World exclusive Alex Ferguson interview from last night transcript. Read here what the papers will cover tomorrow
as ever RN brings you more extensive news and exclusives than anyone else. RN contributor Tom Clare kindly typed this up for RN readers in our VIP section last night at http://www.rednews.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=570046
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Once again Fergie talked directly to Charlie Stillitano and Georgio Chinnaglia of Sirius Radio on the programme, “The Football Show” this afternoon (US time). So interesting to listen to him and the way he describes what was going on at the San Siro on Wednesday evening.
Fergie – “I Was in Shock. Atmosphere Affected Both The Players and Myself!”
C.S. Sir Alex – how are you today?
SAF. I’m fine – how are you Charlie?
C.S. Aaaargh …. You know how I am. Some caller called before …. Anthony from Cleveland asking how do I deal with it when my Milan get spanked by your Manchester United. I told him that you are very humble about it.
SAF. I am being humble, but I’m surprised that you are still here! I thought that you may have been heading towards the sea by now!
C.S. I have to tell you, you’re not humble at all! You called me immediately after the game, you got a good giggle out of it. Then I got a call from David Gill, then I got a call from Peter Draper… who else! Then as I spoke to Peter Draper, and David Gill…. Gill said…”well what do you think son?” So I said…. “game? What game? I didn’t see any game. What are you talking about? I didn’t see anything at all. But all kidding aside, it was a good victory yesterday for you, and that place has been a bit of a hoodoo for you. Four times United had been there and four times no goals and four losses.”
SAF. Yes, that’s true and it does show that it has been a bit of a hoodoo for us, but you have got to remember that AC Milan have a fantastic history and it’s no shame to not win there because they have always had a fantastic team, and the atmosphere last night was absolutely fantastic. It was a great atmosphere and I really enjoyed it.”
G.C. Sir Alex.
SAF. Hi Georgio.
G.C. How are you doing? The old question now, that you know…..you have got the guy up front now who can do things that nobody can.
SAF. Well, you know, he’s just developing now, and it’s proving now that he’s in that frame……we talk about world class players. I always think that that’s a misused quote a lot of the times, but when you see his performances of late, you then know that you’re talking about a really world class player.
G.C. No question about that.
C.S. You know, I gotta’ say that he’s one of the top players in the world now, it’s funny, because you always hear about, in one breath you hear about Ronaldo, Kaka, and Messi, but I gotta’ tell you, Rooney is every bit as good as these guys, isn’t he?
SAF. Well, I think that’s the development that you see in him now. I always said to him that to be a world class forward that you need to have a real consistent goal performance, and then this season he is now on 25 goals, and you have to talk about the fact there is still 14/15 matches to go, and there could be more depending on how we do in Europe. So you know, it does put him in the frame of not just being a great player but also a great goalscorer.
C.S. And what do you think about, you know, is it because it’s the maturity, but also it seems like Rooney does whatever you need him to do. And what I mean by that, is I remember when you played Barcelona a little while back, and you had him, basically, he was almost dropping back to right full back for half the game, trying to help out his team mates. It seems like this year you are saying I need you to score, so he scores.
SAF. Well, I think that we didn’t use him properly probably last season. We probably having to exploit his eagerness and enthusiasm to play anywhere. But we know his strengths, we know where he’s best at and that’s where we’re using him this season.
C.S. Let me ask you about experience. You got a lot of experienced players at AC Milan. Were you surprised that some of them stayed out as late, for example, there was no Gattuso at all, and Seedorf came in just for the last 15 minutes I think. Did that surprise you a little bit in your game plan?
SAF. Well no. I knew that Seedorf was just coming back from injury, and that he was having problems with his groin and hip. He himself has admitted that he’s only about 70% fit at the moment. I spoke to him before the game actually. So I wasn’t surprised at that. Gattuso has been out quite a bit this season, not played much games really. So I was surprised that they played David in central midfield, David Beckham, I thought that they’d have played him wide right.
C.S. I was too.
G.C. Beckham cannot play in central midfield, he can only play on the wing.
SAF. Yes, that’s true there.
C.S. Yes, and I think that you lose what he does best more than anything.
SAF. Yeah, his crossing.
G.C. Sir Alex… did you watch any games today – the Champions League games?
SAF. I watched the Arsenal – Porto match, and I saw the highlights of the Bayern Munich match…. an incredible decision for that winning goal … deary, deary me!
C.S. This is the same guy, I was at the game last year when Chelsea played Barcelona, when they had at least, one blinding penalty kick, and certainly 2/3 other ones that were in the very least debatable. But this off side today…. How does this guy keep refereeing? It just seems so odd to me.
