Sir Alex Ferguson's 25 Greatest Moments in His 25 Years at Manchester United

When Sir Alex Ferguson first arrived at Manchester United in 1986, it was a very different club, one tempered by low morale and struggling performances. Now, 12 Premiership titles, two European Cups, five FA Cups and a host of iconic players later, the man they know as Fergie has become the most successful manager in British football history and frequently can be found near or at the top of various lists and countdowns of the all-time greatest managers in world football.

Next week, Sir Alex Ferguson will celebrate his 25th anniversary as manager of Manchester United, so in his honor, we thought we'd count down a quarter-century's worth of his best moments. If you have favorite Fergie moments of your own to share, please tell us in the comments. 

Arise, Sir Alex: Accolades from City and Nation

Let's kick this off with two big moments for Sir Alex, moments when his accomplishments were celebrated by club, city and country. 

A successful season ending in a treble saw him become a knight in recognition of his services to his country via English football in 1999, and he famously called for star player Ryan Giggs to join him in this honor. 

And the queen isn't the only one who gave Fergie a big pat on the back. He holds a Freedom of the City in his hometown of Aberdeen, and earlier this month, the University of Manchester gave him an honorary degree, citing the club's achievements under Ferguson and their impact on culture, commerce and global visibility for the city as the reason. 

As vice-chancellor professor Rod Coombs explained:

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"Every citizen of Manchester, every business in Manchester, and everything that comes out of Manchester, has an extra visibility and an instant recognition factor all over the world. 

The sustained success of Manchester United is such a potent driver of that phenomenon. And the reason it has been sustained for so long is standing here on the platform. His achievements are truly unique."

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Now that we've covered the big accolades, let's get into the reasons why.

Eric Cantona's Kung-Fu Kick

This may seem like a strange inclusion, as it led to arguably one of the best players Manchester United has ever had to receive an eight-month ban and serve a very brief jail sentence, and led to one of the most bizarre footballing press conferences ever recorded, thanks to a barmy monologue about sardines and seagulls. 

But the incident, in which United star Eric Cantona kung-fu kicked Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons in the stands, not only helped cement his status as a cult icon at the club (he later admitted it was the highlight of his time with the club), it also tells us a lot about Fergie as a manager. He remained calm, stuck by his player, adapted the team well to cover his absence and convinced him to return to Old Trafford, where he had a few more successful seasons.

And Cantona's admiration of his former manager is well-documented. As United's great poet said of Ferguson:

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"Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest managers of all time.

He’s been at the club for more than 20 years with different generations of players.

He’s a great psychologist—he adapts himself to all generations of players—he’s a kind of genius."

 

"

Conquering the Invincibles

At the end of the 2003-04 season, Arsenal had done the impossible. They became only the second top-division football team in England to go unbeaten for an entire season and the first to do so in more than a century. 

And who was the first to beat them in 2004? Manchester United. After the Gooners set the Premier League record for 48 matches without a loss, Wayne Rooney, who had previously broken another Arsenal winning streak while he was at Everton, scored the stoppage-time goal to give United the win.

Of course, the day had one low point for Fergie—as he was entering the tunnel, someone threw a slice of pizza at his face. We couldn't find a video of the incident itself, so here's Patrice Evra and Ji-Sung Park making a Chicago-style pizza while on tour. Mmmm.

Rooney Impresses on His Old Trafford Debut

The arrival of Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford was surrounded by controversy and hype: the hometown boy, the native Scouser and hero of Everton leaving his beloved club to join a reviled league rival and shattering the transfer record for a player under 20 at that. Wazza signed for United for a jaw-dropping £27 million at the age of 18, and it was considered a huge gamble to invest so much on a player that young.

But always the advocate for the young'ns, Fergie had faith in his wünderkind, and Rooney delivered. He scored a memorable hat-trick on his debut against Fenerbahçe and has been a goal-scoring institution at Old Trafford ever since. 

Kevin Keegan's Rant

Sir Alex Ferguson has a rather interesting reputation among other managers of English clubs and has often been accused of "mind games." But he asserted himself as a figure that incited fear, intimidation and even anger in a now-notorious incident which saw Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan totally lose it on live television.

