by Philip Reeves

Soccer fans dont often agree， but on this， theres a general consensus[意见一致]. Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in British football and one of the greatest in the games history. Reporter： Congratulations to the imperious[专横的] Sir Alex...

This season， Manchester United won the English premiership[英格兰足球超级联赛] for the 13th time under Fergusons stewardship[管理工作]. That trophy[奖杯] has gone into a cabinet[（陈列用的）室、间] stuffed[塞满] with silverware—38 trophies in all during Fergusons nearly 27 years at the club.

Ferguson started out as a player in the rough world of Scottish soccer. Later， as a manager， he proved shrewd[精明的] and ruthless[无情的]. Hes known for his mind games with opponents[对手] and for lambasting[严责] referees[裁判员] and players. Ferguson says flying off the handle[发脾气] is part of the game.

Alex Ferguson： Theres nothing wrong with losing your temper if its for the right reasons. I dont leave it till the next day.

Michael Crick： The thing about Ferguson， he had a number of personal attributes[特征]—huge intelligence， an amazing physical constitution[体格]， this ability to survive on three or four hours sleep a night， so it meant he was in the training ground first thing in the morning. Hed have all sorts of jobs done， work done before any of the players turned up.

Michael Crick is author of a book about Ferguson called The Boss. Crick says theres another side to Ferguson. Though he usually makes up[和解，和好] in the end， Ferguson tends to fall out [吵架] with people.

Crick： And particularly， he was always falling out with journalists. He would ban people from…their press…his press conferences[记者招待会] if they asked the mildest critical[批评的] question.

Manchester United is owned by the Floridabased Glazer family. Ferguson， whos 71， says hes leaving the club in the strongest possible shape. Its become one of worlds most valuable sports franchises[职业运动队]. Over the years， hes nurtured[培养] some of soccers greatest players—Wayne Rooney， Ryan Giggs， David Beckham， Cristiano Ronaldo， and more. Thats why his resignations[辞职] caused dismay[沮丧] thousands of miles from Manchester to Ken Lai， of Manchester United Supporters Club in Singapore.

Ken Lai： We wished that he stays on forever， but its not possible. We had hoped that the day would not be coming so fast， so soon. But theres never a right time for this.

Things You May Not Know About Sir Alex Ferguson

1. Once ran a pub. Ferguson has worked outside football， starting out as an apprentice[学徒] toolmaker and shop steward[工会管事] in Glasgow and much later running a pub that he renamed Fergies.

2. Intrigued[激起兴趣] by JFK注1. Gordon Brown注2 sent him CDs about the assassination[暗杀] of JFK. “Gordon sent me 35 CDs on it， which was brilliant of him，”he told Manchester radio station Key 103 in 2007. Ferguson is fascinated with JFK. He said he kept JFKs autopsy[验尸] report by his bed.

3. Not the longest serving manager. Ferguson was manager of Manchester United for 26-and-a-half years. The longest serving league[联队] manager in Europe was Guy Roux， who occupied[占据] the position at French team Auxerre for 44 years， finally stepping down in 2005. Ferguson isnt even the longest serving Scottish manager. Willie Maley was Celtic manager from 1897-1940， clocking up 43 years.

4. Used to jump over walls as a boy. He grew up in a poor area of Glasgow where there wasnt much to do apart from play football， fight and jump over walls， known as dykes[堤坝]. “Youd go to different areas of Govan to challenge each other into jumping dykes because it was very dangerous. But you do that when youre a kid because youve got no fear，” Ferguson

once said.

5. “Fergie time” is 79 seconds.“Fergie time” is the widely held belief by supporters of other teams， that if Manchester United are losing after 90 minutes， the referee will extend injury time[受伤延长赛时] long enough for them to equalize[使相等] or win. Last year， the BBC analysed[分析] Fergie time. It found that Manchester United were not unique in being given extra injury time when they were losing， although it appeared they got more than other teams. Games went on 79 seconds longer when Manchester United were losing than winning.

