The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

"Ferguson's professional football career? To the ambitious Ferguson himself, it was a failure. He thought it was far from the standard of success. He left the football field with great regret and ended his career. But the blow and lesson of this failure, the difficulties and setbacks of this experience, planted a firmer belief in him and set a more ambitious goal."

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From childhood to adolescence, from 16 to 32 years old, he fought hard for more than ten years but finally had to retire; from amateur to professional, from school team to giants, he worked hard at every stage, but he was not able to taste the top championship until his retirement... The trajectory of Ferguson's professional football career is the same as that of most players. It is not short. There have been moments of glory, but his long career is far from successful.

The most regrettable thing is that Ferguson is recognized as having the ability to play for a top club, and he has actually played for a strong team, but he has never won a top league championship. This is the biggest pain point in his career.

Objectively speaking, Ferguson's football talent is not that high. In the Scottish football world, no matter which coach he met, even his mentor during the enlightenment period, did not think that Ferguson's talent had reached the top level. But because of this, Ferguson faced the limitations of fate and bravely challenged various difficulties, which is even more moving.

Ferguson's football career started from a low platform, and his entry into the professional player series was full of ups and downs. Due to the limitations of the times, his career has always been played in Scotland, and no distant Bole has extended an olive branch. Ferguson is loyal to his love, and has devoted everything and made all efforts for football without regrets. Because no one discovered him when he was a child, Ferguson was not well trained before he played for Queen's Park. From St. Johnston, Dunfermline, to Glasgow Rangers, and later Falkirk and Ayr United, Ferguson's career trajectory is too bumpy, it can be said that it is full of thorns, and he ultimately failed to realize his dream.

Ferguson has a strong ability to score goals and is an excellent striker. He almost achieved his dream of winning a championship when he was at Dunfermline. When he transferred to Rangers at the highest price, Ferguson's fame and strength were already at the star level, but his fate was too embarrassing. As soon as Ferguson arrived, the coach who insisted on bringing him in was forced to leave the team, which made his experience in a top club extremely difficult. It was not Ferguson's direct responsibility that Rangers did not win the championship, and after leaving Rangers in anger, Ferguson himself knew that he was far away from the peak.

Ferguson was filled with regrets for failing to win the top league title and achieve greater honors.

Football is a popular competitive sport, and everything is judged by performance and results. Competitive sports are affected by various factors, including personal talent, mental outlook, personality traits, growth path, injuries, coach ability and temper, teammate strength, team atmosphere, team comprehensive ability... Each of them may affect the height that a player can reach. "Seven points depend on hard work, and three points depend on luck." Ferguson fought with 100% effort, but his luck was so bad that it was eye-catching. He had excellent football talent, but he did not have the opportunity to join the youth training of a wealthy club, could not get guidance from famous teachers, and had no chance to grow in a good youth training system; Ferguson seized the opportunity by scoring three goals against Celtic with his hard work, but his subsequent career path was not smooth, and he was almost rejected by every team.

Ferguson has a tough personality and does not have the kind of charm that everyone loves. He overcame difficulties to become the top scorer, but this still cannot guarantee that the team he is in is strong enough. The team he plays for always messes up at the last moment of winning the championship. Ferguson is strong-willed and tough. He always charges like a "fighting dog" and can always destroy the city like a sharp knife, but he has been prejudiced by many coaches for various reasons. Ferguson became the top scorer twice in different teams. His wonderful goals in the game often appeared in local newspapers. He once set a record for transfer fees and was just one step away from becoming a top star in Scottish football. However, fate is a tricky thing. These are just short-lived and fleeting.

Ferguson devoted all his passion to football, but football left him with more regrets. He overcame his physical and physical deficiencies and the challenges of injuries, but he was also rejected by the head coach for various reasons. Ferguson's talent was not fully utilized. He had the defects of paranoia and irritability in his character, his wife was criticized by fans for her religious beliefs, and he had conflicts with his coach... These tricks of fate eventually made him miss the championship four times.

Even though he was not as successful as a superstar, it cannot be said that Ferguson's football career was a failure.

Being a professional player gives Ferguson a good income, superior social status, and a happy life far beyond the reach of ordinary people, which is difficult for many ordinary players and fans to achieve. Ferguson is more grateful for football, and the regret of not winning a trophy in his many years of professional career has not reduced Ferguson's love for football. No matter when and where, he always believes that he will succeed. If he can't get it in his playing career, then he will strive for it in the coaching position.

This is the core reason why he insisted on devoting himself to the football coaching industry, and it is also the fundamental reason why he was eventually able to achieve great success in the profession of head coach.

Ferguson's professional football career brought him a key character development, which influenced his ideals, beliefs and spirit. In the process of devoting himself to professional football, Ferguson's personality traits gradually emerged, his trait of bravery and winning was obvious, and his character of never giving in became his unique label.

