Winning 'never enough' - what we learn in Ferguson documentary
Former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has described Sir Alex Ferguson's insatiable desire to keep winning by saying "for him, it's never enough".
Speaking in a new two-part BBC documentary called Sir Alex, former defender Vidic said of the Scotsman that "if he's won two trophies this season, next year he wants to win three. If he wins three, he wants to win four".
Former midfielder Michael Carrick says his former boss would be "quiet after victories", saying that he would "smile, tell you 'well done, fantastic', but it was more, 'right, that's it, on to the next one, can we win another one?'"
Between 1986 and 2013, Ferguson's United dominated English football, winning 38 trophies that included 13 league titles, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups and four League Cups.
Prior to that, during his eight-year spell at Aberdeen from 1978, he broke up the Old Firm hegemony in Scottish football, transforming the Dons into a team that won three Scottish Premier Division titles, four Scottish Cups, one League Cup and the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup, when they beat Real Madrid in the final.
Over two hour-long documentary episodes and a seven-part podcast series, Sporting Giants: Sir Alex Ferguson, which is presented by Kelly Cates and Jonathan Northcroft, key figures from his career offer their insights into what makes him tick.
Former Aberdeen midfielder Gordon Strachan reveals how a young Ferguson changed the culture at Pittodrie, Class of '92 graduate Nicky Butt attests to the coach's faith in youth and United's all-time top goalscorer Wayne Rooney speaks about how the Glaswegian's working-class roots made him relatable to his players.
'Stay with me' – Ferdinand on Ferguson rebuild
One of Ferguson's great strengths was his ability to rebuild teams.
In the summer of 2006, United were facing a relative drought, having been beaten to the Premier League title by Arsene Wenger's Arsenal 'Invincibles' side in 2003-04 and by Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
In episode two of Sir Alex, Rio Ferdinand reveals the conversation he had with his manager that summer.
"There were rumours I was leaving. He was like, 'listen, we're going to build this team, stay with me'," says the former England defender.
"He was probably the only manager at the time in the world that I would have listened to like that.
"He got rid of people like Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane and transitioned into a younger, more vibrant team," Ferdinand adds during the podcast.
United went on to win three more Premier League titles in a row, with a team that included Ferdinand alongside shrewd new signings such as Vidic, Patrice Evra and Carrick, plus youngsters Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
They also won the Champions League in 2008.
'He was tapping into you as a human being'
The series and podcast explore Ferguson's humble roots in Glasgow, where his father worked in the shipbuilding industry.
During his team talk before the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea - which United won 6-5 on penalties - the former apprentice toolmaker reminded his players of the journeys they had made to get there.
In episode one of the podcast, Ferdinand remembers Ferguson saying "look at Patrice - he's got 23 brothers and sisters, imagine what his mother had to do to put food on the table".
Rooney describes that speech as Ferguson's "best team talk" because "he was tapping into you as a human being".
We could take on anybody - Strachan
Ferguson won the Scottish First Division - which was then the second tier in Scotland and is now known as the Championship - with St Mirren in 1977 but it was at Aberdeen he made his name.
During the documentary series, Sir Kenny Dalglish believes "for Aberdeen to win a European trophy surpasses, I think, anything he's done".
On the way to a famous European Cup Winners' Cup final victory over Alfredo di Stefano's Real Madrid, the Dons also beat Bayern Munich 3-2 at home in the quarter-finals.
Strachan says "there wasn't an arrogance about us, but there was a confidence - we could take anyone on at that time".
His forward in that team, Mark McGhee, speaks about how Ferguson created an "us versus them" mentality by setting up the "west coast of Scotland mafia", including the press, as "enemies" who "wanted us to fail".
Butt on the Class of '92
Key to Ferguson's success at Aberdeen was the integration of young Scottish players. When he arrived at Old Trafford in 1986, he set about scouting Manchester's best talent.
In 1995, he took a major gamble by selling three experienced players who had helped him win two Premier League titles - Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis.
At the same time, he promoted young academy players, including Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Gary and Phil Neville – who, alongside Ryan Giggs, became known as the Class of '92.
When United lost 3-1 to Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995-96 Premier League season with a team including the Neville brothers, Scholes and Butt, Match of The Day pundit Alan Hansen famously declared "you can't win anything with kids".
Ferguson's young side won the Premier League and FA Cup double that season.
However, Butt agrees that, at the time, it looked as if United were "never going to win anything with this group of players".
In episode three of Sporting Giants: Sir Alex Ferguson, he reveals that Ferguson "didn't say a word" after the Villa loss.
"He just got on to the next game, picked the same team and we went from there."
Carrick recalls man management
There are plenty of stories within the documentary and podcast about Ferguson's famed 'hairdryer' style of berating players.
Rooney remembers how the manager "battered him" at half-time in a game against bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth in 2009, despite the fact he had scored.
He scored two more in the second half.
"He knew the right time to do it and he knew the effect," says Rooney.
Carrick tells a story in episode two of the documentary that illustrates how adept his former manager could be with the carrot as well as the stick.
After finishing second behind champions Manchester City on goal difference in the 2011-12 season, Ferguson bought striker Robin van Persie from rivals Arsenal in a deal worth £24m.
Carrick remembers how "the boss sat us down in a team meeting and had a go at me and Scholesy for not passing to Robin".
He says that must have "made Robin feel 10 foot tall".
"That was the boss' way of making him feel like 'you've come into a dressing room that's successful and full of winners, but you can make the difference for us'."
Van Persie scored 26 goals during the 2012-13 season, winning the Golden Boot and helping United win their 20th league title.
Episodes one to six of Sporting Giants: Sir Alex Ferguson are available on BBC Sounds. A bonus episode with Sir Kenny Dalglish will be available on BBC Sounds from Sunday, January 5.