Keegan's Newcastle was in the midst of a title run alongside United during the 1995-96 season, and when Fergie remarked that he thought that teams tried harder against United than against Newcastle, Keegan balked, declaring, "I will love it if we beat them." Since then, Fergie has asserted himself as a manager to beat with the team to beat.

"Fergie Time" Saves a Manchester Derby

Red Devils supporters may still be feeling the hurt from the most recent running of the Manchester derby, so let's take a look at happier but still rather recent times and go back to the amazing comeback of September 2009, the day which made Michael Owen an unlikely Old Trafford hero and redefined "Fergie time."

City were in the midst of building the forces that have turned them into the league powerhouse they are at the moment, and as such, a tense and dramatic derby was in place at Old Trafford.

First blood went to United on a Wayne Rooney goal two minutes in, followed closely by Gareth Barry on the equalizer, and respective braces from Darren Fletcher and Craig Bellamy kept fans of both sides on their toes, with Bellamy scoring the second equalizer just as regulation time was running out.

Six minutes into injury time, it was Michael Owen, the former Liverpool striker, of all people, who slid the match-winner in on a graceful Ryan Giggs assist. Spectacular football that reminded us it's never over until Fergie decides it is.

David Beckham and the Other "Boot Incident"

No, not the one where Fergie kicked a boot at Beckham's face and began the series of events which would lead to his transfer to Real Madrid, the other incident with Beckham and boots.

David Beckham and his wondrous feet have gone down in history as key career finds for Sir Alex. But the goal that made Beckham a household name among the United faithful and Premiership followers is particularly iconic for the circumstances surrounding his footwear.

Becks had asked Adidas for a pair of Predator boots after hearing rave reviews from players, but on the opening day of the 1996-97 season at Selhurst Park, he noticed he'd been given the wrong pair. The custom boots had "Charlie" embroidered on the tongue, as they were the pair intended for Rangers star Charlie Miller.

Beckham didn't seem to mind though, as he wore the boots anyway and scored a powerhouse goal, one that would make Channel Four's list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments. Becks would receive his first cap for England shortly after.

The Rise and Foul of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

A surprise smash signing for Sir Alex came in the form of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Norwegian footballing legend, Old Trafford cult hero extraordinaire and one of the greatest "supersubs" ever to play in England. In one 1999 match against Nottingham Forest, for example, Solskjaer scored four goals within 10 minutes of coming on as a sub.

Among Solskjaer's highest-impact moments came in the form of a 1998 match against Newcastle United, where the Red Devils needed a draw to stay in title contention.

With the score 1-1 and Fergie sending Solskjaer on to make a winning play, Solksjaer took one for the team in the manner only he could: the "Baby-Faced Assassin" deliberately chased down and fouled a threatening Robert Lee, getting himself sent off but preventing his opponents from scoring a goal. A true team player if ever there was one.

Solskjaer's status as a United legend and perhaps the greatest impact sub of all time would be cemented in the 1999 Champions League final, but we'll get to that in a little bit. 

"Squeaky-Bum Time" and a Quarter-Century of Great Soundbites

Where to begin? 

There's Fergie the motivator:

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"At the end of this game, the European Cup will be only six feet away from you, and you’ll not even be able to touch it if we lose. And for many of you, that will be the closest you will ever get. Don’t you dare come back in here without giving your all.” (from his halftime speech at the 1999 Champions League final)

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Fergie on protégé Ryan Giggs:

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"I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind."

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Fergie on opposing manager Arsene Wenger:

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“They say he’s an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages! I’ve got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages!” 

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Fergie on himself and his life after retirement (ha!):

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"I am such a bloody talented guy. I might go into painting or something like that."

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And Fergie on a close title race:

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“It's getting tickly now—squeaky-bum time, I call it.” 

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And so, so many more. 

2001: The First Three-Peat

In 2001, Fergie and Co. accomplished something rarely seen in world football—a club winning a "three-peat" of first division titles. And in the 2000-01 season, they did so resoundingly, with the veteran Teddy Sheringham giving a heck of a bow-out performance at Old Trafford by leading the club in goals scored.

