Sir Alex Ferguson Names the Greatest Team He Ever Faced
Legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said the Barcelona side he faced in the 2011 Champions League is the closest thing he ever experienced to a true ‘Dream Team’.
United lost the 2009 Champions League final to Barcelona in Rome, but the 2011 team that also won the rematch at Wembley is seen as the pinnacle of that generation and one of the best of all time.
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Remarkably, seven of the players who started for Barça that night were produced by the club’s academy at La Masia, with another four on the bench.
Pedro opened the scoring. Although Wayne Rooney equalised soon after, United couldn’t get near Barcelona and were beaten 3-1 when goals from Lionel Messi and David Villa in the second half took the game away from them.
Instead of handing out the Ballon d’Or this year, France Football decided to name an all-time ‘Dream Team’ and asked Ferguson which is the best side he ever faced.
“The one that made the biggest impression on me is the Barcelona we met at Wembley, with Manchester United, in the 2011 Champions League final. They were unplayable,” the Scot recalled.
Ferguson was also asked his opinion on the all-time ‘Dream Team’ France Football chose.
That team, in a 3-4-3 formation, consists of Lev Yashin, Cafu, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Maldini, Xavi, Lothar Matthaus, Diego Maradona, Pele, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldo.
Ferguson said he would like to include Argentina’s 1978 World Cup winning captain Daniel Passarella, but dropping somebody else to add the centre-back would be tough.
“For me, [the ‘Dream Team’] lacks another central defender,” the retired United boss said.
“The problem is that I don't know who I would remove to make room. Personally, I would have integrated Daniel Passarella. He was a fantastic player, mobile and aggressive, and I think he would have perfectly complemented Beckenbauer in central defence.”
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