Alex Ferguson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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.

In Their Own Story

Ferguson's managerial journey started at East Stirlingshire in June 1974, a part-time role paying £40 per week with no goalkeeper on the squad. He moved to St Mirren in October 1974, transforming them from lower-half Second Division contenders to First Division champions by 1977, with an average team age of just 19. His time there ended controversially; he was sacked for alleged contract breaches and intimidation, a claim he fought at an industrial tribunal but lost. He later managed Aberdeen, winning three league titles, four Scottish Cups, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1983. After briefly managing Scotland to the 1986 World Cup, he took over Manchester United in November 1986.

Reader's Guide

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. Despite scoring 20 goals in his 31 games for Queen's Park, he could not command a regular place in the side and moved to St Johnstone in 1960. Ferguson was on a part-time contract with St Johnstone, and he combined working in a Govan shipyard with training at night in Perth. Although he regularly scored goals for St Johnstone, he was unable to command a consistent place in their team. He regularly requested transfers, and even considered emigrating to Canada. St Johnstone's failure to sign another forward led the manager to select Ferguson for a match against Rangers, in which he scored a hat-trick in a surprise 3–2 victory at Ibrox. Dunfermline signed him the following summer (1964), and Ferguson became a full-time professional footballer. In the following season (1964–65) Dunfermline were strong challengers for the Scottish league title and reached the Scottish Cup final, but Ferguson was dropped for the final after a poor performance in a league game against St Johnstone. Dunfermline lost the final 3–2 to Celtic, then failed to win the League by one point. The 1965–66 season saw Ferguson notch up 45 goals in 51 games for Dunfermline. Along with Joe McBride of Celtic, he was the top goalscorer in the Scottish league with 31 goals. Ferguson then joined Rangers for £65,000, which was a record fee for a transfer between two Scottish clubs. He performed well in Europe during his two seasons with the club, scoring six goals in nine appearances in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup including two against 1.FC Köln in the 1967–68 competition, and an important strike against Athletic Bilbao in the 1968–69 edition which helped Rangers into the semi-finals, but on both occasions they were knocked out by English opposition. He was blamed for a goal conceded in the 1969 Scottish Cup final, in a match in which he was designated to mark Celtic captain, Billy McNeill, and was subsequently forced to play for the c

Did You Know?

• Ferguson scored Queen's Park's goal in a 2–1 defeat against Stranraer in his debut match.
• He scored a hat-trick for St Johnstone in a 3–2 victory over Rangers at Ibrox.
• Ferguson was the top goalscorer in the Scottish league during the 1965–66 season with 31 goals.
• He was knighted in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours list.
• Ferguson was belatedly awarded an international cap in October 2021 after some 1967 tour matches were reclassified as full internationals.