They led closest rivals Arsenal by 10 points, defeating them resoundingly at home with a 6-1 victory which included a hat trick for Dwight Yorke and sealed their position at the top of the league. Fergie sought to continue the club's success after the three-peat, bringing on PSV Eindhoven striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy at the end of the season and setting the wheels in motion for yet another Old Trafford player legacy.

The Devils would go on to repeat their success and finish off a second three-peat in the 2008-09 season, which brings us to...

2009: The Repeated Three-Peat

Phil Jackson did it with the Chicago Bulls in the '90s, and Sir Alex Ferguson did it with United in the '00s: two separate runs of back-to-back-to-back league titles. Six members of that United squad would be named to the PFA Team of the Year: Edwin van der Sar, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo. That's more than half the team. 

United clinched the title on a 0-0 draw with Arsenal and beat rivals Liverpool to the top of the table by four points, but perhaps their most impressive victory came in a late-season, come-from-behind victory over Tottenham Hotspur, where the Red Devils scored five goals in just one half—two each from Rooney and Ronaldo and one from Dimitar Berbatov.

Although they missed out on another Champions League title to Barcelona, they did defeat LDU Quito to win the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Arrival of Peter Schmeichel and the "Save of the Decade"

Throughout his 25 years at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson has made a series of fantastic signings, and we'd be hard pressed to find one who stands head and shoulders above the rest. There are so many great ones, but in terms of a business deal, no signing deal beats that of Peter Schmeichel. 

In 1991, Sir Alex Ferguson bought the Danish international from Brondby for £505,000, a move he still calls the "bargain of the century." And while at United, Schmeichel more than returned on his value investment: he gave 22 clean-sheet performances in his debut season at Old Trafford and maintained an astonishing 42 percent clean-sheet record throughout his career. While he was in the net, United saw five Premiership titles, a Champions League cup and three FA Cups. A bargain, indeed. 

His magnificent save in a 1997 match against Newcastle United led to Schmeichel being honored with the "Save of the Decade" award at the Premier League's 10th anniversary celebration.

The Arrival and Dominance of CR7

When Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford from Sporting CP, he didn't want the No. 7 shirt, saying he was intimidated by the pressure of sharing the number which had been bestowed upon United icons like George Best, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona. But Ferguson insisted, and his high expectations of the Portuguese star paid off, as he saw many awards, club and individual, in his time at Old Trafford.

As Ronaldo said:

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"After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said, 'No, you're going to have No. 7,' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour."

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Most notably, Ronaldo was named the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 2008, and to this day is the only player to win the award with an English club.

1996: The Kids Win the Double

BBC pundit Alan Hansen's warning helped seal this season into United lore: "You can't win anything with kids." Fans drew concerned when Sir Alex Ferguson had yet to make any major signings, instead opting for a host of young, untested players like Paul Scholes, the Neville brothers and a young whippersnapper named David Beckham. 

The newcomers, backed by a returning Eric Cantona late in the season and other well-established figures like Roy Keane and Peter Schmeichel, proved their mettle, scoring goals left and right and keeping United at the top of the table. The kids, too, would play an important role in scoring another FA Cup for Sir Alex, with Beckham scoring the key go-ahead goal in the '96 semifinal against Chelsea. 

Ferguson, now a manager well-known for his knack for finding and developing promising young players, from Ryan Giggs to the new crop of the likes of Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones, Danny Welbeck and Chris Smalling, developed the second generation of "Fergie's Fledglings" into world-class players who would go on to serve the club well in the years that followed.

Ryan Giggs Tears Apart the '99 FA Cup Semifinal

At Old Trafford, there's a little song they like to sing about Ryan Giggs to the tune of a classic from Mancunian icons Joy Division.

"Giggs, Giggs will tear you apart, again." 

