5 Lesser known Facts About Sir Alex

The greatest manager that Manchester United could ever had and one of the best managers in the world, Sir Alex Ferguson has been one of the most influential people of this sport, But do you know these amazing facts about him?Let’s have a look at some intriguing facts about the greatest manager!

#1 A Pub Owner

We know that greatness comes from small beginnings and it was the same case for Sir Alex.He has done work outside the field and work which was never related to the sport. At first he was an apprentice at a toolmaker’s and then he started his own pub and named it “Fergie’s”.

Also, he had a bar room which he named “Elbow Room” resembling his physical style of play.

So, here we take a learning, you always start small to earn big.

#2 Longest serving Manager?

The United manager stood at his position for 26 and a half years. That’s astonishingly a massive time for a manager at one club, but to your surprise, he is not the longest serving manager, as the longest serving manager in Europe was Guy Roux, at the French club Auxerre for 44 years!

Who thought 26 and a half would be less?

#3 Climbed Walls in Glasgow

As a child, he used to climb walls. Yes, a rather rare thing you would be expecting a manager to do. He grew up in a poor area in Glasgow where there wasn’t much to do but play football and climb walls. He mentioned once about these walls, "The dangerous ones had names - the king, the queen, the suicide, the diamond, the spiky”. He also told that how dangerous it was to climb these walls, but how fun it was to challenge others climb!

#4 Fairfields and reason behind retirement

As Sir Alex annonced his retirement, speculations galored about why he gave up managing a club he had run so brilliantly for close to three decades. The reason apparently was the illness of his wife. The gaffer wanted to be by her side always.

Now that he is done, Ferguson now lives in a mansion in Wilmslow, Cheshire. His house his named “Fairfields”, it’s named after the shipyard where his father used to work.

#5 Fergie Time

“Fergie Time”, a rather known term for the football fans. It’s said that if Manchester United were losing until 90 Minutes, the referee would extend the extra time until it’s long enough for them to equalise or win the game. BBC analysed this time and surprisingly found out that the games went 79 seconds longer when they were losing than winning. Therefore, these 79 seconds were termed as “Fergie time”. It’s said that the win against Bayern in 1999 Champion’s League was because of this “Fergie time”.