Sublime

When he first joined the struggling side in 1986, he said ‘The most important thing at Manchester United is the culture of the club. The culture of the club comes from the manager.’ He emphasised that culture and values – not just players and tactics – determine a team’s success. He said that these values must be instilled in players from the

To my surprise, every Manchester United player I’ve spoken to and interviewed said Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t care about tactics, strategies and formations. He cared primarily about getting the best out of each individual, the team’s culture and their attitude; he didn’t want them ever to become complacent.

‘workmanlike’ players were selected instead of ‘stars’ and the appeal of the ‘David Beckham’ narrative (the instinctive belief that good-looking players are somehow better) was rejected.

But he had a fixed mindset about himself and his coaching ability. The team was his product, and they had to prove his ability every time out.

the first thing football scouts look for in youngsters is ‘intelligence’, the ability to see quickly what is going on around them and to plan for all eventualities – something we academics might call spatial reasoning. Nor are footballers lazy.

I was impressed by Jürgen’s practical approach. Rather than demanding the perfect player, he was willing to find creative solutions to maximise each player’s strengths and minimise their weaknesses. He often talked of his preference for players with one or two ‘extreme characteristics’ – game-changers. If and when those game-changers had