And that's just what Sir Alex Ferguson's longtime partner on the pitch did in a dramatic fashion in the '99 FA Cup semifinal against season rivals Arsenal. As you can see in the clip, Giggs swipes the ball away from the Gunners' attack, swerves past defenders and sends a beautiful shot right past keeper David Seaman and into Old Trafford history. 

United would go on to win the FA Cup and the treble, but we'll get to that later. 

2008: England Versus England in the Champions League Final

Sir Alex Ferguson's second career Champions League title came at the hands of their long-running England Big Four rivals, Chelsea, in a truly dramatic final in Moscow, the first and only match to feature two English clubs against one another.

Both teams came in looking formidable, United riding high off another Premiership title and unbeaten so far in Champions League competition and with Chelsea close behind, only losing once in a quarterfinal match to Fenerbahçe. 

As such, it was an even and thoroughly dramatic match. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first goal to put United ahead about halfway through the first half, but Frank Lampard equalized at around the half. The match would be left to a nail-biting penalty shootout, in which a successful shot from Ryan Giggs and a miss from Nicolas Anelka courtesy of an epic Edwin Van Der Sar save would give United the cup. 

This year was a particularly emotionally resonant one for the United faithful, as 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster which claimed the lives of eight players and the 40th anniversary of their rise from the ashes, the club's first-ever European Cup title over Benfica, which made the victory in Moscow all the more meaningful. 

The 1990 FA Cup: Fergie's First Major Trophy

The 1990 FA Cup final (or technically the replay, as that's when they officially won) was a huge victory for Sir Alex, the first sign of real success after years of rebuilding.

Near the end of the 1980s, Manchester United were not the side familiar to the new generation of Premiership football fans, this ever-present dominant force within world football. They were a struggling side, with Bryan Robson and others known for having a penchant for boozing and the club's morale lagging. Fergie's first coaching gig was a 2-0 defeat at Oxford United. Even toward the end of the '80s and after a string of key signings like Gary Pallister and Steve Bruce, Fergie's side was still flirting with relegation.

And then, the FA Cup. United were drawn with Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in the third round and came in as underdogs, with Fergie's job on the line should they lose. A Mark Robins goal gave them victory, and that match has gone down in footballing lore (whether true or not) as the win that saved his Old Trafford career. The Red Devils would go on to win the FA Cup defeating Crystal Palace in a replay, and Fergie would get his first piece of silverware. 

1993-94: The First Double and 1-0 over Liverpool

United would go on to win their second-consecutive Premiership title in the 1993-94 season, asserting their presence as a top-contender club in English football and taking out some members of the old guard along the way. After a tense 3-3 draw at Anfield in the first leg of the rivalry match, the return leg at Old Trafford led to a 1-0 victory for the Mancunians. 

The 1994 FA Cup final against Chelsea proved Fergie as capable of making the tough decisions, as he left long-serving captain Bryan Robson out of the squad for the showdown at Wembley. In the end, the decision proved to be the right one, as United won the final 4-0, including a penalty brace from Eric Cantona. 

The Arrival, Dominance and Captaincy of Roy Keane

Colorful, combative and thriving on competition, Roy Keane arrived at Old Trafford from Nottingham Forest in 1993 for a record-setting £3.75 million, becoming not only one of Sir Alex's most memorable signings, but one of the most iconic players to ever grace Old Trafford. 

Keane was the ideal complement to Fergie, sharing in his competitive spirit and winning mentality, which Keane funneled into success on the pitch and helped improve the players around him. He became a fan favorite early on, scoring a brace on his home debut and working his way up the ranks to eventually lead United to their first double.

He would go on to assume the captaincy following the retirement of Eric Cantona and over the course of his time with the club, that winning spirit would contribute to seven Premiership titles, four FA Cups and a UEFA Champions League title. 

1991 European Cup Winners' Cup: Fergie's First European Trophy

After Sir Alex Ferguson defeated United's long-running European foe, Barcelona, in the 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup, the Spanish newspapers famously declared, "The Red Devils came dressed in white, like angels," but their beating of the Blaugrana was of a supernatural and fearsome nature. 

It was former Barcelona player Mark Hughes who won the day for United, scoring the brace that brought the Red Devils victory. For Hughes, it was something of poetic justice after a disappointing spell at Barcelona. 

