LONDON â€" In a week that saw the state opening of Parliament and an intensified debate over membership in the European Union, another news item dominated Thursday’s headlines in Britain â€" the retirement of a veteran soccer coach.
He is not just any soccer coach. He is Sir Alex Ferguson, an irascible Scot whose 26-year reign at Manchester United secured the English club’s position as one of the world’s most successful and popular teams.
If you are not a soccer fan, you may have missed Jack Bell’s articles at The Goal blog, in which Andy Roxburgh, the New York Red Bulls sporting director, praises the leadership qualities of his former teammate. Jack also reports on the feverish speculation about possible successors to fill the 71-year-old’s oversized boots.
But this is about more than soccer. It is about who will lead what has become a $3 billion global brand, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange and has an official fan base in more than 200 countries.
As English fans like to say, soccer is not a matter of life and death; it’s more important than that.
My colleague Sam Borden writes that tributes have been flowing in from far beyond Britain for the man who went to United in 1986 when the club that was struggling for a foothold in England, let alone the global stage.
“Ferguson’s style â€" intense, irascible, determined and single-minded â€" was not always popular with players (who might be dropped from the lineup before a big game),†Sam writes, “or the news media (who often were chastised for asking questions), but his results were undeniable.â€
British television viewers have become accustomed to deciphering Ferguson’s cryptic comments on the game, delivered in the broad working-class brogue of his native Glasgow.
Since he announced his retirement on Wednesday, “Fergie†has been described as a Renaissance man, as comfortable in the company of politicians as among his players in the locker room.
“He also seems to be very well-connected and know everyone in the world of politics, horse racing, sport and wine,†according to Angus Deayton, a television presenter and Manchester United fan.
Prime Minister David Cameron posted his congratulations on Twitter, along with the hope that Ferguson’s departure would help the club he supports, Aston Villa.
Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour Party of which Ferguson was a lifelong supporter, posted, “Proud man. Great manager. Staunch Labour Party supporter. Sir Alex Ferguson will never be forgotten.â€
In a list of things that “not everybody knows,†the BBC reported that Ferguson had once run a pub, had started his working life as a toolmaker and served as a labor union official.
He once revealed that he had a fascination for American politics and the assassination of John F. Kennedy and that he kept a copy of the late President’s autopsy report at his bedside.
Ferguson is associated with coining a string of soccer slang terms, including “hairdryer treatment†to describe the way he dealt with wayward players and sports journalists.
“Players talk of the moment a switch is flicked in Fergie’s head, he presses his face close to you and emits a terrifying torrent of abuse,†according to the BBC.
His description of the final tense moments of a match as “squeaky-bum time†entered the Collins English Dictionary in 2005.
After a career in which he was described as possibly the greatest soccer manager of all time, the impact of his departure went beyond the sporting world.
When the news of his retirement hit the New York Stock Exchange, shares in Manchester United dipped by as much 4.5 percent.
