“I’m an absolute dinosaur. But what I am, I’m a winner” was Sir Alex Ferguson’s words on Manchester United’s end of the season awards after losing the title to Manchester City with the last kick of the 2011/12 season. He said he’d told the players to remember the day the Sunderland fans had cheered for their rivals to win the league. “We won’t forget that”, he promised.
Hurt by the crushing end to the previous season, which United finished as league winners as their game at Sunderland had ended, saw Ferguson act decisively in the transfer market. Borussia Dortmund revelation Shinji Kagawa joined United in June and was joined by Crewe’s teenage midfielder Nick Powell. In August, a few days before the season was due to start, United acquired the services of the top scorer in the Premier League from the previous campaign, Robin van Persie, from Arsenal. That signature signaled a statement of intent as United not only signed van Persie from a direct rival in Arsenal, they did so after beating Manchester City to the Dutchman. Van Persie joined a strikeforce few clubs in Europe could match with Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez already at the club. After losing the title on goal difference the previous season, Ferguson sought to make sure that wouldn’t happen again. He wanted United to score goals and believed van Persie was the man to do that. He would be proven correct.
The season started poorly though, as United lost the opening game of the season at Everton, managed by Ferguson’s eventual successor David Moyes and the only goal of the night was scored by future United midfielder Marouane Fellaini. United struggled to cope with the intensity of Everton and didn’t look like future champions at all. The home opener against Fulham, however, started a winning streak of four games. Against Fulham, van Persie made his first start and scored brilliantly after only ten minutes and goals from Kagawa (also a debut strike) and Rafael helped United beat the Londoners 3-2. The result was repeated at Southampton the following week after a stunning comeback led by a van Persie hat trick turned the game from a 2-1 defeat to a 3-2 win in the dying minutes. Comebacks proved to be a recurring theme during the season. A 4-0 demolition of Wigan followed, where Powell scored his first United goal, ahead of a visit to Anfield. After a stupid and needless red card from Liverpool’s Jonjo Shelvey, a stunning curler from Rafael gave United the lead. Liverpool still managed an equalizer though, which meant van Persie’s 81th minute penalty was necessary to claim a strong win against United’s hated rivals.
As momentum started to build, United came crashing down at home against a Gareth Bale (called “Christian” by Ferguson prior to the game) inspired Tottenham to a 3-2 win despite a second half onslaught from United led by Paul Scholes vision in midfield. Following that loss, Ferguson tried a new approach with a 4-3-1-2 formation at Newcastle to incorporate van Persie, Rooney and Welbeck centrally together. The trial worked outstandingly as the midfield trio of Anderson, Tom Cleverley and Michael Carrick dominated possession as United ran out 3-0 winners at St James’. The formation remained in Champions League games against Cluj and Braga as United comfortably progressed from the group. Mostly though, Ferguson used a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation. The Newcastle win sparked a five game winning streak in the league where Stoke, Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa were beaten. After a comfortable home win against Stoke, United traveled to Chelsea and took an early lead after a David Luiz own goal and a van Persie strike. Chelsea came back to draw level, but Javier Hernandez came off the bench to win the game for United. The impressive win at Stamford Bridge saw a confident United beat Arsenal easily with van Persie scoring against his former side and Patrice Evra scoring his second of the season to clinch a 2-1 win which was more comfortable than the result suggests. The Arsenal win saw United go top for the first time, and they remained on top after Javier Hernandez came off the bench to turn a 2-0 deficit at Aston Villa into a 3-2 win for United after scoring a hat trick (despite one of the goals being attributed as an own goal). Another strong comeback from United to earn valuable points.
United dropped to second the following week though, after a horrid display at Norwich led to a 1-0 defeat. United returned top after a 3-1 win at home to Queens Park Rangers, when Darren Fletcher marked his return from illness with his first goal of the campaign, and the win started an incredible 18 game unbeaten run in the league which led to United never surrendering their top spot. From the 24th of November to the 8th of April, United didn’t lose in the league. During that remarkable run, United won the biggest game of the season, the derby at the Etihad. City drew level with ten minutes remaining after two Wayne Rooney goals had given United a 2-0 lead, but in stoppage time van Persie stepped up to take a free-kick. With a slight deflection from the City wall, the ball bounced out of Joe Hart’s reach as United won a pulsating derby.
Van Persie celebrates his derby winner.
United were relentless in the league and won twelve and drew two of their next fourteen league matches following the derby win. Late goals continued to be a theme, especially as Hernandez clinched a 4-3 win at Old Trafford against Newcastle on Boxing Day and when Rooney won a tight encounter at Craven Cottage against Fulham with a splendid finish with ten minutes remaining. There really was no stopping United, as another win against Liverpool meant another big hurdle was cleared. We also got to witness one of the goals of the season when United’s right-back Rafael fired a thunderous strike at Queens Park Rangers. Rafael’s form was one of the highlights of the season for United as he developed into the finest full-back in the division.
Rafael celebrating THAT goal at QPR.
