Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has
told ESPN that he expects Spain’s dominance in Europe to end in the near future
as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are getting older.
Spanish clubs have won the Champions League (Real Madrid
twice, Barcelona once) and Europa League (Sevilla three times) for the past
three years, and have three teams in the quarterfinals of the Champions League
again this season.
However Ferguson, who won the Champions League twice
during his 27 years in charge of Manchester United before his retirement in
2013, believes that another country may soon take over at the top.
“I think success is cyclical,” he told Sebastian Salazar
in the Heineken ESPN FC Boot Room. “If you think about the 90s, it was AC
Milan. In the 70s, Ajax; and Bayern Munich in the 80s; Liverpool, in the 90s;
Italy, AC Milan; then England had a great spell with three teams about six
years ago all in the semifinal. We [Man United] were in three finals in four
years.
“[Now] the domain is in Spain. There’s no question about
that. The same question could be asked about why are the German teams, why are
Bayern Munich not winning the Champions League? Why are the Italians not
winning it? Why are the French not winning it? And why are the English not
winning it?
“I think the moment, the cycle is with the Spanish teams.
They’re the best, and that’s why they’re winning it. 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.”
One thing that has changed massively since Ferguson’s
early years at United is the amount of time managers are given in charge of
their clubs. With Arsene Wenger currently the longest-serving in England, yet
under serious pressure at Arsenal, Ferguson believes many young managers are
expected to do too much too soon.
“When I came to United in 1986, I never thought for a
minute I would last 27-and-a-half years. And that was done simply because I had
the energy to do that,” he said.
“I had great energy, and I sacrificed [a lot] — my kids
would grow up with my wife, and the role she played was really important. I
didn’t need any motivation. You don’t need motivation at Manchester United. The
history of that club is enough. So I enjoyed a fantastic spell.
“Today I think a lot of players don’t make their mind up
that they want to stay in the game until it’s too late. In other words, they
don’t have a rounded preparation like I did. They maybe take their badges at
32, 33 and then they expect to managers two or three years later.
“It’s a result industry. It’s a serious result industry.
You have to win games. And if you don’t have the proper preparation like I did,
and a lot of coaches did, you’re going to suffer.
“It’s a very, very difficult industry. And of course the
other side, as opposed to when I started, was that you have different owners.
They have owners from all over the world, with different ambitions — there’s a
lack of patience in that respect. But you really need to be prepared to stay in
the game. That’s the most important message I could give them all.”
Ferguson also revealed one of the secrets to his success
that brought him 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, two Champions League
trophies and the acclaim of being the most successful manager in British
history.
“Losing is the worst,” he added. “You lose a game, you
have to do something about it. I responded really well to losing and the next
morning I had a purpose about me.
“If you look at, for instance, we were second six times in
the league in my time. The following year we won the league. And that was done
because I had a purpose to make sure it didn’t happen again.”
Hi. I’m Sana ur Rehman Designer of This Blog. I’m CEO/Founder of Pak Zest. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
0 comments:
Post a Comment