Ferguson on brain haemorrhage and games that shaped his life

Sir Alex Ferguson, described as one of the fiercest, most explosive and most decorated managers in football history, said he was terrified when recalling his return to Old Trafford after a brain haemorrhage in May 2018. Four months after emergency surgery, the former Manchester United boss attended his first match back at the stadium, watching United face Wolves in the Premier League. “I wish I could say I was comfortable. I wasn’t,” Ferguson told BBC Breakfast. He added that he need not have worried, as he and his wife Cathy received a standing ovation when they took their seats in the directors’ box before kick‑off. “My wife was with me, and she was almost crying. When we sat down, she said ‘that’s fantastic’.” Ferguson had retired five years earlier, after winning 38 trophies in 26 years in charge of United, at the age of 76. Now three months shy of his 85th birthday, he said, “I’m feeling rather good despite tiny injuries.” His forthcoming book, *Games of My Life*, recounts 21 defining matches from his playing and managerial career, offering fresh insight into his journey from working‑class Glasgow to dominating English and European football as United boss. “I had lost my voice; I couldn’t speak,” he said of the days immediately after surgery. “That was a frightening moment.” He recalled his grandsons visiting him while he was voiceless, and how a therapist helped him regain speech by asking him to write down the names of birds, animals and rivers. “That way my voice came back.” During his United tenure between 1986 and 2013, Ferguson secured 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups, four League Cups, the Club World Cup, European Super Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. In *Games of My Life* he highlights his earliest cup final, played for Govan High School in Glasgow in 1955 when he was 13. “That was my starting point,” he said, holding the medal he received after that victory 71 years ago. He noted his progression through Glasgow Schools, Scotland Schools and the Scotland youth side, adding, “The starting point of my career was there and I can look back with great satisfaction.” Ferguson described growing up in Govan as “the making of me,” crediting his mother Elizabeth for instilling inner confidence and his father Alexander, a Govan shipyard worker, for a relentless drive to win. “He was so proud of me and my brother,” Ferguson said. “He was a hard taskmaster because whenever I scored a hat‑trick or a goal, my mother would say ‘that’s great, son.’ His father, meanwhile, offered tough constructive criticism no matter how many goals I had scored.” After debuting as a 16‑year‑old striker for Queen’s Park, Ferguson endured a frustrating spell at St Johnstone, where he played only in the reserves and considered emigrating to Canada. “I wasn’t enjoying it. I wasn’t playing first‑team football; I was in the reserves all the time,” he said. “I filled out every form and phoned my aunt in Canada, because you needed a sponsor then, and never told my mother and father.” The following day, a flu‑ravaged St Johnstone side travelled to Ibrox to face Rangers. The 21‑year‑old Ferguson was promoted to the starting XI and scored a hat‑trick, a performance he said revived his playing career and set him on the path to becoming one of football’s top managers. “I would tell youngsters – don’t miss the biggest chance in your life. It’s recognising it,” he advised. The interview with Ferguson took place before the Premier League announced on Tuesday that Manchester City had been found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of financial regulations between 2009‑10 and 2017‑18. On the table were several career artefacts, including the Scotland cap he received in 2021 – 54 years after his first appearance for the national team. He was presented the cap at Hampden Park on the night Scott McTominay – then a United player – scored a dramatic stoppage‑time winner in a 3‑2 victory over Israel in a World Cup qualifier. “I recall signing McTominay at 7 years of age,” Ferguson said. Also displayed were old letters from disgruntled United fans amid speculation he might sell midfielder Paul Ince to Inter Milan in the summer of 1995. One read: “Don’t sell Incey to Inter – or you’ll regret it.” Another stated: “Every Red is disgusted with you.” “Paul was a tremendous footballer, there’s no doubt about that,” Ferguson said. “He had unbelievable ability, but I just had that feeling that he just got carried away a bit at the time.” “He then got this offer from Inter Milan. I’m trying to weigh up one thing against the other. I’m looking at Paul Scholes and I said ‘should we?’” “Milan’s offer went from £7m to £7.5m and I said ‘do it’.” “That’s what your job is as a manager. You have to make hard decisions, and some decisions don’t suit everyone.” A notebook on the table contained words Ferguson had scribbled while coding his players. It listed the names of Bernard “Monty” Montgomery – the World War Two general who outwitted his arch rival – former prime minister Winston Churchill, and Ince. “I didn’t notice that before. I couldn’t spot him,” Ferguson laughed, recalling he had once called Ince a “big‑time Charlie.” “I regret saying that. That was a mistake,” he later added. “The pair have since reconciled.” “He’s a good friend of mine,” Ferguson said. “He used to come over and play snooker with me. He texted me not so long ago.” A second subheadline read: ‘Beckham thought I was trying to get rid.’ “You can’t win anything with kids,” former Liverpool and Scotland defender Alan Hansen said after a youthful United side lost 3‑1 at Aston Villa in August 1995. Ince, then 27, and forward Mark Hughes, 31, had been transferred that summer to Inter and Chelsea respectively. Meanwhile, Ryan Giggs (21), Gary Neville (20), Paul Scholes (20) and David Beckham (20) were beginning to make a name for themselves. By season’s end, Ferguson’s side had secured the Premier League and FA Cup double. “We’d worked really hard getting youth into the club again and this bunch of young lads became the tone of Manchester United,” Ferguson said. “They added something. Apart from the great abilities they had, they had desire. I put Beckham on loan at Preston [in March 1995]