Background and career
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941), also known as Sir Alex or by the nickname Fergie, is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. Widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ferguson has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of football. He is often credited for valuing youth during his time at Manchester United, particularly in the 1990s with the "Class of '92", who contributed to making the club one of the most successful in the world.
Ferguson played as a forward for several Scottish clubs, including Dunfermline Athletic and Rangers, and was a Scottish international, earning four caps. While playing for Dunfermline, he was the top goalscorer in the Scottish league during the 1965–66 season. Towards the end of his playing career, he also worked as a coach, then started his managerial career with East Stirlingshire and St Mirren. Ferguson then enjoyed a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen, winning three Scottish league championships, four Scottish Cups and both the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1983. He briefly managed Scotland following the death of Jock Stein, taking the team to the 1986 World Cup.
Ferguson was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986. During his 26 years with Manchester United, he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two UEFA Champions League titles, in 1999, which completed the first continental treble by an English club, and in 2008. He was knighted in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours list for his services to the game. He was among the inaugural inductees into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2004. He is the longest-serving manager of Manchester United, having overtaken Sir Matt Busby's record on 19 December 2010. He retired from management at the end of the 2012–13 season, having won the Premier League in his final season.
Alexander Chapman Ferguson was born on 31 December 1941 at his grandmother's home on Shieldhall Road in the Govan district of Glasgow, the son of Elizabeth (née Hardie) and Alexander Beaton Ferguson. His father was a plater's helper in the shipbuilding industry. He grew up in a tenement at 667 Govan Road, which has since been demolished, where he lived with his parents and his younger brother Martin, who also became a footballer. He attended Broomloan Road Primary School and later Govan High School. He began his football career with Harmony Row Boys Club in Govan, before progressing to Drumchapel Amateurs, a youth club with a strong reputation for producing senior footballers. He also took an apprenticeship as a toolmaker at a factory in Hillington, being appointed a union shop steward.
Ferguson's playing career began as an amateur with Queen's Park, where he made his debut as a striker, aged 16. He described his first match as a "nightmare", but scored Queen's Park's goal in a 2–1 defeat against Stranraer. Perhaps his most notable game for Queen's Park was the 7–1 defeat away to Queen of the South on Boxing Day 1959 when ex-England international Ivor Broadis scored four of the Queen of the South goals. Ferguson was the solitary Queen's Park goalscorer.
