Month: September 2019

Christopher Raeburn, best known for reworking surplus fabrics and
garments with his label Raeburn, has teamed up with yet another of VF
Corporation’s brands. The British fashion designer, who became Timberland’s
Creative Director last year following a successful collaborative collection
with the brand, has now teamed up with The North Face to create three bags
made from old tents.

“For more than fifty years, The North Face has inspired a global
movement focused on exploration and nature conservation. We are therefore
extremely proud to work on this special project and to adapt our Raemade
ethos to turn open tents into unique bags”, said the designer in a
statement. “Raeburn stands always open to collaborations with brands, other
designers and reliability to bring about a positive change in our
sector”.

Darren Shooter, Design Director of The North Face EMEA, added: “Working
together with such a renowned designer was fantastic, especially because
Christopher and has the The North Face share the same values. By using
existing products, we limit the need for more single-use materials and we
reduce our waste production”.

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Available in three styles (Drawstring Bag, Rae Bag and Tote bag), the
bags are yellow in color but each one of them is unique due to the use of
scrap material. They can be bought online via both The North Face and
Raeburn websites. Prices range between 100 US dollars (approximately 76
pounds) and 168 US dollars (128 pounds).

Pictures: courtesy of The North Face

The former midfielder says he was disappointed with the end of last season, although he feels encouraged by what he’s seen from several players

Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has called on the team’s younger players to seize the opportunity presented to them as the Gunners continue their pre-season.

Arsenal’s youth have played a vital role in the club’s opening pre-season matches, as the Gunners have beaten the Colorado Rapids, Bayern Munich and Fiorentina as part of their U.S. tour.

Eddie Nketiah has been the team’s most prolific scorer over the three games, having fired three goals, while youngsters Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka have stepped up with goals as well.

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Gabriel Martinelli, the club’s only completed summer signing so far, provided a finish of his own on debut, making a positive start to his Arsenal career to ease some doubts over the club’s lack of transfer movement.

Like several of this summer’s goalscorers, Parlour came up through the Gunners academy, having joined the club in 1989 before making his debut three years later.

The midfielder ended up making more Premier League appearances for Arsenal than any other player, winning three Premier League titles as part of a 12-trophy haul during his stay with the club.

And, having made the rise from academy product to a midfield fixture, Parlour says it’s up to the current group of young players to take the chance presented to them and make their own case for a bigger role as the Premier League season looms.

“It’s so important for these young players to get an opportunity,” Parlour told Goal.

“The older of the younger generation, Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, will get that opportunity to get into the first team. Saka, who played on the left-wing has been very good.

“These guys have to put the effort in this pre-season, improve and try and show the manager that we can rely on you to go forward. I came through the ranks. Everybody needs that opportunity to show that you can be as good as you show in the pre-season.”

While Martinelli has impressed in his initial minutes, the club is expected to make further signings in the weeks to come with less than three weeks remaining before the club’s Premier League opener against Newcastle.

Deals for Dani Ceballos and William Saliba appear to be on the horizon, with the Spanish midfielder nearing a £27 million ($34m) move to the Emirates while the Frenchman is also nearing a transfer that will see him remain with Saint-Etienne on loan next season. 

Those deals are not yet completed, though, with manager Unai Emery saying the club is determined to sign their primary targets and not settle for the wrong deals.

Parlour admitted that he believes further reinforcements are needed if Arsenal are to compete with the best the Premier League has to offer as he hopes the club can take a step forward after what he saw as a frustrating end to the 2018-19 campaign.

“I was disappointed with the last season, but you have to move on and be optimistic this season,” he said. 

“I’m sure they’re working very hard behind the scenes to get transfers done. I don’t know what sort of positions they want to improve. Probably centre-half, full-back has been mentioned, a winger. Hopefully, when it comes to the end of the window, we’ll have a few more players in. 

He added: “This is a very important time for the team, pre-season. [Emery] would have been as disappointed as anybody last season with the run-in, losing a few games and couldn’t come fourth place.

