Author: Liam

The Manchester United legends Phil Neville and Ryan Giggs were all praise for their former boss Sir Alex Ferguson in their recent interview.

The two said that the 72-year old Scot would always remain a highly respected figure in their eyes.

Neville and Giggs spent almost their whole Manchester United career playing under Ferguson and they saw all the success there. From the league to the European Cup title, they won everything at Old Trafford.

Giggs retired in the middle of the last season to take the job of the interim manager at United, while, Neville retired a few months before him i.e. in the summer of 2013.

While, Giggs represented only the Red Devils throughout his career, Neville played for Everton too, but, his peak performances came at United only.

Giggs is associated with United even now. He is Louis Van Gaal’s assistant there currently. Neville was also supposed to take some kind of a coaching role after retirement, but, he has not done so as yet.

Giggs and Neville were together interviewed a couple of days back by an English daily and they were asked various questions about their United career there.

When asked about Ferguson, Giggs had this to say, “I used to see him as guardian and I give him the same amount of respect even today. He knows me inside out. He could just sense when I was not feeling comfortable about my game. He was a magical manager.”

Neville also hailed the legendary manager saying, “I think genius is the word for Sir Alex. He had that sense of calmness in him. He knew how to bring 100% out of a guy. Without his guidance, I don’t think it would have been possible for me to become as successful as I did.”

Louis Van Gaal disclosed yesterday that Sir Alex Ferguson had called him recently to wish him all the luck in his new job.

Van Gaal has taken over from David Moyes as Manchester United manager. He is known to be a manager quite similar to Ferguson. He also has a very strong personality and he likes to go about his business as he wants to without coming in the influence of the others.

Some people might say that Van Gaal is a bit too strict and at times, he tries to dictate terms, but, the truth is that he is a highly respected man in the managerial field and that’s why, he has been widely tipped to be successful at Old Trafford.

Everybody saw Van Gaal’s tactical brilliances in Brazil a couple of weeks ago. If he feels like making a certain move, he does that. He doesn’t think for a minute that if this particular move goes wrong, what would be the reaction among the fans. In short, he is a bold manager and United certainly needed one like that.

In one of his interviews, when Van Gaal was asked if he has had a chat with Ferguson since his appointment at Old Trafford, he said, “Yes, I have. He telephoned me the other day to convey his best wishes. We have a good tuning with each other. I would probably be meeting him soon and have a cup of coffee. He is a great man.”

When asked about the English media calling him an autocratic personality, Van Gaal said, “That hasn’t impressed me to be honest. Being strong is quite different from being autocratic, but, unfortunately, a few people don’t get that.”

This is Van Gaal’s first tenure as manager in England.