Sir Alex Ferguson has had the opportunity to coach great champions over the course of his long career, but few have really had a place in the heart of the Scot. But he has always been very protective of the Portuguese …
Sir Alex Ferguson has had the opportunity to coach great champions over the course of his long career, particularly at Manchester United. Few of them, however, were saved from the famous “hairdryer”. The screams of the Scot, a few inches from his face, were not lacking in people like Beckham, Giggs or Rooney. Yet some have almost always managed to avoid them and have a place in the heart of a rough-behaved manager like Sir Alex. Don’t touch my CR7, one might say. Ferguson has always been very protective of the Portuguese, as evidenced by the revelations of the English journalist Geoff Shreeves.
Shreeves has been on the sidelines for Sky Sports for years and has had the opportunity to interact frequently with Ferguson. And speaking to the Times of his experience he recalled when Sir Alex just … didn’t get his hands on him for suspecting that Cristiano Ronaldo had jumped in to get a penalty. “The best fight on the sidelines with Fergie? Absolutely the one for Cristiano Ronaldo’s dive to get a penalty against Middlesbrough. We had an important altercation, which risked getting out of hand under the tunnel. Ferguson came under me physically, but he couldn’t hit me because other people got in the way. Anyway Fergie was right and I was wrong, then we talked about it in a civilized way, we solved the matter and we never talked about it again. “
It is difficult to understand if Sir Alex was so furious because one of his players had been accused of having dived or because the question concerned Cristiano Ronaldo. But that the Portuguese is, together with Scholes, the true protege of the Scotsman there is no doubt. Even after Cristiano left the Premier League, there was never a lack of public displays of affection from the coach, whether they were after yet another Golden Ball won or at the end of a Champions League final that ended in triumph. The revelations of Shreeves, therefore, surprise but up to a certain point. After all, CR7 has always explained that he considers Sir Alex a second father. And the Scotsman took him at his word, defending with drawn sword … his son!
October 1, 2022 (change October 1, 2022 | 07:59 am)
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