Sir Alex Ferguson: The Stuff of Legends

Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Peter Schmeichel, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Jaap Stam, Ole Solskjaer, Roy Keane, and Teddy Sheringham have all been a part of United folklore; their contributions and feats towards the club have made them legends at Old Trafford.

But the constant that has been there and consistantly overlooked has been the resurrection of Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson.

When he took over in 1986 from Ron Atkinson, United was a club with a great past but was spiralling downwards into obscurity. Ferguson's desire and commitment slowly got United into the top league. Today his United side is on the verge of becoming England's most successful footballing outfit.

His principles of player discipline have seen many great names leave Old Trafford: Paul McGrath, Jaap Stam, David Beckham, and Ruud Van Nistelrooy have all been dispatched from Old Trafford without a second thought.

He might just be one of the greatest managers ever. His ability to spot talent is also brilliant. Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Cristiano Ronaldo were all young when they were signed by Fergie.

Another brilliant characteristic is his boldness in making decisions. Dispatching players like Stam, Beckham, etc. took lot of courage as he was answerable to millions of fans worldwide.

Although he wouldn't mind admitting that he made some costly mistakes in the form of Juan Sebastian Veron and Diego Forlan. Some of his signings such as Eric Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson were total flops, but he admits he made mistakes and is not afraid of making mistakes.

He has had some great rivalries in the past like with Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Arsene Wenger, and Jose Mourinho, faring pretty well against most of them.

His legendary status is also backed by his impressive CV. 10 Premier League titles, one Champions League, five FA Cups, two League cups, one Cup winners Cup, one Super Cup and one Intercontinental Cup later he is still hungry for more.

However, he has still preserved the attacking football that Sir Matt Busby introduced at Manchester United when teams were playing more and more technically perfect, robotic football.

Over a period of 22 years he has had a brilliant winning percentage of 58.06. Truly amazing for any coach managing over such a long time span.

It is not wrong to say that we are witnessing a genius at work whenever Manchester United plays.

My salutations to Fergie and his brilliant footballing genius!