The day Alex Ferguson reached heroism: back to the climactic moment in the legacy of the legendary coach

Sir Alex is celebrating 80, and the Vinitsky era is back in the finals which not only made Manchester United the biggest club in the world but also paved the way for the Premier League to take over the world of football.

So how did he do it?

With daring, the ability to think outside the box and inside at the same time, the genius, the huge heart and yes, the ass too

The Vinitsky era

30/12/2021

Thursday, December 30, 2021, 10:00 p.m.

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Farewell to retiring Alex Ferguson (Photo: Reuters, Editing: Yair Daniel, Narration: Danny Borszewski)

Beckham raised, which Michael almost hit, York kept the move alive, Bayern's defense could not keep away, Giggs kicked to the right, Sheringham slipped from the breakaway and went close inside - 1-1.

Loyal assistant Steve McLaren jumped off the bench, ran to manager Alex Ferguson (then still not "Sir") and begged him to rearrange the ranks and return to United's classic 4-2 set for overtime.

"Sit down Steve, this game is not over yet," was the Scot's reply.

Because while everyone around him always thought in a linear line forward, Alex Ferguson knew how to prepare and predict different plot lines, to look both sides and always, but always to be a step or two ahead of his competitors.

In that final, of 1999, it all came together and not just that evening became the most significant in his career and one of the most important ever for Manchester United, English football and perhaps the entire industry as well.

More on Walla!

Ferguson on the lines, Solskjaer again scored: a 1999 final rematch after 20 years

To the full article

He knew how to walk all over the box office.

Alex Ferguson and the Cup in 1999 (Photo: GettyImages, Ben Radford)

"You have to know how to gamble, take risks. Some of my biggest moments at United came in the final minutes of games," Ferguson said in a video prepared by UEFA a few years ago in honor of that final, the unforgettable 1-2 over Bayern Munich, with Teddy goals Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solsar extra time.

indeed, not for nothing that invented the term "Fergie time", because as he proved at the end of that day, or when he returned from mental 2: 0 victory in 2: 3 semi-final in Turin for Juventus, or in many other cases in the same season and over the years, Ferguson He knew how to walk all over the box office and then also react and change if his bet did not pay off. .

"If you do not win the trophy, you will not be able to touch it and you may never be so close to it again."

Teddy Sheringham (Photo: GettyImages, Ben Radford)

For those who forgot, Ferguson stunned everyone in the same final, when he came up in the lineup with the Swedish Ispar Blomqvist in the left wing, sent Giggs to the right and placed Beckham in the center.

It really did not work, Bayern scored within six minutes and later got into situations that were supposed to guarantee them the victory, including an ingenious bounce from Mehmet Schul that met the crossbar and a crossbar in the barbershop on the part of Karsten Yanker.

In the middle of that game, Sheringham once recalled, Ferguson still tried to wake up his players and told them, "You saw the trophy standing there near the midline. If you don't win it, you will not be able to touch it and you may never be so close to it again." .

Finally, the real change came when he threw his two aces into the field, which eventually also scored the goals, but far beyond the same miracles and wonders that occurred in extra time in Barcelona, ​​Ferguson's great success was seeing Beckham, Nicki Butt, Giggs and Gary Neville (Phil Neville) on the field Not a partner and Paul Scholes was eliminated) - the Class of 92, the children he raised together for the senior roster and have now matured and become continental champions.

This connection, between the exiles in "Fergie Time" and the fact that it was really a home team, that he grew up and nurtured after getting United out of years of depression, was the highlight of Ferguson's legacy.

Although he continued in office for no less than 14 years, took over the Premier League, broke the Liverpool championship record and even won the Champions League once again - but nothing matched the turnaround against Bayern that completed the historic treble win.

Help the big money flow into English football.

David Beckham with Alex Ferguson (Photo: GettyImages, Ben Radford)

But as mentioned, the consequences of that final were even greater than Ferguson or United. Between 1977 and 1982, for six consecutive seasons, the European champion came from England. But then the disasters in Hazel and Hillsborough took place, football in the kingdom faded and sought itself and combined with a prolonged suspension from Europe and poor ability, no English team even qualified for the European Cup / Champions League final for 14 years.

Ferguson had already led United in 1991 to the Cup Winners' Cup, but it obviously was not the same. United's victory in '99, and more on Bayern, proved to Premier League teams that not only do football play 90 minutes (plus extra time) and not necessarily the Germans win in the end, but also that in order to keep up with United, they must improve.

It was not immediate, but United's win connected well with entering new markets, first Asian followed by American and the same stars that Ferguson grew up led by Beckham helped the big money flow into English football. At one point, everyone started picking the fruits of that Ferguson success and between 2005 and 2012, eight English representatives reached the Champions League final, including three wins.

While in their countries Real, Barça and Bayern left crumbs for rivalry, in England United's growth under Ferguson, which culminated in the 1999 final, helped create tremendous competition between 6-7 clubs and establish the league's status as the most prestigious and richest of all. Not sure if all this would have been possible if United had lost that game and Ferguson would have had to use in front of his players in the losing speech, on which he had already started working in his head: "Just before our goals, I was thinking about what exactly He told the Guardian last May.

Genius, heart and ass. Alex Ferguson (Photo: Reuters)

There are so many angles and figures for the 1999 Champions League final. One can tell the story of this game through Beckham, who a few years later found himself with a cut in his back and out of the club. Through the blows to the grass of the heartbroken Samuel Cooper. Through Solshar and everything he has been through with United since. Through the stunned face of Luther Mathews, who was replaced as a hero in the 80th minute. Even through Rami Weitz and the cries of "Sha'ar, Sha'ar" and "Kolina Soreq" that every Israeli is probably familiar with.

But above all, May 26, 1999 was and remains the evening of Alex Ferguson. Right in the middle of his time at Old Trafford, during which he took a failed and futureless club and made it the most glittering and largest in the world. That evening was the convincing proof and the final seal that Ferguson's way, with the audacity, the ability to think outside the box and inside it at the same time, the genius, the huge heart and yes, the ass too - works.

Or as he concluded a few seconds after the final whistle: "I can not believe it, I can not believe it. Football,bloody hell ".

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