United had gone out of the League Cup against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and would be beaten by the same opponents at the same ground in the FA Cup, but the progress from the group stage of the Champions League had seen United pitted against Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid. The first leg was taking place at the Bernabeu in Madrid and Ferguson chose to include three of his strikers as well as Kagawa as the number 10 (van Persie in the middle, Welbeck on the left and Rooney on the right) as he sought away goals to take back to Manchester. He got one, after Welbeck headed Rooney’s corner into the net to give United a first half lead which former United star Cristiano Ronaldo soon equaled. Real were dominant for large spells and David De Gea provided a stunning performance in goal, but Ferguson’s faith in his attackers almost gave him a win as van Persie missed three decent chances to win the game for United.
In the return leg at Old Trafford, Ferguson made some changes with Vidic replacing Evans, Cleverley coming into midfield alongside Carrick while Rooney and Kagawa were replaced in the XI by Ryan Giggs (making his 1000th professional appearance) and Nani. In a tight, pulsating clash, United were clearly on top and took a deserved lead when Welbeck’s steered finish resulted in a Sergio Ramos own goal. In a hugely controversial decision, Nani was later sent off for a high-kick on Alvaro Arbeloa after trying to control a ball falling from the sky and United reduced to ten men. Real responded with a Ronaldo equalizer and when Luka Modric’s strike beat De Gea to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate, with United now needing two goals to go through, Ferguson’s final chance to win a third Champions League was destroyed. United tried to rally after the introductions of Rooney and Kagawa, but the sending off proved costly and United were out. A brilliant performance for almost an hour had made it seem sure United would go through, but they failed to react well enough after Nani’s dismissal.
Back in the Premier League though, United continued to dominate, creating a fifteen point gap to Manchester City ahead of the derby on the 8th of April. City earned revenge on the loss earlier in the season and reduced the gap to twelve points, but four points from the subsequent two league games gave United the chance to clinch the title at home to Aston Villa. An energetic United with De Gea in goal, Rafael, Jones, Evans and Evra in defense, Valencia, Carrick, Rooney and Giggs in midfield with Kagawa as the #10 behind van Persie produced a swaggering display of champagne football to win 3-0 and clinch the title. Ryan Giggs set up two of van Persie’s three goals, but it was the second of the Dutchman’s strikes which would go down in history as one of the best Old Trafford goals in Ferguson’s time. Rooney played a magnificent 40-yard-pass over the Villa defense which van Persie met with a wonderful volley after seeing the ball falling over his head perfectly on his left foot. The sheer brilliance of the goal put the entire ground in amazement and United’s first half performance was one of the best they produced through the season. In many ways it seemed fitting for the campaign that van Persie became the man to clinch the title he had been the driving force behind winning. The striker managed 26 goals in the Premier League, winning the Golden Boot for a successive year, and 30 in total as he proved the catalyst behind Ferguson’s 13th and final title.
Of the remaining four games, United drew at Arsenal, lost to Chelsea before giving Ferguson the perfect Old Trafford send off in his final home game when Hernandez and a thumping Ferdinand strike gave United a 2-1 win over Swansea. Ferguson applauded his home crowd for the last time, addressed them with his classic end of season speech in which he thanked everyone connected with Manchester United for “being the greatest experience of my life”. Most people inside Old Trafford that day would probably say the same of their great manager. Soon after his speech, Ferguson lifted the Premier League trophy aloft and was given his last winner’s medal as United manager, his 13 league medal and 38th in total.
The next day, United performed an open bus parade through the city of Manchester and were met by an extraordinary amount of fans who gathered across the route to celebrate the league success with their manager, staff and players. Fans were hanging out of scaffoldings throughout the city, jumping up and down on roofs and flooding the streets to celebrate their success. In Ferguson’s last match as United manager on the final day of the season at West Bromwich, United drew 5-5 with future United striker Romelu Lukaku scoring a hat trick for the Baggies. Ferguson couldn’t possibly have gone out in a different way, with plenty of goals and scintillating attacking football to behold. The final United goal of Ferguson’s tenure was scored by Javier Hernandez at the Hawthorns in the 63rd minute and Ferguson would applaud United’s travelling support one last time after the final whistle.
Ferguson thanks the fans after his final Manchester United match.
The 2012/13 campaign will always be remembered by United fans, mainly because of it being Ferguson’s final season. It also represents their last league title and it looks like it will remain that way for at least another season. That season, United played with the attacking verve, winning mentality and never-say-die attitude by which Ferguson’s teams will always be remembered. They performed so many incredible comebacks that season and the development of some of the players was remarkable. Much have changed at United in the four and a half years to have passed since that title triumph, for example Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young were wingers back then, but the memories are still fresh for United fans across the globe. Hernandez hat trick to turn that game at Villa, Giggs’ 1000th game, Rafael’s screamer at QPR and van Persie’s volley to win the title to name a few. However, the image of Sir Alex Ferguson lifting his final Premier League trophy in front of a packed Old Trafford will be the last to disappear from memory.
In his final season, Ferguson proved what he said in that end of season speech the previous season when he proclaimed “I’m a winner”. United returned, and they won again. In truth though, Sir Alex Ferguson is not just a winner. He’s the greatest winner football has ever seen.
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