SAF. Well, I think that maybe the lad’s under a bit of pressure now because of last season. I don’t know, maybe it would be best if they gave him a break. I mean these games are so high profile now, and such intense matches. You have to be really on the ball and you really need the top referees in these games. Because, you know, I watched him and he’s not what you’d say, the best Italian referee, or the best Spanish referee, who I always think are the best referees.
C.S. Yes, because, and they have the big games, you know…
SAF. Every week.
C.S. Yeah, every week they have big games with a lot on line, full stadiums for the most part, millions of people on tv watching. But it’s only really, 3 or 4 big leagues that have it. So it’s odd to me when you start pulling guys from Norway, it’s sorta’ like the World Cup where you get a referee from Morrocco, and suddenly he’s refereeing Germany v Argentina. It seems like, to me, it’s hard on that guy, you know.
SAF. It is hard because they’re not used to these games. I think that the important thing is the way UEFA look at it, and of course they are right in the main, because they have to give these guys from the smaller countries the experience of having the big games, you know.
C.S. Yes, well you know, tell that to Fiorentina if they get knocked out!
SAF. Yeah, they won’t be too happy at the moment.
C.S. No, they won’t be happy with that… maybe UEFA will be happy! Sir Alex, you said a couple of years ago, you lost 3-0 to AC Milan in the San Siro, and you said; “it’s okay, the boys will learn from this.” And certainly you did, you went on to win the Champions League, were runners-up the following season. The question I have for you is… do you also learn from these games as you go along?
SAF. Oh! yes. The one thing that’s so amazing is that for the first 15 minutes last night, I was feeling in shock, really in shock, because the atmosphere was unbelievable…. Coupled with the noise when they scored, it certainly un-nerved me, and it un-nerved my players. No matter how much experience you’ve got, you get into that cauldron of noise, and the response it had from the Milan players, and you’re in there, and to get through that really did take a lot of courage.
C.S. You know, I saw you, they focused on you at one time when you were giving one of your players, er, … er…. A sincere talking to!
G.C. Evans!
SAF. A gentle bit of advice!
C.S. You were giving him, er.. a gentle bit of sage advice from the experienced manager. You know, it seemed unusual to me that you can even have that moment in a game, you know what I mean? …… And that you have the time for him to come over, but whatever…. What did you say to him? Can you say without giving the expletives?
SAF. I think that our whole back four were going to get it, but he’s unfortunate he was the defender nearest to me.
C.S. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! But you basically told the guys to wake up, wasn’t that it? Right?
SAF. Yes, that’s it. They had to compose themselves, that was the most important thing. And after that they settled and got very composed and got back to their normal game, and the result was different because of that.
C.S. I thought that you played absolutely brilliantly the second half.
SAF. Yes, I thought so. I felt the second half that we did very well.
C.S. And again, and I’m going to be singing your praises her. You put in Valencia, and it paid off immediately. That must be gratifying?
SAF. Yeah, well, it was also a difficult decision to leave him out because he’s had a great season, the lad. But what we don’t know about him yet in terms of can he do a full season at Manchester United without a break. And in the last few weeks we’ve been trying to get him on that right track in the hope that we can get the best out of him in the final part to the season, and that’s why we’ve been resting him quite a bit. But there was certainly always going to be a moment last night when we would bring him on.
C.S. Well, he did beautifully and there was that stretch, and we talked about Milan could have scored some goals, but there was that stretch there where you scored those two Rooney goals, and you could have put a couple more in too at that time.
SAF. Well at that point I thought that there was goals in our game then. But you know, Leonardo, he tried to change the pattern of what was happening. He brought Inzahgi on, and you know what kind of player Inzahgi is, he’s always looking to make runs in behind you. They brought Seedorf on and he’s a very talented lad, and he got them a goal. And that gives them a lifeline really.
C.S. Yes it did. What was the atmosphere like in the stadium when they scored that second goal? Because right before that because you could see a lot of people leaving the stadium. I guess it must have revitalized things.
SAF. I don’t know… I was hiding underneath my seat by that time! I’d lost it… I was going home!
C.S. I’ll bet that you were like… “I’m getting outta’ here!”
SAF. David Gill called me afterwards and said; “Jeez, we should have ended it 3-1, but then come to think of it, I began thinking during that last few minutes, this could end 4-3! So to be honest, I’m quite happy.”
SAF. It was unbelievable. But it just shows what inspiration can do when you get a goal. It got their crowd going again, it got their players motivated, and they had a real go in those last few minutes. They could have gotten an equalizer.
C.S. Yes, they could have equalized. But overall, I think the domination that you showed for those 30 – 40 minutes in that second half, certainly you deserved the win Sir Alex. So, I wish it wasn ‘t at my expense, but again, what the hell. This is why you’re the best manager in the world, and I’m on a radio show with Georgio.
SAF. Thank you very much.
C.S. Sir Alex, thanks very much.
SAF. My pleasure.