“Obviously, the Europa League final, losing that game, you can’t look back. You have to look forward. Hopefully, they can progress and get better next season.”

The forward and Miguel Almiron will be “a handful” for opposition sides to deal with, according to the new Magpies boss

Steve Bruce expects Joelinton to be “a big hit” with Newcastle United supporters but admitted the former Hoffenheim striker is “not a typical Brazilian”.

Joelinton’s Newcastle debut started brightly when he weaved his way into the Preston North End box and won his side a penalty within seconds of his introduction in the second-half of the Magpies’ friendly at Deepdale.

But Miguel Almiron missed the ensuing spot-kick and Joelinton later conceded a penalty that Preston’s Paul Gallagher scored to clinch a 2-1 win for the Lilywhites.

Bruce, who took over on Tyneside earlier this month following the departure of Rafa Benitez, was nonetheless impressed with the club’s new record signing.

“I think he’ll be a big hit,” Bruce told the Chronicle.

“He is full of life and full of energy and plays with his heart on his sleeve.

“He is not a typical Brazillian – all the silky skills that you associate – however, I think he will be an effective number nine.”

Joelinton’s record-breaking £40million (€44.6m) arrival from Hoffenheim on a six-year deal created a buzz around St. James’ Park, where the most the club had previously spent on a player was the £20.5m paid for Almiron in January.

Almiron has made 10 Premier League appearances for the club without finding the net, but Bruce backed his leading lights to shine as he aims to steer Newcastle into the top half of the table in 2019-20.

“The two of them [Joeliton and Almiron] will be a handful,” said Bruce.

“After one minute, they combined, which could have won us the game.

“It was nice to see Miggy [Almiron], it was the first time I have seen him live.

“He is a very good player.”

Newcastle have two more friendly fixtures to navigate before they begin their Premier League campaign with the visit of Arsenal on August 11.

On Tuesday they travel north of the border to face Scottish Premiership side Hibernian, before returning to St. James’ to take on Ligue 1 outfit Saint-Étienne on Saturday.

Joelinton remains the club’s only signing during the current window, but Bruce remains confident of adding further depth to his Magpies squad before next month’s transfer deadline.

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The City boss has coached some superstar performers at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but sees more potential in a current charge

Pep Guardiola has worked with the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Robert Lewandowski in the past, but considers Manchester City starlet Phil Foden to be “the most talented player I have ever seen”.

The Catalan has coached some of the finest performers on the planet across spells at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.

He also formed part of some iconic sides in his playing days, as he represented Barca with distinction during the reign of the legendary Johan Cruyff.

Guardiola is, however, adamant that an emerging star on his books at the Etihad Stadium is the most exciting he has had the pleasure of partnering or managing .

The Blues boss told reporters of 19-year-old midfielder Foden: “I said many times in press conferences, but maybe not in front of him – he is the most talented player I have ever seen as a football player or manager” said the coach.

“He has everything to become one of the best players, not just in England.

“His only problem is that sometimes his manager doesn’t put him in the starting XI.

“Hopefully in the future he can improve. He deserves all the minutes but he knows what team he plays for and with his competitors it isn’t easy.

“But he is open-minded and he works incredibly hard in every training session. He knows I appreciate him. I’m here to help him as much as possible to become what he is and I am pretty sure both of us will get it.”

The appreciation between Guardiola and Foden is mutual, with the youngster having said of the experience he is gaining with the Premier League champions and their highly-rated boss:

“I am lucky to be part of it. It is a special team. The success comes from the depth of the squad.”

He added on the man at the helm: “He works us very hard in training and you can tell by what we do on the pitch he wants the best from us.

“That will only help us play better.”

Guardiola handed Foden 10 appearances in 2017-18, as he made his senior breakthrough with City.

A further 26 outings were taken in last term, with an England U21 international opening his goal account as he netted seven times across all competitions.