And for Fergie, it was the beginning of a long European campaign, as he would go on to win more international trophies, including two Champions League cups, a European Supercup, a UEFA Cup, an Intercontinental Cup and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup.

1993: United Wins Their First League Title in 26 Years

The 1992-93 season was the first in existence for the modern Premier League, and it would also mean top-table glory for Manchester United for the first time since the Matt Busby era. 

As the injured Bryan Robson faded in his captaincy, Steve Bruce took over and alongside him was a host of memorable characters, including a then-recent Fergie signing, an enigmatic Frenchman named Eric Cantona, and a teenage starlet in the process of coming into his own named Ryan Giggs. 

United were not the favorites to win the Premiership that year; Aston Villa led the table for most of the season, and even by March, the Red Devils were still third behind Villa and a resurgent Norwich City. The pivotal moment came the first week of April with a one-two punch of victories: first a victory over the second-place City and then an explosive win at Sheffield Wednesday spurred by a pair of spectacular injury-time goals from skipper Steve Bruce, the first instance of "Fergie Time," or injury time that United turns into goals. They tied off the season with five consecutive wins and returned glory to Old Trafford after two-and-a-half decades. 

Four members of that United squad—Paul Ince, Gary Pallister, Peter Schmeichel and Ryan Giggs—were named to the PFA Team of the Year. Sir Alex Ferguson had arrived. 

Winning Title No. 19

It may not have been United's best season of their dozen Premier League titles in recent years, but it may have been the most important for Fergie's career and for the fans. His goal upon arriving at Old Trafford in 1986 was to "knock Liverpool off their bloody perch," and last season, he achieved his objective, ending their rivals' reign as the most successful club within domestic competition. Twelve titles in less than two decades is no easy feat, and Fergie and his crew did it resoundingly. 

Let's see if United can make it 20 this season. 

The Reign of "King Eric"

Chances are, if you are a Manchester United fan, anything we could possibly write about the impact Eric Cantona had at Old Trafford is something you already know all too well. A killer striker, an Old Trafford institution, an eternal fan favorite—Eric Cantona was perhaps Fergie's greatest signing if we have to pick one. 

Cantona arrived from Leeds United in 1992 for a sum of £1.2 million, and "King Eric" would go on to help United, who had had a rough start to the season, break through and win their first Premiership title in decades, helping them start on the streak which has been going ever since. He was a creative attacker, an innovator on the pitch and a great creator of chances, and his philosopher-poet-bad-boy persona made him one of the most captivating figures in football history. 

Ooh, aah. 

The 1999 Champions League Final

The Red Devils have won the Champions League twice during Fergie's reign, but not since 1968 has a European victory for Manchester United been so joyful, so thrilling, so almost near-miraculous, and none will likely ever reach that level of ecstasy for the fans. 

Things started off rather grim for the Red Devils at the Camp Nou. Mario Basler's goal put Bayern Munich ahead six minutes into the match, and for most of play, that result seemed a certainty. The UEFA officials were so confident of the Bundesliga side's victory that the president was preparing to bring out the European Cup decorated in Bayern Munich ribbons. 

And then, the shift in momentum at the eleventh hour. Teddy Sheringham slipped one past Oliver Kahn, an effortless knock on a Giggs assist, and the greatest cult hero in United history, supersub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fired the winning shot two minutes later. 

It was also this match and the subsequent title that contributed to Fergie being knighted in 1999. 

...and with That, the '98-99 Treble

The Champions League final was so thrilling it had to be its own entry on this list, but what made it extra special was that it brought Sir Alex Ferguson his first treble and made Manchester United the only English club to date to complete the classic English treble of a domestic league title, FA Cup and European championship. They came out on top in the Premiership by just one point over a formidable Arsenal and a week later, defeated Newcastle United 2-0 to take home the FA Cup.

This was probably even more gratifying to a generation of Red Devils supporters who had watched United slump while rivals Liverpool snagged repeated domestic and European glories for decades, but it was Fergie who in the end beat them to the Promised Land.