26.38: Ta-ra, Fergie, indeed

Legend: Sir Alex Ferguson is given a guard of honour by both teams ahead of his final game

Sport is a funny old obsession because even a time of triumph can be filled with immense grief. There’s a popular stereotype that grown men don’t cry. Sport tears that to shreds; it makes it a-okay for a man to weep and let it all out.

In 1989, three years after Sir Alex Ferguson had taken over the reins at Manchester United from Ron Atkinson, an infamous banner was unfurled in the stands at Old Trafford that read, “Three years of excuses and we’re still crap, ta-ra Fergie.”

Ferguson has come a long, long way since that cold December night in Manchester. And on a typically wet Mancunian evening on 12th May– four days after he finally put in his papers and decided to take his leave – his 26-year career at Old Trafford came full circle.

And it couldn’t have been summed up any better by the PA announcer (once he finished the long list of trophies amassed through the years; 38 in all), “the impossible dream made possible.”

One final time: Ferguson plants a kiss on his last Premier League trophy

From the struggles of the early years to the first league title for 26 years in 1992; from the class of ’92 to the Eric Cantona years; from the famous treble of 1999 to the league and European double of 2008; from knocking Liverpool off their perch to building an everlasting dynasty, Ferguson has made the impossible dream, possible.

The news of Ferguson’s retirement sent shockwaves around the world, even prompting some fans to break down. One such fan was sent home from work after sobbing uncontrollably, live on the radio. A completely normal reaction, because fans under the age of 30 would have probably never seen anyone else at the helm at United.

Ferguson’s legacy is as strong as the bronze statue dedicated to him outside the North Stand – rightfully renamed the ‘Sir Alex Ferguson Stand’ in his honour. And the United faithful made sure he was fully aware of that in what was his final home game against Swansea.

As Ferguson walked through the guard of honour almost half-embarrassed before kick-off, chewing gum and with gentle applause for the fans, the fourth official raised the electronic scoreboard which read: “26.38.” Twenty six years, thirty eight trophies – that small sentiment spoke volumes.

’nuff said: A substitution board is held up acknowledging the 26 years of service and 38 trophies won by Sir Alex Ferguson

Old Trafford was a rambunctious sea of red. Behind one goal was a mosaic of red and gold that read “20”, signifying the number of league titles the club has now won. The other end read “13”, the number accumulated during the Fergie era. But the biggest of stands, renamed after the man himself, spelt out “Champions” in red, white and black. No surprise then that Sir Bobby Charlton christened Old Trafford the “Theatre of Dreams.”

Among all of them was a banner with the words “Sir Alex-Immortal.” One fan even made an acrostic that read, “For Every Red Gratitude Is Eternal – Fergie.” But Sir Alex would have felt vindicated when the notorious fan from ‘89 unfurled another banner. This one read, “Twenty-three years of silver and we’re still top, ta-ra Fergie.”

Soon after, Ferguson was his usual self, animated and jumping off his seat when Javier Hernandez gave United the lead in the 38^th minute and 26^th second. He was grumpy and visibly frustrated when Michu equalised for Swansea, who were hoping to put a dampener on the party atmosphere inside Old Trafford.

But as always, whoever wrote this script finished with a rather predicable ending. Rio Ferdinand’s 87^th winner – not as late as the late, late winners characteristic of Ferguson’s side along the years – made sure his players gave him a fitting farewell.

Immortal: Old Trafford was filled with banners such as this one and fans were given ‘Champions 20 | 13′ flags by the club on what was an emotional day at Old Trafford.

As people inside Old Trafford and the millions across the world struggled to keep their emotions in check, the man of the moment had no such trouble as he delivered an impromptu speech. It wouldn’t be a Ferguson speech without advice, now, would it?

“You know how good you are, you know the jersey you’re wearing. You know what it means to everyone here. And don’t ever let yourself down,” was the message to his players. The fans were reminded of their duty as well, “The club stood by me. All my staff stood by me. The players stood by me. So your job now is to stand by our new manager. That is important.” Everton’s David Moyes has been hand-picked to succeed him.

The gentleman that Ferguson is, he paid tribute to Paul Scholes, who is retiring for the second time, at the end of the season. He even wished Darren Fletcher a speedy recovery. The Glaswegian has always found time for people in distress – players and fans alike. On the day of his big announcement he called a distraught 12-year-old fan and offered him tickets to his final home game after his elder sister had passed away in a car crash.

