The long serving manager of English football club, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, has just announced his retirement from football management.
Sir Alex, who has been the manager of the Red Devils, as they are affectionately known, since November 1986, announced his retirement this morning via a statement from the club.
Even though his retirement has been expected for some time, the announcement this morning took most by surprise. He has previously announced his intention to retire in 2001, but went ahead to continue managing the club, much to the delight of fans and football-lovers.
He is very popular with not just fans of Manchester United, but with football fans world over and has attained an iconic status in the world of football.
In his 27-year career as manager of Manchester United, he won 38 trophies, comprising of 13 Premier League titles, including this current season’s, five FA Cup titles, four League Cups, 10 Community Shield titles, two UEFA Champions League trophies, a European Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup each.
In the 1998-1999 season, he won the treble of English Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, a feat for which he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Prior to managing Manchester United, he had coached St. Mirren in the Scottish Premier League, with whom he won the Scottish First Division title once; and then Aberdeen, winning 10 titles, including two European titles.
He was also as controversial as he was loved, regularly criticizing refereeing and FA decisions, and yet was famed for his skill in nurturing young talent to becoming world superstars.
No word has been made about his replacement, although a few names have been mooted, such as the Real Madrid manager, Jose Mourinho, who is also leaving the Spanish giants in what could possibly be his second stint with Chelsea, a Premier League rival of Manchester United.
Another possible contender is Rafael Benitez, a former manager of Liverpool and Inter Milan, who is ending his stint with Chelsea at the end of the season.