Sir Alex Ferguson is famous for his hairdresser treatment.
True, that indeed is a part of his personality but that alone did not make him the best manager in football ever.
There is a lot more to his charisma and every player, who has played under him has attested to that. Even in Fergie’s scoldings, his players were in awe of him.
Here is how the relation between Fergie and Nani began and developed at Old Trafford. Nani is one of those players who had immense potential but only lived up to some of it. So how was his life and relation with Fergie at United?
Let’s hear from the player himself.
He said: “At the beginning, I was very scared of him. As a father, you know? To make a mistake or do something wrong.
“But I was scared of him until I learned to understand and was able to express myself.
“My English has never been perfect or is going to be, but at that time it was worse than now and when he found I could speak more with him, he started coming to me and giving me more attention.
“And from then, I learned more about Sir Alex Ferguson. What he wanted to do, who he was and the relationship started to be better.”
“He was my neighbor and we used to go to London by train,” Nani recalled.
“His wife or his family used to leave him in the train station so on the way back he has no driver to take him so he was looking for someone who lives close to him to give him a ride.
“So I said, ‘OK boss, I’ll take you home!’ But the day I took him home was after a game against Fulham away, and I was on the bench.
“I was playing unbelievable with a lot of confidence. We won a penalty and it was Ryan Giggs who took the penalties. I felt confident and Giggs didn’t say anything. I took the penalty and I missed.
“The penalty should make it 3-2. We are going back home that day and I say, ‘Boss, I can take you home’. I drove him back home and he didn’t talk to me in the car!
“In the dressing room, he killed me! He said, ‘Nani, who do you think you are? Who gave you permission to take the penalty?! Ryan!’
“And then he killed Ryan Giggs, because he said, ‘Ryan, why did you let him take the penalty!’ Ryan said, ‘He grabbed the ball and I let him.’
“Oh my god, that day was incredible. I took him home and I felt very uncomfortable driving home.
“He [Ferguson] is a man who knows how to manage all characters, all different ages, all different personalities.
“My personality in that time, I was young, and not easy. I know that and I learned a lot, I changed a lot. That is life. You must learn.”
See More: Best Manchester United managers ever!