This night belonged to Ferguson. The trophy dressed in red and black ribbons was brought out by two men who played a pivotal role in landing his first – Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson, who was earlier seen sobbing as his former manager delivered an emotional speech. The captain of a side usually lifts the trophy but it was only appropriate for Ferguson to be given this honour by Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra.

Grandad: Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates his 13th title with his eleven grandchildren.

Ferguson would later reveal that he made up his mind to retire during Christmas, after the death of his sister-in-law, to spend more time with his wife, Lady Cathy. Ferguson’s a family man and he made sure he reminded everyone when he ended his speech with, “I want to say thank you again from all the Ferguson family. They’re all up there, 11 grandchildren – thank you.” Each one of them had “Grandad – 20” emblazoned on the back of their t-shirts.

Ferguson is old-fashioned; a dying breed whose like will rarely be seen again. The wily old Scot learnt to reinvent himself and his team over 26 years. He ruled with an iron fist and oversaw the transition of at least four title-winning teams. His hunger and drive for the game – unmatched; his greed to win – insatiable.

Just as he had emerged from the tunnel before kick-off, Ferguson disappeared into its shadows, to rapacious applause. “My retirement doesn’t mean the end of my life with the club. I’ll be able to now enjoy watching the team rather than suffer with them.” Come the start of the next season, the 71-year-old will be back, only this time he will take a seat higher up in the stands in the directors’ box and watch on as Moyes tries to build on the dynasty he created in a little over a quarter of a century.

His fellow Scot’s first job on hand will be to resolve the Wayne Rooney issue – who he fell out and later reconciled with – after he put in a second transfer request in three years. This seems to be an end to an era in more ways than one.

Championes, Championes: The Manchester United squad pose on an open-top bus at the start of their Barclays Premier League Trophy Parade through Manchester on May 13, 2013.

The victory parade followed on the next day, and this time the tears were more visible. Not from Ferguson of course but by the fans, who came by the scores and scaled scaffoldings as the team bus toured around the city with Ferguson one final time. “I thought 1999 would never be beaten but you have beaten it,” Ferguson said, as he spoke outside Old Trafford, one final time.

And as he did, many young and old couldn’t hold their tears back. “Fergie Time”, as we know it, has finally come to an end. And the landscape of football has changed forever. What hasn’t, though, is that sport is actually a funny old obsession. And that this moment of triumph is filled with bucket loads of tears.

Ta-ra, Fergie, with a tear…

Added Reading:

1. Mark Robins, who scored the only goal in the FA Cup third round in 1990, has gone down in footballing folklore as the ‘Man who saved Fergie’s job.’ Ferguson went on to win his first trophy that season.
2. Ferguson has won 49 trophies in his managerial career, if you take into account his time at Aberdeen when he set about dismantling the Old Firm’s dominance.
3. Ferguson has also won 10 Community Shields, 10 Manager of the Year and 27 Manager of the Month trophies. United’s 20th title brings him personally level with Arsenal, who are the third most successful club in the country with 13 league titles.
4. During his time, local rivals Manchester City have had 14 managers. Chelsea have had 18, Real Madrid 24, Inter Milan 19, Bayern Munich 14, Juventus 14 and AC Milan 13. Liverpool have had 10.
5. Ferguson’s final league game of the season, away at West Bromwich Albion, on Sunday, 19^th May will be his 1,500^th in charge – 9, 691 days after he first took charge of United on 6th November 1986.
6. Ferguson has been responsible for 38 of 61 trophies – 62% of all silverware the club has ever won.
7. Between Ferguson joining United in November 1986 and announcing his retirement, 1,146 managers left top four division jobs (courtesy: Jonathan Stevenson).
8. 1,198 managers have been employed by football league clubs since the time he took over.
9. Within an hour of Manchester United’s official announcement of Ferguson’s retirement, there were 1.4 million mentions of the news on Twitter. The club’s hashtag, #ThankYouSirAlex, was the No 1 global trend within just eight minutes. There were 13,000 tweets per minute.
10. Then and now: When Ferguson took over in 1986 United had 7 league titles compared to Liverpool’s 16. Today that number stands at 20-18 in United’s favour.
11. 1,499 games of football, with one more to go – that is 13 and half weeks of non-stop football.
12. Ferguson has won 895 of those matches at a 60% win rate. At home, United have won 305 of 405 at a staggering 75% win rate.
13. 2,764 goals have been scored in the Fergie era. 1,360 have been conceded. There have been 49 red cards. (courtesy: squawka.com)
14. United have qualified for the Champions League on 18 consecutive occasions, which is a record.
15. 14 current members of the United squad weren’t even born when Ferguson took over as manager in 1986. Wayne Rooney was a year old.