Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed the one thing he regrets the most during his time at the club
The Scotsman, who was appointed in 1986, and won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and a number of other titles during his historic 26-and-a-half-year reign, called time on his hugely successful career in 2013 after leading United to the Premier League title one last time.
He also won two Champions Leagues as manager, but missed out with defeat in the 2011 final to Barcelona.
And, according to Goal, Ferguson revealed that his biggest regret was not reaching the final in 2002, which has hosted in the Scottish city – his hometown.
“The one I really regret was not taking Manchester United to the final in 2002,” he said.
“The whole build up was about getting to the final in Glasgow, but we lost the semi-final to Leverkusen.”
“We were a bit unlucky – we ran out of time,” he joked, with a reference to the famous ‘Fergie time’. “The referee couldn’t understand my time and his time!”
The Red Devils were eliminated from the competition at the semi-final stage by Bayer Leverkusen, denying the legendary manager the opportunity to lead his side out at the Hampden in his home city of Glasgow.
Although Leverkusen reached the final, they were defeated 2-1 by Real Madrid, with Zinedine Zidane’s iconic volley to seal the victory still remembered as one of the all-time great European Cup goals.
Ferguson might regret that one final the most, but it is a small thing when compared to a career that is likely to be unrivaled for a long, long time. In fact, United seem to have lost that intangible something he brought to the club ever since he left. All the managers who have been appointed thus far have struggled to make any real impact, although it is of course too early to write Jose Mourinho off.
One thing is for sure, Ferguson will definitely have more good memories of his time and United than bad ones.
