Sir Alex Ferguson Biography

Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson, widely known as Fergie, is considered one of the successful managers of all time. The former Scottish manager won more trophies than any other manager. During his playing time, the Scottish forward played for several clubs such as Dunfermline Athletic and Rangers. In the 1965–66 season, during his spell at Dunfermline Athletic, Ferguson became the top goalscorer in the Scottish league.

Fergie started his career as a manager with East Stirlingshire and St Mirren. He had a golden time at Aberdeen, where he won three Scottish league championships, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and four Scottish Cups.

Following the death of Jock Stein, Sir Alex managed Scotland's national side, reaching the 1986 World Cup. In November 1986, Ferguson was named as a manager of

. He served 26 years as the manager of the Red Devils, winning 13 Premier League titles, FA Cup title on five occasions, and UEFA Champions League title two times.

The Scottish legendry is the longest-serving manager of the Red Devils, and on 19 December 2010, Fergie broke Sir Matt Busby's record. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Sir Alex retired from management. Stay tuned to read more about one of the best managers in football history.

Everything you Need to Know about Sir Alex Ferguson

Let’s take a close look at Sir Alex Ferguson biography, which includes his career and personal life. In the following article, we will present you with all the detailed information about Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the best managers of all time.

Sir Alex Ferguson Information

Sportmob's article on

Alex Ferguson biography

will start with some general information about Ferguson's physical stats and football information.

Alex Ferguson Bio

• Full Name:

  Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson

• Nickname:

  Fergie

• Profession:

  Former Football Manager & Player

Alex Ferguson Physical Stats

• Height:

  180

• Eye Color:

  Brown

• Hair Color:

  Grey

Weight:

83  

Alex Ferguson Football Information

• Positon:

  Forward

• Jersey Number:

  10 (at Rangers FC)

• Professional Debut:

  1964

Alex Ferguson Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth:

  31 December 1941

• Birth Place:

  Govan, Glasgow, Scotland

• Zodiac Sign:

  Capricorn

• Nationality:

  Scottish 

Sir Alex Ferguson Early Life

In this part of our article on Alex Ferguson biography, we will review some facts about

Alex Ferguson childhood

and family facts, from his early days to the time he became famous. Football fans know about Fergie's managerial career, but few consider his bio, which is quite interesting.

Sir Alex Ferguson date of birth

is 31 December 1941 in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland.

Alex Ferguson nationality

is Scottish. Alex comes from poverty, and his father, Alexander Beaton Ferguson, was a plater's helper. He was born on Shieldhall Road in Govan, at his grandmother's home. Sir Alex has a younger brother, Martin, who is a former Scottish football player and manager.

His parents enrolled Alex at Broomloan Road Primary School and later Govan High School. During his childhood, Alexander and Martin played football with their friends through the alleyways. Although his family was poor, they were happy family began to live in Govan. Alexander Beaton Ferguson settled for amateur football, and when Alex was six, he retired from amateur football.

His parents were heavy smokers, and unfortunately, they died from lung cancer. Ferguson's mother, Elizabeth, died at the age of 64 when Sir Alex had just become manager of Manchester United.

"I remember being told my parents had lung cancer. I also recall the day I was told my mum had only a few days to live. I got to the hospital, and the doctor sat me down, told me she had lung cancer, then she said: "she's got about four days to live" He was right. She died exactly four days later. Her death and the time were one of the scariest things I have ever seen happened. But things are different now," said Sir Alex. His mother's death left the Red Devils manager in enormous pain.

Alex started his football with Harmony Row Boys Club in Govan.

Sir Alex Ferguson Profile

In this section of Sportmob's article of

Alex Ferguson bio

, we will present you with Alex Ferguson's profile, includes his style of play, goal celebration, and reception.

When Ferguson was 16, he began his career as an amateur with Queen's Park. Although he scored in his debut for Queen's Park against Stranraer, Fergie described the match, as a nightmare. In his sole season at Queen's Park, Ferguson scored 20 goals in his 31 games.

Despite having extraordinary performances for the Scottish club, he moved to St Johnstone in 1960, and again in this club, he didn't have a regular place. Fergie went on to play at

in the summer of 1964, and he became a professional footballer. In the 1964-65 season, Dunfermline reached the Scottish Cup Final, but Ferguson didn't play in the final after a poor performance against St Johnstone.

