There is a common misconception about Sir Alex Ferguson’s teams
Memory is a complex concept. Sometimes they can be blurred, and altered due to our desire to only remember the best, most exciting parts of certain events.
Especially when current events are less than exciting, it’s tempting to remember the past as if it were perfect, harking back to the good old days. And this applies to many aspects of life, in particular football.
There is a common misconception that Sir Alex Ferguson’s sides were always extremely attacking, and that’s why they won so many trophies for so long. Of course, this is only half the truth. Ferguson’s United teams were complete, they could play in a variety of ways and would alter their tactics depending on the opponent, as Wayne Rooney recently explained in an interview with the Men In Blazers TV show to be broadcast on NBCSN on Monday.
Rooney wanted to dispel the myth that the current United side play in a boring, defensive way compared to the ‘all out attack’ teams that Ferguson managed.
“People talk about our team – especially in relation to Manchester United now – and say it was attack, attack, attack. But we actually weren’t,” he said.
“It wasn’t all ‘let’s just go out and attack’ it was a bit more calculated against certain opponents which brought the best out of myself.
“We had the team built to hit teams on the break and we were devastating at it.”
Rooney’s revelation brings back memories of the United side of the late 00s, featuring Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo combining at their best.
In a Champions League tie against Arsenal, the pair combined with Ji-sung Park to score this iconic counter-attacking goal.
Those really were the days, weren’t they? When United played pure counter-attacking football. Wait, no…