足球迷们往往意见不一，但在这一点上，他们基本上能达成共识——亚历克斯·弗格森是英国足球界最成功的主教练，也是足球史上最伟大的教练之一。记者：恭喜专横的亚历克斯爵士……

本赛季，在弗格森的带领下，曼联第13次捧起英超奖杯。这个战利品被收入了一个摆满银器的陈列室里——在弗格森执教的近27年里，俱乐部共赢得了38座奖杯。

一开始，弗格森是残酷的苏格兰足球界的一名球员。后来，作为教练的他向人们证明了自己的精明与无情。他最出名的是和对手玩心理战术，以及责骂裁判和球员。弗格森说发火是比赛的一部分。

亚历克斯·弗格森：如果理由恰当，发脾气一点儿没错。我当天就会忘得一干二净。

迈克尔·克里克：关于弗格森，他有着一系列个人特质——他智慧超群，有着惊人的体格，这令他可以每晚只睡三四个小时，所以也意味着他早上总是第一个到达训练场地。他在每一个球员出现之前已经做好所有工作。

《老板》一书写的是弗格森，迈克尔·克里克是该书的作者。克里克说弗格森有着另一面。弗格森总是跟人争吵，虽然最后都能和好。

克里克：尤其是，他总和记者过不去。如果他们问了批评性的问题，即使毫无恶意，他都会禁止人们……他们的记者会……进入他的记者发布会。

曼联的拥有者是来自（美国）佛罗里达的格雷泽家族。71岁的弗格森说他为俱乐部留下了最强阵容。曼联成为了世界上最值钱的体育强队之一。多年来，他培养了数名伟大的足球运动员——韦恩·鲁尼、瑞恩·吉格斯、大卫·贝克汉姆、克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多等等。所以他的离任让远在千里之外、新加坡曼联球迷俱乐部的肯·莱倍感失望。

肯·莱：我们希望他能永远执教下去，但那是不可能的。我们曾希望这一天不要来得太快，但哪一天都不是我们所愿。

亚历克斯·弗格森爵士不为人知的二三事

1. 经营过一家酒吧。弗格森从事过足球以外的行业。一开始，他在格拉斯哥当过工匠学徒和工会管事，之后还经营过一家酒吧，名字被他改为“老弗”。

2. 对约翰·肯尼迪很感兴趣。戈登·布朗给他寄了关于肯尼迪遇刺案的一系列CD。“戈登给我寄了35张CD，他真是明智，”2007年弗格森在曼彻斯特电台“Key 103”这样说道。弗格森对约翰·肯尼迪的事相当着迷。他说自己在床头放着约翰·肯尼迪的验尸报告。

3. 非执教时间最长的教练。弗格森在曼联执教了二十六年半。欧洲执教时间最长的联队教练是居伊·鲁。他在法国球队欧塞尔执教了44年，在2005年才离开。弗格森甚至不是执教时间最长的苏格兰教练。威利·马雷于1897年至1940年间担任凯尔特人队的教练，执教时间长达43年。

4. 年少时经常玩跳墙。他成长于格拉斯哥的贫民区。在那里，除了踢足球、打架和玩跳墙（也叫堤坝），没什么事可以做了。“你会到高湾的各个地方向人发出跳堤坝挑战，因为这事很危险。当你还是孩子的时候就会做这种事，因为你天不怕地不怕，”弗格森曾经这样说。

5. “弗格森时间”为79秒。“弗格森时间”是其他队的球迷普遍持有的观点——如果曼联在90分钟后依然落后，裁判会延长伤停补时，令曼联可以追平或反败为胜。去年，英国广播公司（BBC）分析了弗格森时间，发现在落后的情况下，很多球队会得到更长的补时，曼联不是特例，但曼联似乎比其他队获得更长的时间。在曼联落后的情况下，比赛时间会比曼联领先时多79秒。

数字弗格森

1999年6月获英女王颁发1个爵位

执教过5支球队：东斯特灵队（1974）、圣米伦队（1975—1978）、阿伯丁队（1978—1986）、苏格兰队（1985—1986）和曼联队（1986—2013）

以球员身份加入过6个俱乐部（女王公园、圣庄士顿、邓弗姆林、流浪者、法尔科克、埃尔联）

获得9个苏格兰和英格兰足总杯冠军

由于被罚场边停赛而缺席17场比赛

执教曼联期间共买入104名球员

作为球员共出场370场，攻入170个入球

带领曼联出战1498场，894胜、337平、267负