C.S. Next time be gentle on us!’
RN provides news that the mass media pick up directly from here, and the papers will nick these quotes in the next day or two. All we ask is for normal Reds to realise what this site does and show the vital support which keeps us going.
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Once again Fergie talked directly to Charlie Stillitano and Georgio Chinnaglia of Sirius Radio on the programme, “The Football Show” this afternoon (US time). So interesting to listen to him and the way he describes what was going on at the San Siro on Wednesday evening.
Fergie – “I Was in Shock. Atmosphere Affected Both The Players and Myself!”
C.S. Sir Alex – how are you today?
SAF. I’m fine – how are you Charlie?
C.S. Aaaargh …. You know how I am. Some caller called before …. Anthony from Cleveland asking how do I deal with it when my Milan get spanked by your Manchester United. I told him that you are very humble about it.
SAF. I am being humble, but I’m surprised that you are still here! I thought that you may have been heading towards the sea by now!
C.S. I have to tell you, you’re not humble at all! You called me immediately after the game, you got a good giggle out of it. Then I got a call from David Gill, then I got a call from Peter Draper… who else! Then as I spoke to Peter Draper, and David Gill…. Gill said…”well what do you think son?” So I said…. “game? What game? I didn’t see any game. What are you talking about? I didn’t see anything at all. But all kidding aside, it was a good victory yesterday for you, and that place has been a bit of a hoodoo for you. Four times United had been there and four times no goals and four losses.”
SAF. Yes, that’s true and it does show that it has been a bit of a hoodoo for us, but you have got to remember that AC Milan have a fantastic history and it’s no shame to not win there because they have always had a fantastic team, and the atmosphere last night was absolutely fantastic. It was a great atmosphere and I really enjoyed it.”
G.C. Sir Alex.
SAF. Hi Georgio.
G.C. How are you doing? The old question now, that you know…..you have got the guy up front now who can do things that nobody can.
SAF. Well, you know, he’s just developing now, and it’s proving now that he’s in that frame……we talk about world class players. I always think that that’s a misused quote a lot of the times, but when you see his performances of late, you then know that you’re talking about a really world class player.
G.C. No question about that.
C.S. You know, I gotta’ say that he’s one of the top players in the world now, it’s funny, because you always hear about, in one breath you hear about Ronaldo, Kaka, and Messi, but I gotta’ tell you, Rooney is every bit as good as these guys, isn’t he?
SAF. Well, I think that’s the development that you see in him now. I always said to him that to be a world class forward that you need to have a real consistent goal performance, and then this season he is now on 25 goals, and you have to talk about the fact there is still 14/15 matches to go, and there could be more depending on how we do in Europe. So you know, it does put him in the frame of not just being a great player but also a great goalscorer.
C.S. And what do you think about, you know, is it because it’s the maturity, but also it seems like Rooney does whatever you need him to do. And what I mean by that, is I remember when you played Barcelona a little while back, and you had him, basically, he was almost dropping back to right full back for half the game, trying to help out his team mates. It seems like this year you are saying I need you to score, so he scores.
SAF. Well, I think that we didn’t use him properly probably last season. We probably having to exploit his eagerness and enthusiasm to play anywhere. But we know his strengths, we know where he’s best at and that’s where we’re using him this season.
C.S. Let me ask you about experience. You got a lot of experienced players at AC Milan. Were you surprised that some of them stayed out as late, for example, there was no Gattuso at all, and Seedorf came in just for the last 15 minutes I think. Did that surprise you a little bit in your game plan?
SAF. Well no. I knew that Seedorf was just coming back from injury, and that he was having problems with his groin and hip. He himself has admitted that he’s only about 70% fit at the moment. I spoke to him before the game actually. So I wasn’t surprised at that. Gattuso has been out quite a bit this season, not played much games really. So I was surprised that they played David in central midfield, David Beckham, I thought that they’d have played him wide right.
C.S. I was too.
G.C. Beckham cannot play in central midfield, he can only play on the wing.
SAF. Yes, that’s true there.
C.S. Yes, and I think that you lose what he does best more than anything.
SAF. Yeah, his crossing.
G.C. Sir Alex… did you watch any games today – the Champions League games?
SAF. I watched the Arsenal – Porto match, and I saw the highlights of the Bayern Munich match…. an incredible decision for that winning goal … deary, deary me!
C.S. This is the same guy, I was at the game last year when Chelsea played Barcelona, when they had at least, one blinding penalty kick, and certainly 2/3 other ones that were in the very least debatable. But this off side today…. How does this guy keep refereeing? It just seems so odd to me.
SAF. Well, I think that maybe the lad’s under a bit of pressure now because of last season. I don’t know, maybe it would be best if they gave him a break. I mean these games are so high profile now, and such intense matches. You have to be really on the ball and you really need the top referees in these games. Because, you know, I watched him and he’s not what you’d say, the best Italian referee, or the best Spanish referee, who I always think are the best referees.
