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Last Sunday
Manchester United FC, the club we love, was crowned club world cup
champions. Although the competition in its various guises is the
subject of ridicule from most British media sources, winning it
brings the curtain down on one remarkable period of history for our
club. From English Cup kings to Champions of the World, Alex
Ferguson and his band of merry (and not so merry) men have done it
all.
Let's get one
thing straight [WINDOWS-1252?]– most people reading this will be
Manchester United fans anyway, so now that we have won the Club
World Cup, most of us see value in this title and we can call
ourselves Champions of the World. It's pretty obvious FIFA's
motivation in all of this: FIFA want to create a rival competition
to UEFA's Champions League. FIFA are willing to put up serious cash
to attract teams to enter this competition ($5M for United winning
this tournament) but are torn between inviting the best clubs in
the world, or doing as they do and inviting the Champions of the
various continents that are members of FIFA. The current format is
seen as lacking in quality opposition to the Champions of Europe
and South America yet it offers players from Asia, Oceania and
Africa the chance to fulfil their dreams. Regardless of the pros
and cons of the tournament, we have won it and nobody can argue
with that.
When we think of
United when Alex Ferguson took charge, or back still twelve years
previous to that when United played one season below the top
flight, the heights our club has reached since then are
unparalleled. Every step of the way Ferguson's plan has been
carried out with ruthless ambition. In the early days it was win a
cup, then go for the League Championship and win more cups, then
with the League Championship in the bag, go for the title of
European Champions. After that, repeat over & over again until
it became widely recognised that we were the best side in the
world.
A few hiccups
emerged along the way though: After being crowned Premiership
champions in 1993 the foreigners rule and innocence in Europe's top
club competition meant that it took us until our fifth attempt
before we were crowned champions of Europe. Then despite also
winning the Intercontinental cup in November 1999, FIFA's first
attempt at a Club World Championship ended in disaster for United
in January 2000. We were dumped out in the first round and returned
home to try to retain our Premiership and Champions League titles
having sacrificed the FA Cup for the chance to play in the Club
World Cup. Real Madrid came to Old Trafford in the Champions League
and destroyed our dreams. Three years later our Premiership
domination was ended by Arsenal's titles either side of our 2003
title win and Chelsea's back-to-back title wins. Between May 2003
and May 2007 United won the FA Cup in 2004 and the League Cup in
2006. While for most of us it was just brilliant to see United win
trophies, other clubs, particularly our Champions League rivals,
would probably have sacked their Manager for 'only' winning what
are seen as lesser cups. While their arrival at our club was met with
a furious reaction, maybe the Glazers rise at Old Trafford
strengthened Alex Ferguson's hand and allowed him to implement his
master plan to regain the Premiership and Champions League. Already
Ronaldo and Rooney had been brought in for big transfer fees but
now Ferguson didn't have to go to the PLC board to sanction a
transfer. Looking at the players in the squad in Japan last Sunday,
Evra, Vidic, Rafael, Anderson, Carrick, Park, Tevez and Berbatov
have all arrived at Old Trafford since the Glazers took control of
United. That is quite an array of talent and suggests that the
Glazers are not the type of owners to say 'no' to Fergie. Leaving
aside the debt they brought to the club and the significant
problems they have caused for our fans, in terms of winning matches
the Glazers have allowed Ferguson to assemble the squad he wants to
achieve the ultimate success. Unfortunately the downside is that us
fans have been screwed with things like rising prices and the
Automatic Cup Scheme.
What
makes the United's achievements over the past nineteen seasons all
the more remarkable is Ferguson's ability to build success when it
appears the club is on a downward spiral. In 1995 after Ince,
Kanchelskis and Hughes left the club Ferguson (had to) put his
faith in youth and it reaped the domestic double. After Arsenal did
the same double in 1998, Ferguson did the opposite of his actions
three years earlier and went out and bought three top class players
that helped land the 1999 treble. In 2002 when Arsenal were again
domestic conquerors Ferguson wasn't afraid to pay a world record
£31m stg for a defender which led to United winning back the
Premiership title.
The
difference this time around though, is the sense that the club is
on a very firm footing for long-term success. After going four
seasons without a Premiership title win United seemed to up the
ante considerably to maintain future dominance. All of Ferguson's
recent signings have been relatively young and have been tied to
long contracts. Again Ferguson has not shirked the big decisions
such as letting Beckham, Van Nistelrooy and Heinze go to Madrid,
pay big money for a player or put his faith in youth like Evans or
Rafael. Looking around Europe, no club seems to be as solid as
United (debt apart) with such a strong squad, a mix of experience
and youth as good as ours, or better still a Manager as experienced
as Ferguson. In truth only Ancelotti at Milan seems to have been
given time to build a strong side, but when Milan are now signing
players like Arsenal reject Senderos or Beckham on loan it does not
bode well for long term success and when Madrid are in the business
of sacking managers who win them the Spanish Primera Liga, it seems
that in football terms at least, we've stolen a march on other big
clubs. That does not guarantee success, but it does give us an
advantage that we must seize upon to justify the hard work over the
past six seasons.
That is why
I was delighted to see us crowned World Club champions last week.
After going four seasons without winning the Premiership title, our
club ticked over by winning the domestic cups and building a
championship winning side. When we proved too strong for Chelsea in
2007, we built on that and made it back-to-back Premiership titles
in 2008. We didn't repeat our treble of 1999 but to be Champions of
England and Europe is one season is a monumental achievement, one
even our beloved father of football Matt Busby did not achieve. To
end 2008 as World Champions shows that the club seems as determined
as ever to win all before us and hopefully will serve as a
springboard for further success over the rest of the season. There
is one common factor in all we have won in the last nineteen
glorious seasons and that is Alex Ferguson. He is the figurehead of
the club we love, the club that makes it feel like an arrow to the
heart when we see them concede a goal or lose a game, but produces
magical moments like Giggs slotting that goal past Wigan to
guarantee our seventeenth English title or Edwin Van Der Saar
saving Anelka's penalty in Moscow.
We end 2008
as the best club in the World, Merry Christmas to Manchester United
fans all over the world.
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