Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has spoken about how Sir Alex Ferguson created a strong personal bond between players and manager.
Ferguson is considered to be one of the most admired and successful managers in the history of professional sports.
The 76-year-old stepped down as United manager in May at the end of the 2012/13 season after 27 years in charge at Old Trafford.
During his trophy-laden years at the club, the legendary Scotsman won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies.
Writing in an exclusive longread on United's website, Berbatov, who joined United from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, recalls:
Ferguson is considered to be one of the most admired and successful managers in the history of professional sports.
The 76-year-old stepped down as United manager in May at the end of the 2012/13 season after 27 years in charge at Old Trafford.
During his trophy-laden years at the club, the legendary Scotsman won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies.
Writing in an exclusive longread on United's website, Berbatov, who joined United from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, recalls:
Sometimes in training he [Ferguson] comes up, we're warming up and stretching, and you see him going to players individually. Some days speaking with some players for two, three minutes, other days with other players, making them feel special in some way. Always you see how the players were reacting to the way he was speaking to them.
This showed the quality of his psychology; that he could speak to every single person. You need to be different with everybody, with every football guy, because we have big egos, we're all different, all spoilt in some way, so you have to know how to speak with everybody: gently with some, jokingly with others, more angry with some, and he has that approach where he can speak with everybody.
This is Sir Alex Ferguson. One million titles, one million more achievements in life, so you listen. You listen to what he says. This was so special, and football players like to be made to feel special. Even if it's for five minutes, 10 minutes, make them feel part of the team, to see that you pay attention to them, even if they don't play.
He was very good, and the speeches he gave before games, the motivating speeches… sometimes it was like a movie. He's going on about his life, saying how he started in the docks, his father and him, talking about all the people around the world who are not as lucky as us, and by the end of it you're like… "Man, I'm going to f****** EAT someone out there!" So you'd go out there and give everything.
