By KELVIN ESIASA
RECENTLY, the world said ‘bye, bye’ to one of the most successful football managers, Sir Alexander Chapman ‘Alex’ Ferguson.
Sir Alexander Chapman “Alex” Ferguson, CBE (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish football manager and former player who had managed Manchester United since 1986.
He has been described by many soccer fans, administrators and players as one of the most admired and respected managers in the history of the game.
The Guardian announced it was the “end of an era” while UEFA president Michel Platini said Sir Ferguson was “a true visionary”.
British Prime Minister David Cameron described him as a “remarkable man in British football”.
Indeed Ferguson was truly a remarkable manager.
He received awards for his contribution to football. Apart from the EP league and UEFA competition accolades, he received awards from the British government as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 1983; Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1995 and Knight Bachelor (Kt.) in 1999.
Reading through his profile, there are so many lessons an individual can learn from the veteran trainer.
Eamonn Holmes from BBC says there are lessons politicians in UK and football managers can learn from Sir Alex Ferguson. Similarly, in Zambia, there are lessons that one can learn from the man.
Winning attitude
The first lesson one can learn from Sir Ferguson is his ability to develop a winning mentality. He told the British media at one time that success puts one in control and that that was what every manager wanted.
He explained that it was difficult for a manager to control a club if he had not been successful. So, Sir Ferguson developed a winning attitude. Every season he wanted to win the Premier League and took seriously all competitions.
Strategist, passionate about success
Sir Ferguson said “the most difficult job and the most valuable man at Manchester United was the manager”. He saw the importance of constantly grooming players from their youth to play in the first team.
For long-term success, he saw to it that he had a youthful team that would take over the club in the future. This approach was very different from many other top clubs in Europe; who spent huge amounts of dollars and pounds to buy top veteran players.
Learn from your failure
Some people do not learn from their mistakes as easily as others, which unfortunately, can lead to the inability to make progress in life.
Natalie Clarkson wrote that in his first four seasons with Manchester United, Sir Ferguson did not win a single trophy.
Most sports journalists at the time wanted the Scottish head coach to be sacked, but it never happened. At the end of his third full season, Sir Alex Ferguson and his team won their first major trophy.
Leave a legacy
Sir Ferguson wanted to leave a legacy. In his lecture at Harvard Business School, he said, “When you’re approached by an institution like Harvard, you know you are dealing with top quality.
“I had to consider that I was opening myself up to something I’ve never done before. But at this stage of my life, I felt that if I’m helping young people progress through their own routes to management, then ultimately that was an important and compelling factor for me.”
Sir Ferguson will remain an icon among soccer fans and administrators. What he has achieved as a coach will remain a bench mark for soccer fans, managers and administrators.
Indeed, let the hero retire!
The author is president of Zambia Society for Public Administration and PhD candidate in Public Policy and Administration (Policy Analysis), Walden University, USA.
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