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It all started in 2014 at Urban Vintagers, a secondhand store in the city of Porto Alegre, in the southern tip of Brazil. Pam Magpali, then CEO of the now extinct eco-friendly shoe label MAG-P Shoes, couldn’t help but notice the pile of clothes that the store’s owner, Barbara Mattivy, had put aside for repair. She fell in love with the prints and asked Mattivy to let her use the fabrics to make shoes instead. Today, the duo is behind Insecta Shoes, a rising vegan footwear label which earned 2.8 million reais (approximately 700,000 US dollars or 55,000 pounds) in 2018 and expects a 30 percent growth in 2019.

Self-proclaimed “ecosexy”, Insecta Shoes aims to unite ethics and aesthetics: in addition to secondhand clothing, the company uses recycled PET bottles, cotton and cardboard, as well as industrial rubber waste to make its colorful shoes, which are affectionately nicknamed “beetles” in the brand’s messaging. Having produced over 28,000 shoes in the last five years, the company has reused over 2,194 meters (7198 feet) of fabric and recycled over 900 kilograms (1984 pounds) of cotton, 21,000 PET bottles, 1,560 cardboard boxes and 6,600 kilograms (14,450 pounds) of rubber. All shoes are manufactured locally, and Insecta makes sure to only work with factories that provide all contributors with formal contracts and a fair living wage. All but one of its 16 employees are women, and the company mentions feminism as one of its core values.

What started as an online enterprise soon moved to brick and mortar retail. Insecta Shoes currently operates two stores in Porto Alegre and São Paulo, but its shoes are also sold by ten multi-brand retailers in Minas Gerais (Brazil), New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Berlin, Barcelona and Paris. Now, the company wants to strengthen its position in the North American market with the launch of a dedicated e-commerce (shopinsecta.com) and a distribution center in North America. Barbara Mattivy has also just moved to Canada. FashionUnited spoke to her to learn more about the brand.

What were the main challenges you and Pam faced when starting the brand?

We didn’t do much business planning, marketing or production in the beginning, we started the brand with a very low initial investment because we were looking to minimize risk and understand whether the market would accept a vegan shoe brand with such bold, colorful prints. After all, that was a completely new idea! Fortunately, things went very well, but we delayed our growth a little bit because we were learning from experience and from our mistakes, rather than having planned and researched beforehand — which is not bad, it’s just a less conventional way of doing things.

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Insecta Shoes started by making shoes from secondhand clothes. Now, the company also uses recycled polyester. Tell us a little bit about the decision to expand the brand’s offering and material range.

It would be very difficult to scale up the business by only using vintage clothing. One dress allows us to make five shoes, no more. On the one hand, that’s good because it makes our shoes unique and exclusive, but on the other hand many clients would get upset because they couldn’t find their favorite shoe in their size. Using fabric from recycled plastic bottles is the equally sustainable alternative we found to offer a complete range for our customers. But the “vintage” line still exists, with extremely limited capsule collections, for those who enjoy buying something exclusive.

Insecta started as an online player but soon moved from clicks to bricks, with two shops in Brazil. Why did you make that decision?

I believe in an omnichannel strategy, because e-commerce and physical stores complement each other, especially when it comes to footwear. Many people still prefer to try the shoes on before committing to a purchase, they want to see if the shoe is really comfortable. Brick and mortar stores also allow us to get closer to our customers by organizing special events, which helps us to raise awareness about the environmental issues we care about.

Does Insecta intend to open more stores in the future?

We’re planning on opening one more store in São Paulo this year and maybe another one in Rio de Janeiro later on.

The 22-year-old defender has been condemned by a number of Liverpool players for his dangerous tackle in Boston

Sevilla head coach Julen Lopetegui said Joris Gnagnon was “very, very worried” after his horror challenge left Liverpool teenager Yasser Larouci on a stretcher.

Sunday’s friendly in Boston – won 2-1 by Sevilla – was marred by Gnagnon wildly kicking out at 18-year-old Liverpool left-back Larouci.

