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25 years of glittering success but why only two European Cups?

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Neil Warnock and Steve Bruce summed it up more perfectly than any other Premier League manager last weekend: “It’ll never be done again”.

Both managers were, of course, referring to the 25 years that Sir Alex Ferguson has enjoyed as boss of Manchester United; a landmark reached on November 6th and honoured by the club in renaming the giant North Stand at Old Trafford ‘The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand’.

When appointed manager of the current Premier League Champions in November 1986, Ferguson said he wanted to ‘knock Liverpool off their perch’. Of course, the Govan-born man was referring to the all-conquering Merseyside team who had dominated football for a period of 10-15 years.

Not only did Ferguson do just that, he also ensured Man United dominated domestic football consistently in the Premier League era by winning 12 titles and a clutch of other trophies in the process. 37 trophies, to be precise – that’s the total of Ferguson’s trophy haul while in charge at Man United. This consists of five FA Cups, four League Cups and two European Cups amongst many others. The domestic double was won in 1994 and then again in 1996 (the infamous ‘You don’t win anything with kids’ season) and the treble was achieved in 1999 – surely the absolute zenith of Ferguson’s reign.

It’s crazy to think that back in January 1990 before an FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest, Ferguson was heavily rumoured to be in for the sack. This is a claim which then United chairman Martin Edwards vehemently denies. Incidentally, United won the game 1-0 and went on to secure the FA Cup that year, the first trophy of many for the Glaswegian.

Enormous credit must go to Ferguson for the way he has moved with the times and reshaped his squad every three-to-four years for a tilt at domestic and European glory. One slight snag though, you must feel, is that while his achievements on British soil stand no comparison, his exploits on the European front might have yielded better results. Admittedly, the Champions have always fared quite well in the European Cup in the last 15 years or so – taking part in three of the last four Champions League finals, winning the trophy in 2008. Lest we forget, they also triumphed in 1999, beating Bayern Munich 2-1 with late goals from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham.

However, I would argue that their performances in each of those four finals left a lot to be desired. Whilst showing commendable spirit late on against Bayern, United were very much second best throughout the game. In the 2008 final, after dominating the first half, Chelsea should have won it in the second and the additional 30 minutes extra time, hitting the woodwork twice. And the 2009 and 2011 finals against Barcelona…well, Barcelona are the best side in club football right now and they confidently swept United aside in both games, proving just that point.

Ferguson’s two European Cup trophies will be something that irks him slightly, knowing full-well that Man United could, and should, have done better down the years with the players and squad strength they’ve had. It’s taken Pep Guardiola four years to win the same amount Sir Alex has in 25. You can also foresee many more for Pep’s Barcelona side as their brand of liquid football currently shows no signs of let-up.

What Ferguson has done in the British game will never be done again, as Warnock and Bruce correctly stated. His achievements and trophy haul over 25 years are something most managers can only dream of. You just get the feeling, though, that the wily old Scot would be a little bit disappointed with his return of two European Cups in that spell. An incredible body of work he has, yes, but one which should have more silver on this particular front.

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