Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he is scared of quitting management because of the impact his departure from Old Trafford could have on his life. The Manchester United manager acknowledges that he is in the final stretch of his career but wants to continue for as long as his health and enthusiasm allow. He announced several years ago that he was going to retire from football – only to reverse his decision – and is happy to remain in the game
“When I reached 60, I asked myself the question. I almost left,” said Ferguson in an interview with L’Equipe’s sport magazine. “But I quickly realised, with my family, that it was a mistake. Today, I fear the idea of retiring. I have been on the train for so long that when I get off I fear my system will collapse. I have decided not to ask myself the question any more. Three things can make me stop. One: my health. Two: if I don’t take pleasure any more. Three: if I don’t have the strength for new challenges any more.
“Each summer, I have a look at those three things. I go to my doctor first. I had a pacemaker set up four or five years ago. Today, I am playing the penalty shoot-out of my managerial career. I know that. The rest is decided between me and me. I see my doctor every summer. He says ‘boss, you are 67. You will have more and more back pains. Getting up in the morning sometimes won’t be easy.’ This is the penalty shootout.”
Ferguson explained how he helps to bring out the best from his players and keep them hungry for success in an era of huge salaries. “I like to remind them of their roots, so they remember where their parents and grandparents come from,” he said. “I want them to think of the history of their family. To carry the values of their class. Being from the working-class today is facing a world full of technology and comfort that you can’t afford. The players can afford everything but I make sure they keep an ethos. And that starts by working hard. I try to touch the players in their heart. I tell them that nobody will knock on their door to offer them a trophy. That only work and solidarity will reward them.
“Of course you need technique, work and team spirit but you also need the sense of sacrifice. Bryan Robson was a complete and perfect example. To win, you need eight players in the rhythm and the good spirit. Then, they can carry the other three. Less than eight, it’s tough. I like to see a part of my personality in the players. Every manager is like that. It’s reassuring. At Aberdeen the players looked so much like me. Here, it’s in Bryan Robson that I found me the most. He was a manager playing football. What intelligence.
“It’s rare that players respect my tactical wishes throughout the heat of the game. It’s why I have always taken young players and never neglected the local players. So they can understand the United challenge. I prefer a player who can have a bad day but works like a madman more than a naturally-gifted player. I will give more time to the first one to improve because I know he will try and try. Roy Keane was like that. He maybe didn’t have the potential but he became an absolute Manchester United player. He strangled the life out of his opponents. He raised his game. Cristiano Ronaldo is another example. He had talents but above that I believed in his mental strength. In three or four years, he has become the best player in the world. Their success is the success of a club that has given them the right values.”
Ronaldo stayed at Manchester United last summer despite interest from Real Madrid and Ferguson said that it was not a reluctance to sell to Madrid in particular that shaped his determination to keep the Portugal international but the strength of his desire to keep the player. “If two clubs came to offer £100m for Cristiano and Cristiano wants to go to Madrid, do you think I could make him sign for the other club? You think I could go against his wishes? All I can do is advise him. But all this makes sense only if we are ready to sell Cristiano for £100m.
“We have already sold players to Madrid: Heinze, Beckham, Van Nistelrooy. We sold them those players because we wanted to. We didn’t sell Cristiano because we didn’t want to. It’s just a business question, not an ethical question. I won’t let my personal feelings influence my decision-making.”
Ferguson also spoke highly of his goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who he signed from Fulham in 2005. “At the end of January, something interesting happened with Van der Sar. When he beat the unbeaten record for a goalkeeper, he absolutely wanted to get the match ball. And he was so excited that in the dressing room he went and kissed each of his team-mates. At 38, achieving that still meant a lot to him. This made me proud. It means that maybe I have brought something to my players. I am like the keeper of the temple. For 23 years, it has been my motto to never let the perfectionism go.”
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