Universally recognised as one of the greatest football managers of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In is the documentary that charts his life. Directed by his son Jason Ferguson, it opens with the day that Sir Alex suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2018. Even as he was being wheeled into surgery, his greatest fear was that if he survived he would lose his memories. Fast forward a couple of years and Ferguson decided to commit his life to film and what a life it has been so far.
From his early childhood in Govan, Scotland, to his love of Rangers Football Club, Ferguson is very open about his working-class life and his struggles to become a footballer. Despite being talented, he wasn't really succeeding the way he had hoped and for a while gave up hope of ever making it as a professional. In the meantime, he had gotten married to his now wife of 55 years, Cathy but that posed its own problems. Cathy is a devout Catholic and Ferguson is Protestant. And that was enough to seal his fate when he eventually signed to Rangers.
By the time he moved on from the club, the fire was lit in Ferguson. It fuelled his drive to succeed at all costs and it started with his appointment as manager at Aberdeen in 1978. During his tenure, he led to the team in winning three Scottish league championships, four Scottish Cups and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1983. Dominating a league that had really only ever been contested between Celtic and Rangers caught the attention of other football clubs. So in 1986 Sir Alex Ferguson was appointed the manager of Manchester United.
In one of the most extraordinary legacies at a football club, Ferguson spent 27 years at the helm during which he won 38 trophies, including two Champions League titles. But Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In doesn't just spend its time covering every big win. It is far more insightful than that. This is a documentary about the man and what makes him tick. With interviews from his family and former footballers, it is an engaging account of one man's impact on the world of football.
Whether you are a Manchester United fan or not is pretty much irrelevant as this has less to do with football and is a more honest and thoughtful account of a great people manager.
