New Delhi: Experienced? Check. Commands respect? Check. Dominating? Double Check. No holds barred? Ask David Beckham. The man being deliberated upon is from Scotland, doesn't shoulder a bagpipe and doesn't sport a plaid skirt, but makes you dance to his tunes. Throw him a dare and the answer could be a shoe hurled at you.
Been there, done it all! Twenty-five years with Europe's top-flight club and from two English Premier League titles to all but "knocking Liverpool off its perch" with the 19th, Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson has swarmed Manchester United just like the bees swarming the globe in the club’s crest.
Why knighthood? Hear this out! Eleven Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, nine Community Shields, two Champions League, one Cup Winners' Cup, one Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one Club World Cup, with United alone. Still any doubts on his knighthood honour of 1999? Dial 911!
All dreams fulfilled and on the threshold of bringing the most loved one to fruition, Sir Alex will lead United's march to Wembley to face the might of Barcelona in the Champions league final on May 28. And by then, both teams should have avowed themselves as the best in Spain (Barcelona) and England (Manchester United).
But the way 69-year-old Fergie handles a galaxy of stars stands out. Second only to Sir Matt Busby until last year, Sir Alex is much more than the longest serving United Manager. Ask him how to keep United united and happy, pat should come the reply, "by winning". And he does that by his happy knack of recognising and acknowledging someone's attributes, how to use them best, when to step up and when to allow those stars some space and take centrestage.
The best of those managerial skills came this season when he made the media a tool to convince Rooney into signing a new contract when United had almost lost the prodigy to a transfer request.
Cut to May 8, 2011, when a win against Chelsea could be the ink to create history, the Red Devils came out riding their bikes and Ferguson's blueprint threaded Blues' defence 38 seconds into the match, courtesy 'little pea'. Vidic doubled it before the halftime whistle and though Lampard pulled one back for Chelsea, a winning smile on Fergie’s face was easily discernible well before the finish.
Hands in air at the end, a bow before returning to the tunnel, Sir Alex must have quietly murmured, "Barcelona, here we come!"
But it isn't going to be easy for United, and Ferguson knows it. He has his task cut out to find ways to control Messi's incisive raids, Iniesta's cutting assists and Xavi's midfield authority.
However, in Ferguson Man United trust. The wily fox knows that nothing but a win could heal the wound Catalans inflicted in the 2009 Champions League final. And though he most probably will rank the treble triumph of 1999 as his finest hour, a win at Wembley on May 28 will warm United's heart like never before.
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