'I Was Terrified': Sir Alex Ferguson Recalls Brain Haemorrhage Survival and the Matches That Made Him

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed the fear he felt on returning to Old Trafford for the first time after suffering a brain haemorrhage, describing the experience as one of the most unnerving moments of his life. The legendary former Manchester United manager, who underwent emergency surgery in May 2018, admitted he had no idea how supporters would react when he took his seat in the directors' box four months later.

Ferguson was back at the stadium to watch United face Wolves in the Premier League, and he concedes that the occasion left him far more anxious than any touchline battle during his trophy-laden career. "I wish I could say I was comfortable. I wasn't," the Scot told BBC Breakfast. "I was terrified."

Any concerns proved unfounded. Ferguson and his wife Cathy were given a standing ovation by the home crowd before kick-off, a moment that clearly moved the couple. "My wife was with me, and she was nearly crying," he recalled. "When we sat down, she said 'that's fantastic'." It was an emotional reception for a man who had spent 26 years turning United into the dominant force in English football.

The health scare struck in May 2018, when Ferguson was 76 and had already been retired for five years. He had stepped down in 2013 after winning 38 trophies with the club, a haul that included 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns. Now approaching his 85th birthday, Ferguson says he is coping well physically, telling the BBC: "I'm feeling quite good despite small injuries."

His recovery, however, was far from straightforward. In the days following brain surgery, Ferguson lost the ability to speak, a development he describes as deeply distressing. "I had lost my voice; I couldn't speak," he said. "That was a frightening moment. I remember my grandsons coming to see me and I had lost my voice."

The road back began with the help of a speech therapist, who set Ferguson a series of unusual cognitive exercises. She asked him to write down the names of birds, animals and rivers, a technique designed to stimulate the parts of the brain responsible for language. Gradually, his speech returned, and Ferguson is now grateful simply to be able to discuss the sport that defined his life.

That gratitude underpins his latest project, a book titled 'Games of My Life', which examines 21 defining matches from his playing and managerial career. The book offers fresh insight into his journey from working-class Glasgow to the summit of European football, tracing the experiences that forged one of the game's most formidable personalities.

Among the matches featured is a cup final Ferguson won as a 13-year-old playing for Govan High School in 1955, a victory he regards as the starting point of everything that followed. He still keeps the medal from that day, holding it as he spoke about a career that would eventually span more than half a century. "That was my starting point," he said. "I played for Glasgow Schools, Scotland Schools and the Scotland youth team. The starting point of my career was there and I can look back with great satisfaction."

Ferguson credits his upbringing in Govan, on the banks of the River Clyde, with shaping his character. He describes the area as "the making of me", explaining that he inherited self-belief from his mother Elizabeth and a relentless drive to succeed from his father Alexander, who worked in the local shipyards. "He was so proud of me and my brother," Ferguson said of his father, recalling a man who combined pride with tough, constructive criticism regardless of how many goals his son had scored.

His parents' contrasting influences left a lasting mark. While his mother would offer simple praise, his father demanded more, instilling the standards that Ferguson would later impose on generations of United players. That upbringing helped produce the famously demanding manager known for the "hairdryer treatment" during a period when United dominated English football.

Yet Ferguson's own playing career very nearly ended before it had truly begun. After making his debut as a 16-year-old striker for Queen's Park, he moved to St Johnstone, where he struggled for first-team opportunities and grew deeply frustrated in the reserves. So disillusioned was he that he filled out the paperwork to emigrate to Canada, where an aunt could act as his sponsor, and even phoned her to discuss the move, all without telling his parents.

Fate intervened the very next day. St Johnstone, their squad ravaged by a flu bug, travelled to Ibrox to face Rangers and handed the 21-year-old Ferguson a place in the starting line-up. He responded with a hat-trick, a performance that revived his career and set him on the path towards managerial greatness. "I would say this to young people - don't miss the biggest opportunity in your life. It's recognising it," he said.

Ferguson's managerial record at United, spanning 1986 to 2013, remains one of the most extraordinary in the history of the sport. Alongside his 13 league titles and two Champions League triumphs, he delivered five FA Cup wins and four League Cup successes, and added the Club World Cup, European Super Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and Intercontinental Cup to the Old Trafford trophy cabinet.

His book is accompanied by previously unseen photographs and a special BBC interview, giving supporters a rare window into the setbacks and turning points behind the silverware. For Ferguson, the thread running through it all is the importance of seizing the moment, a lesson he learned on that transformative afternoon at Ibrox more than six decades ago.

Now, more than seven years after the haemorrhage that threatened his life, Ferguson is able to reflect on both the darkest days and the defining matches with remarkable clarity. His return to Old Trafford in 2018, initially so daunting, became a reminder of the bond between the club and the man who built its modern era.