Then Alex moved to Rangers for £65,000, which was a transfer record at that time between two Scottish clubs. During two seasons with Rangers, he performed well in Europe and scored six times in nine matches in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. After his marriage to Cathy Holding, a Catholic, Sir Alex suffered discrimination at the Scottish club, but Fergie said they knew about his wife's religion.

The next October,

was keen on signing Ferguson, but Cathy Holding, his wife, didn't like to move to England, so Ferguson joined Falkirk. During his time at Falkirk, he was promoted to player-coach, and with the arrival of John Prentice, Ferguson was removed from coaching responsibilities; this ended his time at Falkirk. Then he went to play Ayr United, where he ended his playing career.

Reception

Undoubtedly Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the best managers of all time. Pep Guardiola,

manager, said about Sir Alex:

“Manchester United are one of the best teams in the world and have been for a long time. That is because Sir Alex Ferguson has maintained winning trophies at the same time as re-creating outstanding teams. That is an art and I only have respect for him and what he has achieved. He is one of the best of all time.”

Also, Michel Platini said about him:

“He is a true visionary. His dedication, his attention to detail and his unique eye for talent, as both the manager of Manchester United and Aberdeen, has brought rich rewards over a 30-year period. His CV is almost unique in a results-based profession that normally focuses on short-term solutions rather than long-term vision.”

Goal Celebration

Alex Ferguson was one of the best footballers in Scotland history. He scored crucial goals for the Rangers, but Ferguson didn't have any unique goal celebration and celebrated his goals differently.

Sir Alex Ferguson Outside Football

Time to take a look at Alex Ferguson's life outside of football includes his hobbies and favorite activities. Most football fans are aware of his love of horse racing. Also, he loves cooking; once he said: "I was into cooking a great deal and I could do most things. In terms of what you see nowadays I would be lost, but I can still do a good pasta or a Chinese."

Sir Alex Ferguson Personal Life

In this part of Sportmob's article on Sir Alex Ferguson Biography, we will bring you fascinating information about his love life, dating history, and children. Stay tuned to read more on

Sir Alex Ferguson life story

.

Family, Children, and Relationships

During Ferguson's youth age, he lived in the South of Manchester, where he met Cathy. Two lovebirds married in 1966. He is a family man and had loved Cathy from day one. Once Ferguson said: "Family is not an important thing. It's everything." The couple welcomed their first son, Mark, in 1968. Four years later, Cathy gave birth to the lovely twins Darren and Jason.

Darren Ferguson is a former professional footballer and is currently Peterborough United's manager. Alex and Cathy's marriage is one of the most successful in the UK and has lasted more than 55 years.

Philanthropy

It is interesting to know if Alex Ferguson, who is one of the best managers in British history, has had any background in altruism. In the case of Sir Alex Ferguson's religion, you might know that he is a Protestant.

In 1998 he was on a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party, and in 2002, Sir Alex was named UNICEF UK Ambassador. Also, former Manchester United manager joined Marcus Rashford to make the child food poverty pledge. Ferguson was set to pledge up to £2million towards the FareShare charity.

Legal Issues

Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the best Scottish managers, has had no legal disputes throughout his life. But in 2003, Sir Alex started legal action against John Magnier, who was a major Manchester United shareholder over stud rights for racehorse Rock of Gibraltar.

Sir Alex Ferguson Career Statistics

Now is the time to review Alex Ferguson's career on the club and international level.

Club

The former Scottish footballer played 317 times for six clubs (Queen's Park, St Johnstone, Dunfermline Athletic, Rangers, Falkirk, and Ayr United). Alex Ferguson scored 171 goals during his playing times.

International

On the international level, Alex Ferguson scored nine times in seven matches for Scotland's national side.

Managerial Career

Young Alex Ferguson was named an East Stirlingshire manager in 1974, and the following October, he was appointed manager of St Mirren until 1978. Sir Alex made a remarkable change in a team that had a few spectators. He discovered young talents such as Peter Weir, Billy Stark, Bobby Reid, Frank McGarvey, Lex Richardson, and Tony Fitzpatrick.

