Source: Manchester_EveningNews
Is Ferguson sport's greatest?
ON the day of his 23rd anniversary at Old Trafford, what do you get the man who's won everything? Two European Cups, more Premier League trophies than he has doors in which to use them as stops, a knighthood - he'd probably be elected prime-minister if he ever ran for government. After a 35-year career - that is still in the ascendancy, by the way - it seems redundant to merely debate if Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager football has ever seen. Such is his enduring success at the highest level, powers of reinvention to enable him to stay there and his contribution to matters that transcend the boundaries of the football pitch, Ferguson's status must be measured within the context of more than just the sport in which he operates. Next week Manny Pacquiao seeks to cement his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. But on a year by year basis, Ferguson delivers yet more evidence that he is the pound-for-pound greatest sportsman of all time. Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, Dennis Compton, Roger Federer, Michael Jordan - the 67-year-old could stand toe to toe with any of them in a "show us your medals" contest. Of course, any cross-sport comparison has its difficulties and there are those who would say it is impossible to measure the relative successes of different athletes. Is Woods a better golfer than Pele was a footballer? If Ali was around today would he ever have lost a fight? And how can you compare a manager or coach to an athlete like Federer or Jordan? Let's try. Ferguson has won 34 major trophies in his managerial career, compared to 15 for Federer and 14 for Woods. Medalist Ali was a three-time world heavyweight champion and also an Olympic gold medallist. Of his 61 fights he won 56 times - notably three of his defeats came at the end of his career in his last four bouts. In all he won 31 title fights. Jordan won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and was voted Most Valuable Player on five occasions. Compton was a Test cricketer for 20 years with 123 first-class centuries. He won a league title and an FA Cup with Arsenal in his spare time as a footballer and also managed to fight during World War Two. True, Ferguson's success has come over a longer period of time than those he is being compared with - but it is his powers of longevity that are so remarkable. That he doesn't have to physically compete with opponents is an obvious advantage over the likes of Ali and Federer - but the fact that he has managed to stay in control of one club for 23 years is an anomaly of the modern game. Critics will point Bob Paisley's achievements at Liverpool over a much shorter space of time as an argument that he was the greater manager. But it is Ferguson's continued success, year upon year, that is the truest measure of his greatness. His ability to adapt to the changing face of football in a manner that we simply do not know if Paisley could have, is exactly what makes him the greatest manager of all time. Just as Ali's legendary status was confirmed by his ability to overcome adversity and his epic battles with Joe Frazier and George Foreman, Ferguson's finest moments have come in response to his greatest challenges. When faced with Jack Walker's millions at Blackburn, Ferguson went the other way. Rather than go pound-for-pound in the transfer market with Ewood Park's free-spending benefactor, the United manager put his faith in youth. The result? Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. A truck load of trophies, the birth of arguably the most famous footballer of all time - and unfortunately his wife - and the nucleus of United and England teams for years to come. Reports of his demise were premature once again when Arsene Wenger introduced an expansive style of football the Premier League had never witnessed before in 1998. Treble Again it prompted reinvention and Ferguson responded with a team that stormed through Europe to become the first club from a major league to win the Treble. Then came Roman Abramovich's billions and a cocky gunslinger who was a younger, better looking and more arrogant version of Ferguson. And with back-to-back titles in his first two years at Chelsea, Ferguson looked to have met his match in Jose Mourinho. Written off and mentally put out to pasture by his fiercest critics, the Scot made fools of his detractors with a hat-trick of titles and back-to-back Champions League finals. Less than two months away from his 68th birthday there are signs that he is getting stronger. The last three seasons have been the most successful of his managerial career. Who of any profession - let alone sport - could say that after 35 years? Ferguson's success does not end at trinkets and trophies either. The Premier League owes him a huge debt of gratitude. As uncomfortable as it will be for rival fans to admit, the popularity of the national game on a global status has come on the back of United's domination. Before he won his first trophy at Old Trafford the club was worth £10m. By 2000 it became the first £1billion club. How would Ferguson's figures stack up against the money Woods and Jordan have made for sponsors Nike? Incidentally the US sports clothing manufacturer is another firm that has capitalised on the success of United's global appeal. For all his success there will be those who will still refuse to acknowledge him as the greatest ever manager, let alone sportsman, which is the beauty of sport - its differing opinions. But no-one deny his place as at least one of the greatest figures in sport, whose enduring success is almost taken for granted. An innovator, artist, street fighter, psychological pugilist, bully boy and father figure - love him or loathe him, his continued presence is one that must be celebrated.
