@theonejoeyd
Usually when a referee feels Sir Alex Ferguson's wrath, we hear about it immediately after the game and the recriminations stemming from his comments are debated up and down the country in the workplace, in schools and on social networks.
Usually when a referee feels Sir Alex Ferguson's wrath, we hear about it immediately after the game and the recriminations stemming from his comments are debated up and down the country in the workplace, in schools and on social networks.
However after Nani's red card and the subsequent turnaround from Real Madrid, it was Manchester United's assistant manager Mike Phelan doing the interviews as apparently Ferguson was too 'distraught' to talk to the press, which probably flabberghasted them as they would have been expecting Turkish arbitrator Cuneyt Cakir to receive a savage performance review.
Ferguson has been a sore loser in the past, but usually with anger, frustration and pent-up bitterness. Not sadness. However I can understand why this is a unique exception. United tactically were outstanding in both games and carved out the clearest scoring opportunities, even at the Bernabeu despite Real Madrid's territorial domination.
At the time, United were 12 points clear in the Premier League with one hand on the trophy, this was a genuine opportunity to win his third European Cup and equal the legendary yet under-appreciated Bob Paisley as the only manager in football history to win old big ears three times.
Although they reached the showpiece final in 2009 and 2011. they were definite underdogs and were brutalised by probably the greatest club team that has ever been produced since the game was invented. However that Barcelona team is not quite at the level it was and despite a stirring comeback in the second leg against Milan, the Rossoneri are not one of the stronger outfits in the knockout section. Had United managed to see out the tactical masterplan they had concocted at Old Trafford on Tuesday, they would have fancied their chances against anyone in the last eight.
Despite Barcelona's shaky inconsistencies, they remain alongside a clinical Bayern Munich outfit as favourites for the trophy. But unlike the stratospheric phenomenon that was Pep Guardiola's Barca, this Bayern team actually are beatable. As are Borussia Dortmund and Juventus despite the eye-catching attacking football both sides have excelled at. So while Ferguson was devastated at the red card and the events that followed, the dream of equalling Paisley passes for another season, something that will hurt more than anything.
He has knocked Liverpool off their perch. He will take United another league title ahead of the Anfield club in May. However, he may never equal Liverpool's, and Britain's, most successful manager on the continent.
And that is why I expect Sir Alex to delay his retirement further, even if time is not on his side.
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