In June 1978, Fergie moved to Aberdeen as manager, and he replaced Billy McNeill. Although the Scottish club was one of the big clubs in Scotland, they just had won the league title in 1955. Young Ferguson had trouble with some of the older players because he was not much older than some of them, like Joe Harper.

In the 1982-83 season, Sir Alex led Aberdeen to great success. The previous season, they had won the Scottish Cup, so they qualified for European Cup Winners' Cup. On 11 May 1983, in the final, they beat

and won the European trophy.

During qualifying for the 1986 World Cup, he was part of the coaching staff for the

national team. On 10 September 1985, Jock Stein, the manager, passed away at the end of the game against Australia, and Sir Alex was named as a manager of the Scottish national side. On 15 June 1986, Fergie stepped down as Scottish national team manager, as Scotland failed to progress past the group stages. 

On 6 November 1986, Sir Alex Ferguson was named as a Manchester United manager. As he arrived, many of the Red Devils players such as Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside, and Paul McGrath were drinking too much, but he increased the players' discipline. The Red Devils climbed up the table and ended the season in 11th place.

In the 1989-90 season, Alex Ferguson managed to win the FA Cup, and the title saved Ferguson's Old Trafford career. The following season, the Scottish manager brought Ryan Giggs to the senior side. In that season, they ended in sixth place, however they won the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating

, that season's Spanish champions.

During the 1991 close season, he signed with goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and defender Paul Parker. Although they won the League Cup and European Super Cup in the 1991–92 season, but couldn't win the league title.

In the 1992–93 season, it looked like United would miss out on the league title again, as they sat 10th at the beginning of November, but after the purchase of Eric Cantona, French striker from Leeds, the Red Devils began to look bright. Cantona formed a beautiful partnership with Mark Hughes. In that season, United won the league title, which ended the Red Devils' 26-year wait for a league title.

Alex Ferguson was criticized due to the departure of Mark Hughes, Paul Ince, and Andrei Kanchelskis in the summer of 1995. The Scottish manager gave the youngsters such as Gary Neville, David Beckham, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, and Paul Scholes a chance to play.

With Ferguson and youngster, Manchester United became stronger day by day, so that in 1998-99 season they won the treble. In the 1998-99 UEFA Champions League Final, United won against

and completed an unprecedented treble.

Sir Alex immediately after the match said: "I can't believe it. Football, bloody hell. But they never gave in, and that's what won it." In 2000-01 United won the league title for a third season, but Sir Alex decided to leave the club. "The decision has been taken. I'm going to leave the club. I'm disappointed with what has happened because I was hoping something would be sorted out. It hasn't happened as I thought it would, and that's all there is to it," said the Scottish manager.

But in February 2002, Alex Ferguson decided to remain. During his 26 years at Red Devils, he won 13 Premier League titles, FA Cup title on five occasions, four Football League Cups, FA Community Shield title ten times, and UEFA Champions League title on two occasions.

Finally, on 8 May 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson announced that at the end of the football season he was going to retire as manager. He was named the UEFA Coaching Ambassador in January 2014. With the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, the golden era ended.

"The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about, and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time. It was important to me to leave an organization in the strongest possible shape, and I believe I have done so. The quality of this league winning squad, and the balance of ages within it, bodes well for continued success at the highest level whilst the structure of the youth set-up will ensure that the long- term future of the club remains a bright one," said Ferguson.

Sir Alex Ferguson Honors

The last part of our article on Sir Alex Ferguson bio is about his honors and achievements. As a player, Ferguson won one Scottish Division Two with St Johnstone, and one Scottish Division Two with Falkirk. 

As a manager, Sir Alex Ferguson won three Scottish Premier Division titles and Scottish Cup on four occasions with Aberdeen.

Also, he won 13 Premier League titles, FA Cup title on five occasions, four Football League Cups, FA Community Shield title ten times, UEFA Champions League title on two occasions, 1999 Intercontinental Cup and 2008 FIFA Club World Cup.

His notable individual achievements are Premier League Manager of the Season (eleven times), UEFA Manager of the Year (one time), IFFHS World's Best Club Coach (two times), 2012 IFFHS World's Best Coach of the 21st Century, and 2002 English Football Hall of Fame (Manager).

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