Sir Alex Ferguson has named Juventus as Manchester United's true nemesis during his time in charge, overlooking Premier League rivals Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal. In his new book, Games of My Life, Ferguson selects 21 matches that defined his life, including the 1999 Champions League semi-final second leg comeback against Juventus.
Ferguson's pick for United's scourge
Ferguson writes: "If I had to pick our nemesis during my time at United, it wouldn't be Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea - it would be Juventus. Between 1976 and 1998, United played Juventus in European competitions eight times - four of them being on my watch. We only won twice."
United dominated English football during Ferguson's nearly 27 years at Old Trafford, winning the Premier League on 13 occasions. His duels with Arsenal's Arsene Wenger were iconic, and Jose Mourinho's arrival at Chelsea also saw sparks fly. Games against Liverpool and Manchester City were often just as heated.
Juventus as the benchmark
In April 1999, United were drawn against Juventus in the semi-finals of the European Cup. Ferguson described them as "what was then the best team in Europe" and said Juventus in the 1990s were "the benchmark against which I measured United."
Under Marcello Lippi, Juventus won the Serie A title in 1994-95 and the European Cup in 1995-96. They added more league titles and played in the three previous European Cup finals. Lippi's squad included Gianluca Vialli, Alessandro Del Piero, Roberto Baggio and Antonio Conte, later refreshed with Zinedine Zidane, Edgar Davids and Filippo Inzaghi.
By the time of the semi-final first leg, Carlo Ancelotti had replaced Lippi. Ferguson noted Ancelotti had lifted two trophies as a player for AC Milan and inherited Lippi's squad. "We all looked up to Juventus," Ferguson wrote.
Clough and the Nottingham Forest tie
Another game in the book is a 1990 FA Cup tie away at Nottingham Forest. Ferguson admitted he never got along with their coach Brian Clough, writing: "It was as an opinionated, boastful manager that Clough made his name. In his mind, he was God's gift to football."
Ferguson recalled dealing with Clough's assistant Ron Fenton over Forest players like Stuart Pearce and Neil Webb, saying: "I didn't want to deal with Clough himself. He and I were cut from different cloth and, much as I respected his managerial achievements, I didn't have time for Clough the man."
Once, Clough gave his shoes to United apprentice Deiniol Graham to be cleaned before a match at Old Trafford. Ferguson, furious, handed them back untouched and told Clough never to pull that stunt again.
Games of My Life by Alex Ferguson was published on Thursday, October 8, by Macmillan.