Sevilla defender and second-half substitute Gnagnon, who issued an apology post-game, was shown a straight red card with 14 minutes remaining, while Larouci required lengthy treatment at Fenway Park.

“[Gnagnon] was very, very worried and knows it could have been a bad injury,” Lopetegui said.

“I am worried about the player [Larouci] but I asked Jurgen [Klopp] and he said the player is okay, it isn’t a bad injury and I am happy for that.

“That’s the most important thing. The referee thought it was a red card and I haven’t seen a replay but it’s possible it was a red card.”

Larouci reportedly left the stadium on crutches following a fiercely contested pre-season fixture, with Liverpool on the receiving end of some tough tackles.

Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk was infuriated by Gnagnon’s actions and said the tackle “says something about” the Sevilla defender. 

James Milner was also among those to hit out at the challenge, labeling it disgraceful.

The Reds will next feature against Sporting in New York before returning to Europe for games against Napoli and Lyon in Edinburgh and Geneva respectively. 

Klopp’s side then face Manchester City in the Community Shield on August 4, although it has been confirmed Sadio Mane will not return for that outing as he enjoys an extended break after the Africa Cup of Nations.

Liverpool could look to lay a marker down at Wembley as they bid to end City’s two-year hold over the English top flight.

The Manchester club took the title by just one point last season, leaving Liverpool short of a first ever Premier League title despite amassing an impressive 97 points. 

Klopp’s players did go on to lift the Champions League though, winning a stale final 2-0 against Tottenham in Madrid after completing an incredible semi-final comeback against Barcelona at Anfield having trailed 3-0 from the first leg.

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The Juventus star praised the Argentine at the Champions League group stage draw, saluting him for sharing football’s stage for 15 years

Cristiano Ronaldo has said he hopes to have dinner with Lionel Messi sometime in the future after saluting their “good relationship” despite their longstanding rivalry.

Messi and Ronaldo have been seen as the top two players in football for over a decade, with the pair managing to form a monopoly on Ballon d’Or for 10 years, winning five each.

The 2018-19 campaign brought to an end the battle between the pair in La Liga, with Ronaldo departing Real Madrid for Juventus following a third straight Champions League triumph.

In addition, their stranglehold over the Ballon d’Or was ended, as Ronaldo’s former team-mate Luka Modric secured the award.

But seated next to each other at the UEFA Champions League draw, the pair were seen conversing and appeared to enjoy one another’s company.

When asked about it prior to the naming of the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, Ronaldo was full of praise for his rival, as well as admitting he hopes the pair can get dinner some time in the future.

“We shared the stage for 15 years, me and him,” Ronaldo said at the Champions League draw. “I don’t know that it’s ever happened in football, the same two guys, the same stage, all the time. It’s not easy.

“We have a good relationship. We’ve not had dinner together yet, but I hope [we will] in the future.

“Of course I miss playing in Spain – we’ve had that battle the last 15 years, which is good. It pushed me and I pushed him as well.

“It’s good to be part of the history of football. I’m there and of course he’s there as well.”

Ronaldo was asked about rumours of a possible retirement at the end of the season, as well as if he might time his exit from the game to coincide with Messi’s.

The Juventus star did note he has two years on his Barcelona counterpart, but promised to remain among football elite for the foreseeable future.

“He’s two years younger than me, but I think I look good for my age,” Ronaldo said. “I hope to be here next year and then in two years and three years. So the people that don’t like me, they’re going to see me here.”

While neither Messi nor Ronaldo could beat out Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk for the Player of the Year, the Argentine top his Portguese rival for award for top forward.

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And Messi matched Ronaldo’s praise, saluting his long-running battle with the Juve star.

“With Cristiano, it was a beautiful rivalry,” he said.

“It’s nice to score goals. The goal is always to try to do things to win, before scoring. But if you can win and score, then [it’s] better.”

The Robins are close to completing their third signing from Stamford Bridge as they aim to gain promotion to the Premier League

Chelsea youngster Kasey Palmer is set to undergo a medical with Bristol City as he bids to avoid another loan move and leave in a permanent deal in a £3.5 million deal.

