Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography

“I’ve never played for a draw in my life.” - Sir Alex Ferguson

As most of you may know, I love soccer. Playing it, watching it, and even teaching it. Every male, and even some of the females, in my family played soccer for a club, team, or even their high school at some point in their lives. It's basically tradition and part of our lifestyle.

Today, I really had nothing planned in my mind of what I wanted to do. And, for me that's not normal. What's even crazier is the fact that I went to my dad's bookshelf, grabbed a book, and dove in to read. Lately, I haven't read that many non-fiction books because they aren't my favorite and most of the time, don't interest me. But, this one was different. 

In life, we face many problems and obstacles. It can be something as big as failing a final assessment of a class, or something as small as forgetting to hand in a homework assignment. But that doesn't matter as much as what you do about it. Do you just forget about that homework assignment, or do you work hard to hand it in the next day and at least get some credit on it. This book covers part of that. And just like my main quote states, "I've never played for a draw in my life." (Sir Alex Ferguson). Even though this quote is implemented in soccer games, it can be taken differently. You have to do everything to the best of your ability. If your swimming in a competition, do you swim at 50% of your total ability, or 100%? If your in a football game, do you throw the ball with 50% power and accuracy, or 100% power and accuracy? Or, if your working on a project, should you do it to your best ability, or average ability? 

Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest soccer managers to ever roam this Earth. This book was the story of how all that came to be. He went from a bartender in Scotland who had a passion for soccer, to the manager of a British soccer club which is also one of the most successful clubs in soccer. This autobiography isn't just a story about his life though. Along the way, he offers lessons and quotes he heard along the way, some even being his own, shown above.

To the right I have a video of his final speech at the Home Stadium of Manchester United before his retirement.

One of his most memorable moments was the soccer season of 1999. When he first took over Manchester United, they were an average club that were doing just fine. But after a couple of years, 1999, something sparked with him and that team. They won all 3 tournaments that they participated in, The Champions League, The Premier League, and The FA Cup. Even today, this is very impressive and is extremely rare in a team. Another thing that is very rare is winning as many tournaments and trophies that he did in his managerial career.

I wanted to read this book to see how he did this and the steps he took to be successful in life. Now, I'm not saying that I want to be just like him, well maybe I do. But, the important part, like I said before, is the will to be successful in life. Whether you're a doctor, lawyer, or teacher. Don't play for a draw in life. Play for the win.