Sir Alex Ferguson exclusive: Manchester United legend reveals secret to 1999 Champions League win over Bayern Munich
Updated 18/10/2024 at 13:12 GMT+1
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In an exclusive interview with TNT Sports, legendary former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson broke down the Red Devils' famous UEFA Champions League victory over Bayern Munich in 1999, saying the "homework won us the game". The former United boss led the club to 13 Premier League titles, and explained how he brought "consistency" to the club over his 26-year reign.
'What really made me was losing games' - Ferguson on dealing with losses and the final title
Video credit: TNT Sports
Sir Alex Ferguson reminisced on the "unbelievable perseverance" of his various Manchester United squads over his 26-year-long reign at the club, in an exclusive interview with TNT Sports.
The legendary manager masterminded his way to 13 Premier League titles with the club, alongside two UEFA Champions League trophies in 1999 and 2008.
The former occurred in stunning style, Ferguson famously inspiring 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich courtesy of two substitutes - Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - scoring two minutes apart in stoppage-time to secure an historic European title for the club.
Ferguson revealed his process in preparing to face Bayern, which saw him seize upon a recurring theme in his analysis of the Bundesliga side.
"It's easy to say this, but the homework won us the game," he told TNT Sports' Ally McCoist.
"In the analysis of Bayern, in big games particularly, they used to take the two wide players off and go into a tight midfield. We know having [Roy] Keane and [Paul] Scholes, [I] had to gamble on my midfield.
"I wanted to make sure we had passing ability and decided to put David Beckham in midfield alongside Nicky Butt. Nicky did all sorts of jobs, and [Ryan] Giggsy wide right and [Jesper] Blomqvist wide left.
"Didn't work in the first half at all. I was waiting for them to make the substitution. The minute he made the substitution, I went three in the middle and three up.
"I brought on Teddy Sheringham. I said 'Teddy, you go and play up top on the right centre-back, try and pull the right-back in.
"With Giggs playing in the left of midfield, it was really suited to him. Because running off the space all the time, Beckham, on the right-hand side, started to get crosses in.
"In the last 15 minutes we made a lot of chances, having said that we could have been out long before that. They hit the crossbar, missed a couple of chances, [Peter] Schmeichel made a couple of saves.
"It was amazing."
That famous victory in Barcelona highlighted a certain mentality which became synonymous with United under Ferguson's guise.
There was a stern character about Ferguson's sides, and it was clearly demonstrated by their ability to bounce back from the disappointment of falling just short of Premier League glory.
Since the formation of the English top-flight in its current format in 1992, six of United's league titles came in the season after suffering a second-placed finish and a further one after coming third.
Ferguson hailed the "unbelievable" mindset of his various squads across the years, and felt a gritty mentality was something he managed to instil over the course of his lengthy tenure.
"The perseverance, they never give in," he said. "That's a quality that great teams always had.
"It's also about myself and the team. We were second in the league six times and won the next year. Isn't that amazing? Six times second, and twice on goal difference, and won the league the next year.
"That tells you what that club was about, what those players were about. Not just one set of players, that was going back to the 94/95 team, tough as nails. To a really talented team in 2008, with [Carlos] Tevez, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Wayne] Rooney up front. Unbelievable.
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'Tells you what that club is about' - Ferguson on what makes Man Utd so special
Video credit: TNT Sports
He added: "The 94/95 team was basically an English team, with Schmeichel, didn't have a lot of foreign influence. By the time we got to 2008, we had quite a few foreign players, the game had changed.
"Every foreign player, European player came in, adapted right away. They probably looked onto coming to United [as] bigger than anything, because the reputation of the club had grown.
"There's no question, people say it's the biggest club in the world. It's a club that probably had one billion fans over the world. It's that kind of club. It's got a romance about it."
CONSISTENCY IS KEY, FERGUSON FEELS
The job of a football manager has come under increasing pressure over the years, with a 26-year-long stay at a single club almost unheard of in the modern game.
But Ferguson felt United benefited from their long-term commitment to him as boss, with the club legend telling TNT Sports about his consistent approach in all departments of the club.
When asked about his star-studded squad and if each player required different treatment, Ferguson laughed: "Everyone thought Robbo [Bryan Robson] was my son, because he'd never get criticised.
"I don't really believe that, but anyway. The most important thing for me as a manager is to be consistent.
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'Everybody thought Robbo was my son!' - Ferguson on importance of consistency managing stars
Video credit: TNT Sports
"The players, the staff, everybody recognised the man that came through the door every morning. The same principles all the time, the same discipline code all the time, the same attitude towards staff all the time. I never changed.
"So it made it easy for everyone to feel comfortable with that - 26 years brings a lot of benefits."
The Scotsman's approach was clearly a successful one, becoming the club's most decorated manager of all-time, picking up over 30 trophies during his time in charge.
United have yet to taste Premier League glory since Ferguson's retirement in 2013.
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024/25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
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