The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 54: Maiorana's Tornado

For Maiorana, who could only play soccer in amateur teams, Ferguson's favor was a piece of cake, and becoming a main player for the Red Devils was more like a tornado of luck. But it is not so easy to seize opportunities in the football world, even if you meet a coach like Ferguson who cherishes talents.

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In addition to young gems such as Giggs and Lee Sharpe, Ferguson also discovered a "genius" - Italian player Jules Maiorana.

Maiorana was born in Cambridge, England on April 1969, 4. His father moved to England from Italy and still maintained a strong interest in football. He actively organized teams to participate in amateur regional Sunday leagues. Maiorana loved football since he was a child, but his talent was not enough to impress professional clubs. He applied for many teams' youth training camps but failed.

At the age of 16, Maiorana dropped out of school and went home to help his father run the family decoration business. Later, he worked as a barber and later became a clerk in a fashion store, but he never gave up playing football. Maiorana played football in the community stadium every Sunday and participated in various competitions. In early 1988, Maiorana attracted the attention of Alan Doyle, the coach of Histon, and joined this English football low-level league team.

Histon played in the East Counties Football League, six levels lower than the English League Two, but this was the best opportunity for Maiorana. Coach Doyle appreciated Maiorana very much and not only let him start the game, but also carefully guided his skills and made him the core of the team.

Doyle thought Maiorana was extraordinary and actively recommended him to his old friend Ferguson. He praised Maiorana highly: "Maiorana's performance on the training ground is as bright as a diamond. He has amazing speed and can dribble past opponents like Best. He is an excellent winger."

Ferguson became interested and immediately arranged to invite Maiorana to a trial and let him play a warm-up match with the Red Devils' main players.

Maiorana said: "I was given the number 11 shirt and started with Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes. It was like a dream, but I knew I had to give my all and show my ability. I played very hard and won a penalty for the team.

Maiorana's performance impressed Ferguson and he decided to sign the young man.

Ferguson later mentioned Maiorana in his column in the New Straits Times. "Maiorana has his own style of play. He is very confident and bold. He dares to make moves and has good speed. I must emphasize that he has a lot of ideas and a strong desire to perform, which is very good. He has the ability to read the game and can create opportunities."

Maiorana started a new life. He got a chance to play in the Red Devils' home game against Millwall in mid-January 1989, coming on as a substitute 1 minutes before the end of the game. In March, he came on as a substitute against Luton again, and then got a chance to start against the season's champions Arsenal.

Ferguson jokingly announced in the locker room, "Jules, number 11, I have to choose him, otherwise Norman will refuse to play today." Everyone laughed because Norman Whiteside and Maiorana got along very well and were teammates with tacit understanding on the court.

Maiorana came on the field with confidence and courage, passing the ball many times in the frontcourt to create offensive opportunities. Facing the opponent's powerful central defender Dixon, Maiorana was not timid at all, and even passed the opponent with his heel through the crotch, which really humiliated the opponent.

Maiorana won the title of 'the new George Best' with this gorgeous dribble and was featured on the cover of the famous Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

Maiorana's stunning performances drove the Red Devils fans crazy for a time.

Robson thought the guy's playing style was like a mix of Maradona and Eusebio, while Bruce called him 'Houdini' (the world's most famous magician and escape artist) because Maiorana liked to play against a group of players, perform some incredible moves, and then get rid of his opponents in the chaos.

Maiorana's footwork is much more fancy than Beckham's, and he has many similarities with Ronaldo. He has long legs, excellent balance, and an innate sense of the ball, which has become his powerful ability to dribble past others.

The love of fans and the hype of the media made Maiorana forget everything. He forgot who gave him all this and thought he was indispensable. Maiorana began to become more and more independent on the court, and fell more into the myth of dribbling and breaking through the performance, and began to pay less attention to the team's tactical discipline. After the team was defeated because of his loss of control, Maiorana was excluded from the starting lineup by Ferguson. He even began to pick on Ferguson, thinking that the coach was high and mighty, and only wanted obedient children. He didn't want to be bullied and controlled.

The conflict first started with Maiorana's long hair. Ferguson thought he spent too much time on his hair and asked Maiorana to cut his hair short and not let hair care interfere with games and training.

"He always told me to cut my hair, but it wasn't that long," Maiorana said. "He told me off for six and a half years, but shortly after I left, he signed Bobowski, a long-haired freak, and Ferguson never restricted him."

Maiorana was unwilling to follow the order and continued to keep his hair long. Ferguson was very angry and thought it was ridiculous that this guy dared to challenge his authority.

Maiorana was handsome and stood out among the Red Devils players. He always wore extremely exquisite and gorgeous clothes. These also consumed a lot of his time and energy, making Ferguson even more unhappy.

Maiorana's various differences actually have his own little calculations. Once Ferguson ordered Maiorana not to wear a bra under his jersey. Maiorana said that he was used to wearing a bra under his jersey to absorb sweat. Ferguson was amused by this argument. He called the staff in charge of clothing in the club, prepared the team's special sweat-absorbing underwear, and then ordered Maiorana to take off the clothes inside.