C.S. Yes, because, and they have the big games, you know…
SAF. Every week.
C.S. Yeah, every week they have big games with a lot on line, full stadiums for the most part, millions of people on tv watching. But it’s only really, 3 or 4 big leagues that have it. So it’s odd to me when you start pulling guys from Norway, it’s sorta’ like the World Cup where you get a referee from Morrocco, and suddenly he’s refereeing Germany v Argentina. It seems like, to me, it’s hard on that guy, you know.
SAF. It is hard because they’re not used to these games. I think that the important thing is the way UEFA look at it, and of course they are right in the main, because they have to give these guys from the smaller countries the experience of having the big games, you know.
C.S. Yes, well you know, tell that to Fiorentina if they get knocked out!
SAF. Yeah, they won’t be too happy at the moment.
C.S. No, they won’t be happy with that… maybe UEFA will be happy! Sir Alex, you said a couple of years ago, you lost 3-0 to AC Milan in the San Siro, and you said; “it’s okay, the boys will learn from this.” And certainly you did, you went on to win the Champions League, were runners-up the following season. The question I have for you is… do you also learn from these games as you go along?
SAF. Oh! yes. The one thing that’s so amazing is that for the first 15 minutes last night, I was feeling in shock, really in shock, because the atmosphere was unbelievable…. Coupled with the noise when they scored, it certainly un-nerved me, and it un-nerved my players. No matter how much experience you’ve got, you get into that cauldron of noise, and the response it had from the Milan players, and you’re in there, and to get through that really did take a lot of courage.
C.S. You know, I saw you, they focused on you at one time when you were giving one of your players, er, … er…. A sincere talking to!
G.C. Evans!
SAF. A gentle bit of advice!
C.S. You were giving him, er.. a gentle bit of sage advice from the experienced manager. You know, it seemed unusual to me that you can even have that moment in a game, you know what I mean? …… And that you have the time for him to come over, but whatever…. What did you say to him? Can you say without giving the expletives?
SAF. I think that our whole back four were going to get it, but he’s unfortunate he was the defender nearest to me.
C.S. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! But you basically told the guys to wake up, wasn’t that it? Right?
SAF. Yes, that’s it. They had to compose themselves, that was the most important thing. And after that they settled and got very composed and got back to their normal game, and the result was different because of that.
C.S. I thought that you played absolutely brilliantly the second half.
SAF. Yes, I thought so. I felt the second half that we did very well.
C.S. And again, and I’m going to be singing your praises her. You put in Valencia, and it paid off immediately. That must be gratifying?
SAF. Yeah, well, it was also a difficult decision to leave him out because he’s had a great season, the lad. But what we don’t know about him yet in terms of can he do a full season at Manchester United without a break. And in the last few weeks we’ve been trying to get him on that right track in the hope that we can get the best out of him in the final part to the season, and that’s why we’ve been resting him quite a bit. But there was certainly always going to be a moment last night when we would bring him on.
C.S. Well, he did beautifully and there was that stretch, and we talked about Milan could have scored some goals, but there was that stretch there where you scored those two Rooney goals, and you could have put a couple more in too at that time.
SAF. Well at that point I thought that there was goals in our game then. But you know, Leonardo, he tried to change the pattern of what was happening. He brought Inzahgi on, and you know what kind of player Inzahgi is, he’s always looking to make runs in behind you. They brought Seedorf on and he’s a very talented lad, and he got them a goal. And that gives them a lifeline really.
C.S. Yes it did. What was the atmosphere like in the stadium when they scored that second goal? Because right before that because you could see a lot of people leaving the stadium. I guess it must have revitalized things.
SAF. I don’t know… I was hiding underneath my seat by that time! I’d lost it… I was going home!
C.S. I’ll bet that you were like… “I’m getting outta’ here!”
SAF. David Gill called me afterwards and said; “Jeez, we should have ended it 3-1, but then come to think of it, I began thinking during that last few minutes, this could end 4-3! So to be honest, I’m quite happy.”
SAF. It was unbelievable. But it just shows what inspiration can do when you get a goal. It got their crowd going again, it got their players motivated, and they had a real go in those last few minutes. They could have gotten an equalizer.
C.S. Yes, they could have equalized. But overall, I think the domination that you showed for those 30 – 40 minutes in that second half, certainly you deserved the win Sir Alex. So, I wish it wasn ‘t at my expense, but again, what the hell. This is why you’re the best manager in the world, and I’m on a radio show with Georgio.
SAF. Thank you very much.
C.S. Sir Alex, thanks very much.
SAF. My pleasure.
C.S. Next time be gentle on us!’
posted by RN at 08:19
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