions League championship and once again winning the Champions League. Top of Europe

When talking about his achievements in coaching Manchester United, Ferguson never talked about his talent, his ability to stimulate the potential of his players, his experienced formation and team building. The artistic ability of the team. But careful researchers have discovered that one of the secrets of Ferguson's success is that as a coach, he has the ability to control the situation. The most important thing is to reshape the team spirit, especially to cultivate the team spirit of the whole team that refuses to admit defeat. He can pay close attention to people and carefully observe the subtle reactions of his players. Some players are easily irritable, some are nervous before the game, and some are arrogant. No matter what kind of player he is, he can stay calm and do his job reasonably.

Ferguson is trustworthy in employing people. French star Cantona has a hot temper and has made a fool of himself on the court more than once. He and Maradona even jointly established a players association before the 1990 World Cup in Italy to protect the interests of players. But it was this Cantona that left a deep impression on Ferguson. Cantona would take the initiative to increase the intensity after every training. He would make preparations in advance before every game and was very dedicated. One time before a game against Liverpool, the players were all having dinner or drinking coffee and chatting, but Cantona dressed up alone and started warming up in advance. His professionalism infected Ferguson, who set him as a role model for the entire team.

When dealing with star players, Ferguson first showed fatherly care and strict requirements. The most typical one is David Beckham. David is an idol star cultivated by Ferguson. 35 of Manchester United's goals were initiated by Beckham, or at least related to him. He has the potential of a world-class player. But since he fell in love and got married to Victoria Adams of the Spice Girls, he once failed to attend training on time and even asked for a raise. In response, Ferguson reprimanded Beckham in front of many players and even made him sit on the bench. His clear-cut approach to rewards and punishments serves as a warning to other players.

Player experience:

1958-60 Queens Park Rovers 14/31

1960-64 St Johnstone 19/37

1964- 67 Dunfermline Athletic 66/88

1967-69 Rangers 25/41

1969-73 Falkirk 37/106

1973-74 Ayr United 9/24

Coaching experience:

East Stirling from July 1974 to October 1974

St Mirren from October 1974 to May 1978

1976-77 First Division Championship

May 1978-November 1986 Aberdeen

1979-80 Scottish Premiership Championship

1981-82 Scotland FA Cup Champion

1982-83 European Cup Winners' Cup Champion

1983-84 Scottish FA Cup Champion

Scottish FA Cup Champion

European Super Cup Champion

1984-85 Scottish Premier League Champion

1985-86 Scottish FA Cup Champion

Scottish League Cup Champion

November 1986 to present Manchester United

1989-90 English FA Cup Champion

1990-91 European Cup Winners' Cup Champion

1991-92 English League Cup Champion

1992-93 English Premier League Champion

1993-94 English Premier League Champion

English FA Cup Champion

1995- 96 English Premier League Champion

English FA Cup Champion

1996-97 English Premier League Champion

1998-99 English Premier League Champion

English FA Cup Champion

European Champions Cup Champion

1999-2000 Club World Cup Champion

English Premier League Champion

2000-2001 English Premier League Champion

2002-2003 English Premier League Champion

2003-2004 English FA Cup Champion

2006-2007 English Premier League Champion

2007-2008 English Community Shield Champion

2007-2008 English Premier League Champion

2007-2008 European Champions Cup Champion

2008-2009 Club World Cup Champion

2008-2009 English Premier League Champion

English League Cup Champion

English Premier League Champion