Ferguson's character originated from his youth. Ferguson was sensible at an early age and had an unusual emphasis on and love for his family and the collective. He not only valued his family life, but also other people around him. This became more obvious after he became a coach. He cared about everyone around him, including his subordinates, his players, his juniors, his friends, and various clients he met through work relationships.

This desire to protect others, mixed with his love for football, made Ferguson work very hard at an early age, hoping to help the team and everyone who worked hard. Ferguson later recalled, "I will never forget the experience of growing up as a child, the hard work, and the positive changes in life. I had to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of others, and when I started playing football to earn money to support my family, I felt that the responsibility on my shoulders was even heavier. This responsibility runs through my career."

When Ferguson played football, young people in Scotland got married very early, and many of them even started a family before they were 20 years old. Ferguson's friends of similar age worked in shipyards, lived a routine life, got married, had children, and established families. Ferguson knew that family was very important. Many players' wives would always take care of the family, raise children, cook on time for their husbands who came home, and silently support them behind the scenes. This was life in the High Bay area of ​​Glasgow. Men were the sole source of income for the family and the most important pillar. Ferguson gave up being a sheet metal worker in a shipyard and turned to a professional player. The journey in between was extremely difficult, but he always faced it bravely. Ferguson knew that there were huge risks involved, and he was determined to make more efforts to repay his family's support.

After Ferguson coached Manchester United and created miracles, he still respected everyone in the club. Ferguson said: "There are many people in a club like Manchester United, and many people perform their duties in different positions. They work hard and are often the only source of income for their families. Although many stars are already very rich and never seem to worry about their lives, and even become rich people that others can't reach, I still have the obligation to take care of them within my scope."

Many managers don't have this sense of responsibility, but Ferguson is very particular about it. Over the years, he has fallen out with many players for various reasons, and even purged many rebellious ones, but no matter what, he will always consider the other's life and family.

An important part of Ferguson's character building was his growth as a teenager.

Ferguson liked to give orders on the field since he was a teenager. Although he had never been a captain in his career and had never established a leadership-level prestige in any team, this did not prevent him from being officious on the field, liking to command others and liking to be in control of everything.

When Ferguson was playing for Rangers, he was asked by reporters whether he liked to be in the limelight and whether he would make the captain unhappy. He replied: "I have always been very confident and always want to stand up. The confidence to be a leader may be a natural part of me. I just like to command others. This is not a way of self-promotion, but I just think it is beneficial to everyone. I want some guys to do it my way. This is my typical character, making decisions and pushing others to execute. Sometimes I can even become very aggressive, no matter who it is, opponents or those guys who don't take me seriously at all."

Ferguson admitted that he is aggressive: "Aggression is the character of Glaswegians, especially my generation. I have met many people from all over the world, and I am most familiar with the Scots, especially those from Glasgow. The people in my hometown work hard to go out and seek development, and in the end so many people succeed, which is something to be proud of. They bravely come out and meet all challenges; they are very tough, not afraid of fighting, and strive for their goals. This is the education I received since I was a child, work hard for your goals, keep fighting, and never stop."

Ferguson grew up freely in his unbridled teenage years and advanced bravely on his career path. Whether he was a child fighting in gangs in the alleys or playing football to defeat various opponents in different parts of Gaowan, all of this made him have a strong will since he was a child.

The shipyard environment where Ferguson lived as a teenager was very important. It profoundly shaped Ferguson's world view and outlook on life, and he benefited from it throughout his life. Ferguson later recalled: "The persistence and unwillingness to admit defeat in my character came from my childhood, from my family, school and factory, from my parents, brothers and teammates; from my practice in the factory and my battles on the court. I was only 16 years old when I first worked as a fitter at Wakeman. I remember the feeling of touching metal in the cold winter - it was so cold that it made me feel like it was burning. At that moment, I said to myself that I must overcome this challenge, all challenges."

Ferguson was once interviewed by a young reporter at Fraserburgh beach near Aberdeen. It was a cold winter day with strong winds blowing at the beach. The young guy was shivering and stamping his feet constantly, and could hardly stand for a minute.

In a trembling voice, he asked Ferguson: "Where does your strength of character come from?"

Ferguson replied: "You've felt it, it's coming from here, like this wind."

Ferguson's unsuccessful career as a professional footballer was filled with hard work and sweat. Ferguson struggled for 16 years and transformed himself from an amateur player to a professional striker with the Golden Boot honor; Ferguson played for many clubs and transformed from a confused kid to a veteran who never gave up.

Although this professional football career of more than ten years did not bring Ferguson the greatest success, it is his greatest wealth in life.

In the fierce Scottish winds and on the cold, hard ground of Scotland, lies Ferguson's passion for life and his bloodline genes for striving for endless honors.

Fate was so cruel, but it did not make Ferguson give in. For him, a life that was not defeated by failure could be truly successful.