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What's the story?
Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed his one major regret during his tenure at Old Trafford. He has spoken about how he left players like Ji-sung Park and Dimitar Berbatov out of major finals, despite them having played a crucial role in United making the final in the first place.
In case you didn't know...
Sir Alex Ferguson remains one of the greatest managers in the history of football. The legendary United manager enjoyed massive success during his 26-year tenure with the Red Devils.
Under the tutelage of Sir Alex, United became a major force to reckon with in Europe. He won numerous accolades and trophies with the Red Devils, which includes 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League titles.
It goes without saying that the Scot is one of the most decorated managers in the football world. Under his guidance, United could have added two more Champions League trophies but they lost both the finals in 2009 and 2011 to Barcelona.
Following the retirement of Sir Alex, the Red Devils have failed to replicate their past success. They endured an abysmal 2018/2019 campaign, finishing out of the top four spots in the league. They also failed in the cup competitions, which saw them finishing their campaign without any silverware.
The heart of the matter
Sir Alex has claimed that his biggest regret is leaving out Ji-sung Park from the squad in their Champions League triumph back in 2008 against Chelsea.
Speaking in an interview, Sir Alex said:
"To win the European Cup is fantastic. It was a really great bunch of players with a great attitude about them and a good, strong squad."
"My problem in the 2008 final, maybe I even regret it to this day, was I left Ji-sung Park out completely in the final. He'd played such a great role and that's the problem when you get to these finals."
"At Wembley [in 2011] I did it to Dimitar Berbatov and he took it badly. He didn't deserve it. No player deserves to be left out of the final."
"That's why we try hard at these European seminars with the coaches to try to get 11 subs in the final. You've got four or five sitting in the stand who made fantastic contributions in getting there."
What's next?
Manchester United will hope to perform better in the upcoming season.
