Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson  (born 31 December 1941) is a retired Scottish footballer and retired manager.  He has managed St. Mirren, Aberdeen, and Manchester United. He is considered one of the greatest football manager of all time, and has won more trophies than anyone else in the history of English football.

As a player, he played as a forward. He play for multiple Scottish teams, including Dunfermline Athletic and Rangers. After retiring from playing, he started managing at East Stirlingshire. He would be hired by St Mirren, Aberdeen, and the Scotland national team, due to the death of Jock Stein. He was the manager of Scotland at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

In November 1986, he was appointed the manager of Manchester United. He won 38 trophies with Manchester United, including 13 Premier Leagues, 5 FA Cups, 4 Football League Cups, 10 FA Community Shields, 2 UEFA Champions Leagues. He would manage the team until his retirement in 2013.

Playing Career
He made his debut for Queen's Park at age 16. He would score 20 goals in 31 games for Queens Park. He joined St Johnstone in 1960 to try to get regular gametime. He would score a hat-trick for St Johnstone against Rangers. He signed for Dunfermline in 1964.

In the 1964-65 season, Dunfermline finished 3rd with 49 points. They finished 1 point behind Hearts and Kilmarnock. Ferguson was dropped for the 1964–65 Scottish Cup final. In that final, Dunfermline lost 3-2 against Celtic. He was the joint top scorer in the 1965–66 Scottish Division One season. He and Joe McBride both scored 31 goals. He joined Rangers in 1967, for a Scottish record of £65,000. He would only spend 2 season at Rangers, before joning Falkirk in 1969.

He retired in 1974, after spending 1 season at Ayr United. He scored 171 goals in 317 games throughout his career.

Managerial Career

Early career as manager 
In June 1974, Ferguson became the manager of East Stirlingshire. A year after that, St Mirren offered Ferguson the job as their manager. Ferguson took the job. In 1974, St Mirren were playing in the second division. By 1978, Ferguson had led the club to the First Division title. St Mirren fired Ferguson from his role in 1978.

Aberdeen 
Ferguson became Aberdeen manager in 1978. At that time, Aberdeen had only won the league title once. Ferguson was still a young manager. His start with Aberdeen did not go very well. Aberdeen lost the Scottish Cup semi-final and the Scottish League Cup final in his first season, and finished fourth in the league.

In the 1979-80 season, Aberdeen won the Scottish league. In 1982, the team won the Scottish Cup. As a result of winning the cup, Aberdeen played in the European Cup Winners' Cup the following season (1982-83). Impressively, Aberdeen beat Bayern Munich on their way to the final. They faced Real Madrid in the final. Aberdeen won that game 2-1 and won the competition. In the next season, Aberdeen beat the European Cup champions Hamburger SV to win the European Super Cup.

Aberdeen won the league title in 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons and won a couple of domestic cups. He left for Manchester United in November 1986.

Manchester United 
On 6 November 1986, Manchester United appointed Ferguson as their manager. The team was in the 21st position (out of 22) when he took over, but they finished 11th. Manchester United finished second in the following season, 1987-88.

Career statistics

As a player

As a manager

Honours

Player
St Johnstone
 Scottish Division Two: 1962–63

Falkirk
 Scottish Division Two: 1969–70

Individual
 Scottish Division One top scorer: 1965–66

Manager
St Mirren
 Scottish First Division: 1976–77

Aberdeen
 Scottish Premier Division: 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85
 Scottish Cup: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86
 Scottish League Cup: 1985–86
 Drybrough Cup: 1980
 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1982–83
 European Super Cup: 1983

Manchester United
 Premier League: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
 FA Cup: 1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
 Football League Cup: 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
 FA Charity/Community Shield: 1990 (shared), 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011
 UEFA Champions League: 1998–99, 2007–08
 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1990–91
 European Super Cup: 1991
 Intercontinental Cup: 1999
 FIFA Club World Cup: 2008

Individual
 LMA Manager of the Decade: 1990s
 LMA Manager of the Year: 1998–99, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2012–13
 LMA Special Merit Award: 2009, 2011
 Premier League Manager of the Season: 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
 Premier League Manager of the Month: August 1993, October 1994, February 1996, March 1996, February 1997, October 1997, January 1999, April 1999, August 1999, March 2000, April 2000, February 2001, April 2003, December 2003, February 2005, March 2006, August 2006, October 2006, February 2007, January 2008, March 2008, January 2009, April 2009, September 2009, January 2011, August 2011, October 2012
 UEFA Manager of the Year: 1998–99
 UEFA Team of the Year: 2007, 2008
 Onze d'Or Coach of the Year: 1999, 2007, 2008
 European Coach of the Year—Alf Ramsey Award: 2008
 IFFHS World's Best Club Coach: 1999, 2008
 IFFHS World's Best Coach of the 21st Century: 2012
 Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year: 2000
 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 1999
 BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year Award: 1999
 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2001
 World Soccer Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
 ESPN Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
 France Football 2nd Greatest Manager of All Time: 2019
 FourFourTwo Greatest Manager of All Time: 2020
 BBC Sports Personality Diamond Award: 2013
 English Football Hall of Fame (Manager) : 2002
 Scottish Football Hall of Fame: 2004
 European Hall of Fame (Manager): 2008
 FIFA Presidential Award: 2011
 Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 – 2001–02)
 Manager of the Decade
 Most Coaching Appearances (392 games)
 Premier League 20 Seasons Awards (1992–93 – 2011–12)
 Best Manager
 FWA Tribute Award: 1996
 PFA Merit Award: 2007
 Premier League Merit Award: 2012–13
 Mussabini Medal: 1999

Orders and special awards
 Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE): 1985
 Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE): 1995
 Knight Bachelor (Kt.): 1999
 Freedom of the City of Aberdeen: 1999
 Freedom of the City of Glasgow: 1999
 Freedom of the City of Manchester: 2000
 Freedom of the Borough of Trafford: 2013

Honorary degrees
Ferguson has received at least eight honorary degrees. These Include:

References

Other websites
 Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United Managerial Record at mufcinfo.com
 
 
 Scottish Football Hall of Fame profile
 Aberdeen Manager profile at AFC Heritage Trust

1941 births
Living people
Scottish footballers
Association football forwards
Scottish football managers
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Knights Bachelor