Maiorana said: "I was humiliated and had to take off my clothes in public. Ferguson was obviously targeting me. Who cares about this now? Rooney also wears sports bras, Ashley Young, Berbatov, and I never saw Ferguson complaining again."

There is a secret about Maiorana's underwear. A non-Red Devils underwear brand privately negotiated with Maiorana to give him a separate sponsorship, but the condition was that he had to wear the underwear and show the underwear brand logo in every game. In order to get the money, Maiorana frequently lifted up his jersey during the game just to show off.

This seriously violated the club's regulations and harmed the team's interests, so Ferguson would of course yell at him.

Another time, the club held an event at Old Trafford. The whole team wore the club's formal attire as per the regulations, but Maiorana deliberately wore clothes from other famous brands. Ferguson would not tolerate him and directly came over and ordered Maiorana to go back and change clothes, "Do you always have to be different?!"

Maiorana made a fool of himself on the spot and had to do what Ferguson asked, feeling completely humiliated.

The Red Devils played a charity match against Queen of the South in March 1989, and then gave the players a holiday. Maiorana took the opportunity to encourage Sharp, Billsmore and several other young players to go to the bar for a drink. At this time, Ferguson's assistant Knox also came to the bar. Several young players of the Red Devils fled, but Maiorana deliberately ordered a drink and stubbornly stayed.

Ferguson was furious when he heard the news. He stormed into the bar, rushed to Maiorana, and knocked his drink away. "Does your mother know that you are still awake so late? Go back to bed!"

Maiorana hit back: "You know, the last time my mom made me go to bed was when I was 12!"

Ferguson was furious. "Don't you understand what I'm saying? Get back here now!"

Maiorana later said, "He felt he had to lecture and scold me, but I couldn't accept that. I only respect people who respect me, and he didn't do that."

Conflicts in life are easy to deal with, but conflicts in football are irreconcilable.

Maiorana has always been proud of his gorgeous skills. He always wants to come up with all kinds of magical dribbling moves and fancy skills, and always thinks about how to do something crazy when he has the ball. He believes that football cannot be simple, and it is unacceptable to pass the ball directly to teammates 5 yards away after receiving the ball. Maiorana relished the report of Manchester Evening News, "There was a ball about to go out of bounds, Maiorana rushed up to control the ball, and then did a heel knock, and the ball passed between two defenders. Maiorana continued to move forward with the ball, and the defender was still running in the wrong direction-this kind of performance is really rare!"

Maiorana said in an interview: "I am used to using special techniques, such as hooking the ball forward after receiving it near the midline, passing it with my heel, or flicking it lightly to make a fake move. I have always enjoyed this way, but Ferguson called me to the office and said to me very seriously: 'You must stop using these tricks.' I replied disapprovingly: 'Boss, that's the way I like to play football, I can't stop.'"

Ferguson laughed in anger, "You're not going to listen to me?"

Maiorana was unwilling to listen to Ferguson's request, and he himself delayed the team's attack because of his deliberate showmanship, often causing the team to fall into a state of division and division, which Ferguson could not tolerate. Maiorana soon disappeared from the first-team starting list, and his last game for the Red Devils was the League Cup against Tottenham Hotspur in October 1989, where he performed very poorly.

A deeper reason is that the Red Devils' level has improved very quickly, and Maiorana no longer meets the team's needs. Not only that, opponents have also adapted to some of his unconventional moves, and he can't actually pass anyone on the court, losing his effectiveness.

Maiorana was away from the first team, but he refused to go to Barnsley on loan. In April 1991, Maiorana tore his knee ligament while playing for the reserve team against Aston Villa. This was a serious injury. When he recovered from the injury, it was already May 4. Maiorana received a notice from the club, thanking him for his efforts and informing him that he could transfer freely.

Maiorana rushed into Ferguson's office, unzipped his trouser legs and showed the shocking scars on his thighs. Maiorana yelled and cried: "I think you should know where these scars came from. I gave everything for the club. If I came here like this, would you sign me? No one would sign me..."

Ferguson and Maiorana explained that if he left the team for free, he could get a £100 insurance payment. But Maiorana begged him to give him another chance, and Ferguson finally agreed to renew his contract for another year.

A year later, Maiorana had to leave Old Trafford sadly. After a short stint at Swedish club Jonski, Maiorana could no longer find a team that wanted him, so the 25-year-old Maiorana had no choice but to retire.

Maiorana, the former freak who had the potential to become a genius for the Red Devils, has bid farewell to the football world.

Even if you meet a famous coach like Ferguson who values ​​youth training, even if you have the opportunity to show your talent and get the chance to play first, it is not necessarily smooth sailing, let alone becoming a shining star. Maiorana was once amazing in the Red Devils, but he quickly lost his chance; like Rossi, Macheda, Dong Fangzhuo, Beibei, Morrison... They did get opportunities, but in the end they could only sigh.

After Maiorana left the Red Devils, he complained about his unfair fate for a long time. Doherty, a Red Devils youth player who was very close to him, never played for the Red Devils first team until he finally left the club. Doherty retired due to injury shortly after leaving the Red Devils, and later unfortunately drowned.

Maiorana finally let it go: "Compared with the misfortune of my friend, the hardships I encountered were nothing. After all, I played for the Red Devils and was once a favorite of the fans."