It’s not often that you hear from Sir Alex Ferguson these days.
The legendary manager retired, picked David Moyes to succeed him, and rode off into the sunset – even if he does frequently come back to watch United from the director’s box. But speaking to ESPN this week, Ferguson gave a rare interview.
[ffc_insert title=”Jose Mourinho’s words are either a good sign, or the biggest mind game yet” name=”Opinion” image_ link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/opinion-2/analysis/mourinhos-relationship-with-ferguson-is-good-news-or-a-huge-mind-game” link_text=”Read More” ]
Although we weren’t treated to the sort of candour about his club that we might have been craving, Ferguson spoke more generally about football, and his insight about the state of the European game might mirror the fate of his own club.
This week, current United manager Jose Mourinho revealed that Ferguson is welcome to enter the team’s dressing room after matches. Up until now, the Scot has stayed away, perhaps worried that he’ll exert too much influence over a squad who were struggling under the managers who succeeded him, and who quickly found themselves out of their depth at Old Trafford.
That’s a positive sign for United: Mourinho clearly feels confident enough as the manager, that he’s not worried about being overshadowed by Ferguson. And yet for all the positivity, United remain far below the league position expected of them. And far below the levels Ferguson would have been accustomed to.
United have been in the same position all season, finding runs of positive results easy to come by and yet making no headway when it comes to chasing down the teams ahead of them. The progress made under Mourinho has been mirrored at other top clubs in England, with so many of the game’s top managers all plying their trade in the Premier League. It’s only natural that the bar would be raised, but it’s also a warning to the rest of Europe.
“I think success is cyclical,” said Ferguson. “[Now] the domain is in Spain…the cycle is with the Spanish teams. They’re the best, and that’s why they’re winning it.” We all know that Barcelona and Real Madrid are the dominant teams in Europe right now, and even Atletico Madrid have managed to make two of the past three Champions League finals. But if any club should know about the cyclical nature of success, it’s United.
They know how to sustain it, too. Both Sir Matt Busby and Ferguson presided over successful United teams for decades, but it’s interesting how both sides collapsed when their manager departed. After Busby, United were relegated in the 1970s, before coming back under Ferguson who joined the club in the mid to late-80s.
This vintage of United are hardly likely to be relegated, but in modern footballing terms, they’ve fallen pretty far. Finding themselves out of Europe or even in the Europa League is about as bad as it gets these days when you’re a superclub like United. But the next cycle of success may not be too far around the corner.
Still speaking about Spain’s dominance, Ferguson continued, “But that will change, that can change. You know, [Cristiano] Ronaldo will get older, [Lionel] Messi will get older. Can they replace these players? And I think the cycle will change.”
Spain’s grip on the European competitions is iron-like. 2013 was the last time a team from anywhere else won a European club competition. That’s an entire World Cup cycle. But it’s uncanny how Ferguson’s words could have worked so well speaking about United – both their failed recent past, and their hopes for a bright future. Maybe his own situation was on his mind.
The question he asks Madrid and Barcelona is if they can replace Ronaldo and Messi. United’s big question was whether or not they could replace Ferguson. They didn’t have the answer, and you get the feeling that no one would have the answer to replacing the two greatest superstars of our generation.
Ferguson has kept his counsel on Manchester United since retiring, but picking his brains about United’s current position would be enlightening. But if his comments about Spain’s dominance of European club football are true, surely the same thing applies to United’s recent underachievement. If football is cyclical, so too is United’s malaise.
[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]