The 22-year-old has been playing under Frank Lampard in pre-season but he missed the last match against Reading on Sunday as talks over his future neared a conclusion.

Bristol City will beat Swansea City to the signing of the midfielder and he will become the third Chelsea player to make the move to the Robins this summer.

The Championship club’s CEO Mark Ashton had already signalled his intent to complete moves for the three Blues youngsters the club had on loan last season, with Palmer adding to the signings of Tomas Kalas and Jay Dasilva.

Lampard has been giving chances to last season’s loanees in pre-season but he has also been sanctioning the departures of several players that he does not want as part of his first-team squad for the 2019-20 season.

The transfer window closing date for both the Premier League and Championship is August 8, meaning the Blues are running out of time to offload the players that aren’t needed.

Palmer had been hopeful of convincing Lampard to give him a chance in the first team as the new Chelsea boss promised opportunities for younger players whilst also insisting that not all of them will make the cut.

The Lewisham-born midfielder played 109 minutes for Chelsea under Lampard as he was assessed in Ireland and Japan.

The former Huddersfield Town loanee has been part of the west London club for six years since joining from Charlton Athletic at 16 but he would now prefer not to have another loan move sanctioned.

Bristol City are pushing for promotion next season and Palmer will be their eighth signing of the summer.

There are likely to be further departures in the coming week, with Kenneth Omeruo, Baba Rahman, Jamal Blackman, Izzy Brown, Michael Hector, FIkayo Tomori and Trevoh Chalobah all potentially moving on.

Chalobah is currently in talks with Huddersfield over a permanent move to the Championship, while Rahman is expected to leave for good. Omeruo, meanwhile, is in ongoing talks with Celta Vigo and Leganes.

Fikayo Tomori, who spent the season on loan with Lampard at Derby County last season, is expected to leave on loan but he continues to be involved in his club’s pre-season matches.

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The Argentine was due to speak to Maurizio Sarri on Thursday although that didn’t happen, while Mario Mandzukic has also been offered to Man Utd

Paulo Dybala will not take a routine medical at Juventus on Friday and has not returned to their Continassa training headquarters as talk of a move away from Turin gathers pace.

And the player that Juventus want to swap Dybala for, Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku, has agreed terms with the Bianconeri in a deal that will be worth €9 million (£8m/$10m) a year, sources tell Goal.

Another part of the puzzle for the sensational swap deal is Dybala’s wages in Manchester, with the Argentina international desiring a significant pay increase from his current €7.5m-per-year deal in Italy.

Dybala returned early from his holiday after the Copa America and arrived in Turin on Thursday. He was expected to hold crunch talks with Juve boss Maurizio Sarri but that ultimately didn’t happen.

Instead, the Argentine has extended his vacation until August 5, three days before the English transfer window closes.

Sources have also told Goal that Mario Mandzukic was offered to United during sporting director Fabio Paratici’s visit to London for talks over the Dybala and Lukaku deal, with Juve keen to get the Croatian off their wage bill.

It remains unlikely at this stage that United would be interested in bringing the 33-year-old to Old Trafford, however, despite the Serie A champions’ willingness to offload him to the Red Devils.

Both Dybala and Lukaku, meanwhile, were somewhat frozen out at their clubs last season.

The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Serie A giants meant Dybala had to play more of a rotational role, scoring just 10 goals in all competitions, with only five coming in the league as his club won their eighth straight Scudetto.

Lukaku was also out of favour at Old Trafford after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in the dugout.

The Norwegian preferred to play Marcus Rashford at centre-forward and the Belgium international’s confidence appeared to be affected when he did play.

Lukaku has previously claimed that it would be a “dream” to play in Serie A, with all the initial signs having pointed to him being close to a move to Inter.

Juve have since joined the race, however, and, with United and Dybala mulling over whether a move to Old Trafford is the right fit, the Belgian appears destined to head to Turin.

