When the emperor retires

My autobiography

Author: Alex Ferguson

Publisher: Hachette , Rs 1299

Ferguson chooses to be obscure and discreet about many aspects that readers were keen to discover in his autobiography, says KUMAR CHELLAPAN

The English Premier League (EPL) is the most watched football league in the world with a global TV audience of 4.7 billion people. One of the most striking images of such football matches’ telecasts are shots of the faces of the team managers sitting in the side lines on whose faces one can see all the navarasas during the matches. For the managers, every match is important and a victory is a must to ensure their presence in the top four all the time. They perform the jobs of a coach, administrator, psychologist and team selector. Now that the 2014 FIFA World Cup is round the corner, all debates and discussions in countries featuring in the final round will be centred on the players and the managers.

Football managers are a respected and feared lot all over the football-faring nations. It’s they who mould players, devise strategies and win matches. Desmond Morris, in his famous book Soccer Tribe writes, “It is the job of the manager through sheer strength of personality and a few ritual incantations to convert a team of cynical hard-bitten professional sportsmen into a group of possessed fanatics, ready to give their lives — or at least their limbs — for the tribal cause. He must be able to transform what might be seen as ‘just another day’s work into a dedicated crusade. He must be part hypnotist, part psychiatrist, and part sorcerer.”

Morris says, “The average life-span of a manager at a club is slightly less than three years. Majority of them leave because they are sacked by their board of directors for failing to produce a winning team.” Alex Ferguson (born in 1941) played professional football till his 30s and turned a manager after hanging his boots. He started his managerial career with East Stirlingshire, moved on to St Mirren and Aberdeen Football Club, all playing in the Scottish league. The world took notice of Ferguson when he guided Aberdeen to three league titles, four Scottish Cups, the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1983.

In 1986, he was hired by Manchester United. Ferguson created a world record by continuing as its manager for an unbelievable 26 years which earned him admiration and respect all over the football world. When he had joined the Manchester United, the club, it was at a crossroads faring poorly in the league table. How Sir Ferguson built up Manchester United is history; from the bottom of the League table, the team rose like a phoenix, winning 13 Premier League Championships, five FA Cups, a Club World Cup and two UEFA Champions League titles.

Credit should be given to Ferguson for moulding megastars like Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy and so on. The autobiography is an insight into the functioning of professional football clubs which buy and sell football players based on their form and calibre. It also features the authority wielded by the manager over the players. Ferguson recounts the story of his stand-off with Beckham who let the team down on their match against Arsenal in the 2003 FA Cup’s fifth-round. When this was pointed out to Beckham, he swore at Ferguson. Ferguson told the club board next day itself that Beckham has to go. “The moment a Manchester United player thought he was bigger than the manager, he had to go,” writes Ferguson. And this happened at a time when other European clubs were ready to shell out 27 million pound sterlings for Beckham!

But Ferguson has maintained a discreet secrecy throughout his book about how he built up Manchester United and what strategies he deployed to win the Premier League titles and the Cup Winner’s Cup. Having served for more than quarter of a century he has a lot to tell the readers. But most parts of the autobiography focus on some prominent players. It was natural for readers to expect what was in his mind when he led his team to the final match of the UEFA Champions League in 2009 and 2011. But he is silent on it.

There is no mention about Ferguson’s playing days or his coaching assignments with the Scottish clubs. He has kept to himself about his childhood and youth days too. Agreed, he moulded an average Manchester United team into a champion side. But he had the full support of the Glazer family which owns the club. What was the strategy he employed to outsmart his opponents ? How did he ward off threats from super stars of other clubs?

What is surprising is Ferguson’s silence on assignment as the manager and coach of Scotland for the 1986 World Cup held in Mexico. It was the only time in his career Ferguson worked as coach of a World Cup squad. After reading the book, I felt the more appropriate name for this book would have been “My Manchester United Days”. Yet, this book is a must read for those in the business of football. No football managers or coaches from India have come out with their reminiscences. Their minds could be heavy with goals scored by the opponents.