There are two trains of thought when it comes to rating Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson among the sport’s all-time greatest European club managers. There are those who say he’s the best manager ever hands-down, and those who say he should have won more with the squads and money he’s had. While it seems the Ferguson’s been at Manchester forever, joining the club in 1986, let’s not forget he enjoyed a fine managerial career in Scotland before that with East Stirling, Aberdeen, and St. Mirren, starting in 1974.
When it comes to quantity there’s no arguing with Ferguson’s accomplishments. When you add in nine Charity Shields, I believe he’s won a total of 46 trophies during his career. This includes 12 Premier League crowns, four League Cups, five FA Cups, and two European Champions Leagues, and that’s just with United. In fact, he’s won just about every type of trophy possible with the club..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Ferguson managed Aberdeen between 1978 and 1986 where he won three Premier League titles, a Scottish League Cup, four Scottish FA Cups, a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and a UEFA Super Cup. He’s managed well over 2,000 games in his career with a winning percentage of about 58 per cent compared to a loss percentage of about 19.
But while the sheer number of trophies won is remarkable, it’s taken him close to 40 years to win them all. The European Cup is generally considered to be the ultimate prize for a European team and while Ferguson’s two cups are nothing to sneeze at, it’s taken him about a quarter of a century to win them...............................................................................................................
Liverpool’s Bob Paisley reeled three of them in during a space of just five years between 1977 and 1981 at a time when it was much harder to qualify for the tournament. He's the only manager to ever win three European Cups. He also won six league titles. In total, Paisley won 14 trophies in nine years at Liverpool, which is a better rate than Ferguson’s.
Other great British managers include Jock Stein, Matt Busby, Brian Clough, and Bill Shankly, but aren’t really in the same league as Ferguson and Paisley when it comes to winning trophies. As for other European managers, Miguel Munoz won nine League titles and two European Cups with Real Madrid between 1960 and 1974. Carlo Ancelotti, Nereo Rocco, and Arrigo Sacchi each won two European Cups at Milan while Jose Mourinho, Helenio Herrera, Bela Guttman, and Vicente Del Bosque all won two of them with different teams...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Ferguson’s detractors point to the fact he’s lost more trophies than he’s won. Which may seem to be an odd argument, but they’re referring to the numerous cup games United could or should have won, but threw away. This includes several losses to some of England’s lower-level clubs in FA and League Cup games. There were many occasions where Ferguson didn’t even dress his club’s top players and ended up being knocked out of competitions because of it.
Ferguson has also had the advantage of working for the world’s richest soccer club, meaning he can more or less buy and sell whoever he chooses. He’s often been accused of wasting money or overpaying for mediocre or injury-prone players, such as Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves, Bebe, and Gabriel Obertan.
There’s always going to be a huge debate when it comes to Ferguson’s ranking and both sides come up with some solid arguments and facts. Like many other things, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. But whatever way you look at it, two European Cups in 25 years is still better than none.Who's the greatest European club manager ever .Alex Ferguson or Bob Paisley:
God Said be united