The Argentine has also been linked with a switch to United’s Premier League rivals Tottenham and it seems he doesn’t have a long-term future with the Serie A champions.

The 25-year-old’s absence from Juventus training and the lack of communication with his manager seem to spell the end for him with the Old Lady, but his salary demands may well prove a sticking point.

The Daily Mail reports that the former Palermo star will ask for around £350,000 per week if he does make the move to the Premier League, although with Lukaku agreeing terms with Juve, that may help move the potential swap deal along.

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‘Fergie’ is regarded as one of the all-time greats, having won armfuls of silverware in his 1500 matches in charge of the Red Devils

Sir Alex Ferguson is considered to be one of the greatest managers of all time, not just for Manchester United but in world football.

The Scotsman was noted for his success at Old Trafford, where he won 22 major domestic titles, two European Cups and the Cup Winners’ Cup of 1991.

Such a formidable track record allowed him longevity unparalleled in the modern game, with Ferguson in post for the Red Devils from 1986 until he elected to retire in 2013.

Sir Alex arrived at Manchester United having first attained legendary status at Aberdeen, where he guided the Scottish club to three Premier Division titles, four Scottish Cups, a League Cup, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the 1983 European Super Cup.

Having cut his managerial teeth at East Stirling, he moved to St Mirren and then the Dons, while he also led Scotland to the 1986 World Cup following the death of Jock Stein.

He took charge of the Red Devils on November 6, 1986 when the club was at a low ebb. They sat second bottom of the First Division table, 21st out of 22 sides, but there were to be no immediate miracles as he set in place the foundation of a team that would go on to dominate English football for two decades.

Ferguson worked first to improve the discipline and fitness of the team, which allowed them to stabilise themselves and finish the season in 11th. Although a second placed finish followed in the 1987-88 season, there was a slip back to mediocrity and by the middle of 1989-90 a concerted campaign to see Ferguson sacked.

A 1-0 FA Cup win over in-form Nottingham Forest is often cited as a turning point in his career at Old Trafford, with United building on that surprise away win in the third round to go on and win the trophy.

The following year, the side remained inconsistent but managed to win the Cup Winners’ Cup, defeating Barcelona 2-1 in the final.

It would be the 1992-93 season that brought the club their first league title since the days of Matt Busby in 1967. Buoyed notably by the signing of Eric Cantona from Leeds, United finished the season brilliantly to move 10 points clear of second-placed Aston Villa, showing a characteristic that would become a trademark of Ferguson’s sides through the years.

Another league title followed in 1993-94 but the Red Devils missed out on three-in-a-row due to a final day draw with West Ham which handed the trophy to Blackburn Rovers, which in turn prompted a clear out of veteran players and room for a string of academy graduates to be given a chance.

Amid criticism, Ferguson blooded the likes of Gary and Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, all of whom would be stalwarts during what was perhaps United’s peak period of dominance.

The manager’s trust in his players was absolute, despite BBC ‘Match of the Day’ pundit Alan Hansen infamously prophesising: “You can’t win anything with kids.”

With Cantona now back after an eight-month suspension for fly kicking a Crystal Palace fan, United overhauled Newcastle’s apparently insurmountable 12-point lead at the top of the table to win the league, an achievement for which Ferguson was granted a new four-year deal.

A new adversary loomed in the form of Arsenal and their new boss Arsene Wenger. Although the pair would oft have a fiery relationship in the press, Ferguson was full of praise for the Frenchman guiding the Gunners to the 1997-98 title, stating: “I think it’s good for my young players to lose on this occasion.”

The peak of Ferguson’s managerial career came in the 1998-99 season, when he guided the club to the treble – the only English team ever to have achieved this feat. 

After a slow start to the season, they would go on to win the league, though it was in the FA Cup and Champions League where they served up their most dramatic football, the type of which was by now known as Ferguson’s hallmark.

