Sir Alex Ferguson Named the Greatest Team He Ever Faced

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed which team was the greatest he ever faced in his managerial career. The Scotsman, who won 49 trophies across 36 years, is the most decorated manager in European football competitions, making him arguably the best coach in the history of the sport.

His spell at Man United was a reign of success, consistency and legacy as he dominated English football, setting records, winning doubles as well as achieving a historic treble in 1999. During that time, he faced all manner of top sides from across Europe, enjoying some legendary battles that we still hark back to years later.

However, in the latter stages of his career, he came up against one of the greatest club sides of all time. Pep Guardiola emerged with his Barcelona team led by Lionel Messi, who lay waste to European football with their incredible brand of tiki-taka football and United faced them twice in three years in Champions League finals.

Their first meeting was in the 2009 final, billed as the Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo showcase for the Ballon d’Or award, as Guardiola’s side triumphed by two goals to nil. They met again two years later at Wembley but Barca were at their absolute best, playing United off the park in a game that still haunts their ex-players, winning by three goals to one and Guardiola’s side etched their name in football history.

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Ferguson Named Barcelona’s 2011 Side as Greatest He Ever Gaced

Described Guardiola’s 2011 side as “unplayable”

Ferguson spoke to France Football as they asked the ex-Aberdeen boss which was the best side he ever faced, as he revealed that Barcelona’s 2011 side – featuring Messi, David Villa, Andres Iniesta and other legends – was unplayable. He recalled:

“The one that made the biggest impression on me is the Barcelona we met at Wembley, with Manchester United, in the 2011 Champions League final. They were unplayable

In terms of the team in question, the starting XI on that occasion in 2011 were: Victor Valdes, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Eric Abidal, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Pedro, David Villa and Lionel Messi. While Carlos Puyol, Seydou Keita and Ibrahim Afellay all came off the bench.

And when we looked back at the statistics from that game, it was very telling. Barca dominated with 63% possession and had 19 shots (12 on target) to United’s four (and one shot on target). While Valdes wasn’t required to make a save, Edwin van der Sar was forced into eight saves.

One of the great clips from that game is when the camera panned to Ferguson in the dugout, and he was seen clenching his fist and shaking with frustration as the game went on. He was later asked by a reporter which Barca player he would sign if he had a blank cheque – to which he joked that it was ‘one of the stupidest questions he had ever heard in his life’ when the answer was obviously Messi.

Across the past decade, ex-United players who played in the final have opened up on the defeat with Rio Ferdinand claiming that he had “never been so embarrassed” in a game before. He also said their quality made him “feel like a conference player” as they dominated possession and the final.

Guardiola’s side won the league title, Champions League and the Supercopa de Espana that season before going on to win another four trophies the following year. That side is held in the highest regard among the best sides of all time, which include the likes of Ajax’s 1971/72 side and Real Madrid’s 2016/17 and 1956/57 teams. But Guardiola’s Barca may just be the very best.