Alex Ferguson (1) (1941–)

An interesting read, though more for Manchester United fans than for those looking to study principles of leadership. As a Salford lad who was fortunate (with regards to football, at least) to come of age during the time Sir Alex Ferguson was winning everything with the club, it was good to take a trip down memory lane and to be reminded of players and matches I had not thought about in a long time.

Ferguson's book is not an entirely candid, let alone forensic, accounting of his tenure at show more United, and it limits the lessons of the book when the writer plays some cards very close to his chest. If you weren't a fan of the club, you would never know, from reading Leading, that Fergie and Roy Keane had such a bitter end to their relationship. Furthermore, the sensitive matter of the Rock of Gibraltar racehorse would have been discussed in a more courageous book, as a worrisome example of the divides that can be caused between managers and owners when side-business interests are allowed to fester, but here there is not a single mention.

Ferguson, commendably, does not throw players under the bus after the fact (regarding the two Champions League final losses to Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, he says that "two or three players ignored our plans and played their own game" but does not specify who (pg. 73)), but some potentially interesting statements are not expanded upon (he never met Malcolm Glazer in person, for example (pg. 201)). He is reluctant to criticise the Moyes transition (though some of the more abstract statements about new leaders "eager to stamp their imprint on everything" (pg. 323) and "display their manhood" by changing players' routines (pg. 326) could be seen as pointed, if anonymous, criticisms of that fiasco). Of the Jaap Stam sale, he has the following equivocating summary: "It was the right decision for United, even though Jaap continued to play well for several years after he left Old Trafford and, in retrospect, his sale was premature" (pg. 90).

In general, though, Ferguson gets the balance right in this retrospective of his career. Certainly he had more successes than failures and it's natural that Leading would focus on them, and be reluctant to dissect the more painful of the failures. Ferguson was at the top of the tree for more than two decades in one of the most competitive, high-stakes sports in the world, and there's value in listening to his impressions of that time. He cuts loose on owners and agents and, on a happier note, he was right, eventually, that Ole Solskjaer's managerial talent was "bound to be recognised by a more appreciative owner" (pg. 234). And it's good to know that he remembers the appropriately-named Cüneyt Çakir, right down to the use of cedilla and umlaut.

For the United fan, then, the book is worthwhile, but for principles of leadership it is harder to say. Ferguson's co-writer, Michael Moritz, writes in the (over-long) epilogue that it is "easy to make too many trite analogies" (pg. 352) between sport and the world of business and, despite one or two clumsy mentions of Kim Philby or the Cuban Missile Crisis, for the most part Leading avoids this triteness. There's certainly none of the grift or hustle that usually accompanies books about how to lead or inspire or suchlike. Ferguson writes that he doesn't "pretend for a moment" that the lessons he learned in his career "can be easily transplanted elsewhere, but I hope that readers will find some ideas or suggestions that can be emulated or modified for their own use" (pg. 5).

It's always good to think critically about one's own approach and level of professionalism, whatever your role or circumstances, and Leading can induce that. Much of the advice might seem obvious – and much of the anecdotal colour only of interest to a United fan – but there is a lesson to be learned from the fact that such a successful man can be driven by such simple and uncompromising principles. show less

A pesar de no ser fanático del Manchester United, equipo que fue dirigido por Alex Ferguson durante 27 años, cuando supe de este libro -hace unos años atrás- me dije que algún día lo leería.

¡Misión cumplida!

My Autobiography fue publicado en el 2013, seguido de la última temporada de Ferguson con el Manchester United. Es un libro que encierra detalles que los fanáticos regulares desconocen. Cosas que pasan en el campo durante un partido, lo que pasa entre bastidores, la show more personalidad de los jugadores, encuentros con otros DTs (directores técnicos), la media y mucho más.

Conoceremos bastante sobre Ferguson, sus inicios, su carrera como jugador y, por supuesto, su carrera como director técnico. Los jugadores que admiró y aquellos con los que tuvo problemas. Además, su punto de vista en relación a otros equipos, otros entrenadores, otros jugadores, etc. Pero, sobretodo, su gran amor hacia el club que dirigió por tantos años.

Their biggest gift to me was the time to build a football club, rather than a football team.

My Autobiography está dividido por capítulos, cada uno nombrado con la temática principal a tratar, por ejemplo, apellidos de jugadores (Ronaldo, Rooney, Beckham, Keane, Van Nistelrooy, Rio Ferdinand), entrenadores (Mourinho – ‘The Special Rival’, Competing with Wenger), equipos (Liverpool – A Great Tradition, Barcelona (2009-11) – Small is Beautiful, Man City – Champions). También, por supuesto, capítulos dedicados a su club (The Class of ’92, A World of Talent, United’s 19th Title y The Last Campaign, para mencionar algunos). Capítulos como Glasgow Roots y Family tocan temas más personales. En total son unas 25 partes, finalizando con las estadísticas de Ferguson (como jugador y técnico) y luego con una sección dedicada a fotos. El libro se extiende a poco más de 400 páginas.

Disfruté mucho la prosa de Ferguson, quien escribió junto a Paul Hayward. Pocos capítulos tienen desperdicio y el mejor, personalmente, fue el dedicado al Barcelona de Pep Guardiola.

At Barcelona they had these wonderful mites, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with the courage of lions, to take the ball all time and never allow themselves to be bullied. The accomplishments of Messi, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta were amazing to me.

My Autobiography es un libro muy bueno, rico en detalles y que se disfruta plenamente aún cuando no se es fan del Manchester United. Alex Ferguson es un personaje interesante, uno con quien podría cenar afablemente conversando sobre cosas de las que poco sé y disfrutando de una copa de vino de su extensa colección.

I’m glad to say that the simple act of reading is a marvellous release from the hassles of work and life. show less

For all of us who are in a deep footballing depression, this is a really good escape hatch. This book is filled with anecdotes from the good old days.

It is like his autobiography, slightly tending toward stream of consciousness - but who cares? It's all about reading stories about players and games United supporters remember with fondness, so we can forget our current mid-table calamity.

Did I mention the good old days?

We (united supporters) are now the new Liverpool-supporters, embrace it show more and read this book. You wont regret it. show less

Getting the chance to read the autobiography about the man who built my favorite team into one of the greatest franchises ever was absolutely astonishing. It was fascinating to get into his mind to understand what he was thinking and how he was able to accomplish so much during his tenure. As arguably the greatest manager ever, this book amazed me because it showed how Alex Ferguson did what he did. For someone who is a fan of soccer, this book is great because it teaches you so much about show more the game. You learn about the relationships that the members of the team have with each other and what is required to be successful. You also get to learn about all of the great players who have been part of the club and how they were able to develop and grow under Ferguson’s leadership. I was shocked to learn about his ability to see young players and know that they would develop and become very successful later on. This is what aided him in creating such a superior team and having so much ability at his fingertips. I wish he had gone farther into how he prepared tactically for different opponents and how he figured out what would be most successful against each individual team. Since he was know for tactically outsmarting his opponents, I feel that the amount of time that it is given in the book is not proportionate to what happen in real life. What I did thoroughly enjoy, was the time that was spent talking about his two biggest rival managers. I was taken aback when he described them with such high honor and respect. They had taken so many trophies and great moments form him, but I guess Ferguson respects them for being able to beat him. It really shows the character that this man has and allowed me to see what a humble man looks like. This book shows teaches so many lessons that don’t even deal with soccer, but with how to act and go about life in general. Truly a great read for anyone who wants to learn about how the most successful people act even when they are at the top of their field. show less