In the FA Cup, they were threatened with an early exit at the hands of Liverpool but scored twice in the closing five minutes to eliminate their great rivals. Then followed a thrilling tussle with Arsenal in the semi-finals which was decided in a replay, with Ryan Giggs famously scoring the winning goal after running half the length of the pitch by despairing challenges.

United’s incredible mental strength was on display in the Champions League, too. After eliminating Barcelona in a group that also contained Bayern Munich, Inter were seen off in the quarter-finals before the steel of the team became evident in the semis. Trailing 3-1 on aggregate away to Juventus, they appeared to be heading out before storming back to progress.

That fixture was notable for the performance of captain Roy Keane, who had received a booking that would prevent him from playing the final. The Irishman was emblematic of the combative spirit that Ferguson wanted to see from his players, particularly that evening in Turin.

“It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player,” Ferguson later told The Times.

The 1999 Champions League final was one of the most remarkable in history, with United scoring twice in extra-time through Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer having trailed Bayern Munich 1-0 for the majority of the match.

After the game, Ferguson uttered one of his most famous phrases: “Football, bloody hell.”

Despite the ongoing threat of Arsenal, Ferguson built a team that won the title three years in succession, becoming only the fourth side in history to achieve that feat.

It was at this juncture that the manager announced his intention to retire from the game at the end of the 2001-02 season, though after several months of rumination he elected to make a U-turn on the decision. 

Nevertheless, the season ended in disappointment as United finished third in the league and missed out on playing the Champions League final in Ferguson’s hometown of Glasgow, a fact he would later admit to being his greatest regret during his time in charge.

It was around this point that the team went into another era of transition, though that did not stop them picking up another league title in 2002-03.

During the following summer, Cristiano Ronaldo joined the club but, Arsenal were irresistible and won the league undefeated.

The following year saw the club’s firepower further bolstered by the arrival of Wayne Rooney from Everton, though they finished the 2004-05 season trophyless. Ferguson reached a personal milestone, however, by marking his 1000th game in charge of the club with a 2-1 win over Lyon in the Champions League.

Once again, a foundation of success was slowly growing, though, and the 2006-07 campaign brought a ninth Premier League title before a 10th followed 12 months later.

The major achievement of 2008, though, was a second Champions League success. After drawing 1-1 with Chelsea at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the match went to penalties, with United coming back from the dead in the shootout as John Terry slipped while taking a kick that would have won the Blues the trophy.

While they continued to dominate domestically, further European success would elude them as Barcelona’s era of comparative Champions League dominance began by beating United 2-0 in the 2009 showpiece in Rome. They would subsequently lose to Barca again in the 2011 fixture at Wembley.

A landmark 19th title had preceded that match, which was Ferguson’s 12th personally. It made the Red Devils the most successful club in the history of the English top flight, symbolically overtaking Liverpool.

Number 20 arrived two years later, with the title sealed with four matches to spare. It was overshadowed, however, by Ferguson’s announcement that he was to retire from his post.

His final match in charge, his 1500th in total, was against West Brom and finished in an incredible 5-5 draw – a fitting finale given the excitement he had brought to the club throughout the years.

In the 2012-13 campaign, he was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Season gong for the 11th time in his career, having also won the UEFA Manager of the Year award in 1998-99.

Ferguson, who was awarded a CBE for his services to football, has stayed on at Manchester United as a director and an ambassador.

Indeed, he has been marked with a statue at Old Trafford for his achievements with the club, while he has also had a road near the stadium renamed to Sir Alex Ferguson Way.

Perhaps the most notable honour that has been bestowed upon him, however, is that the largest stand at Old Trafford has been renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.

He is regularly spotted among the crowd at the Theatre of Dreams with his wife, Cathy.

Additionally, he has been appointed as a UEFA Coaching Ambassador while he has lectured at Harvard University in the USA.

On May 5, 2018, he underwent emergency surgery after suffering a brain haemorrhage but has since returned to watching United, with current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer having turned to his former boss for advice and even a team talk.

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