Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager, revealed a burning Lionel Messi regret that he believes directly prevented the club from becoming European champions for the fourth time.
At the helm of Manchester United, the Scot presided over an unprecedented period of success. During his 27-year tenure, Ferguson won more major trophies than any other manager in football history, cementing his place as one of the game's all-time greats.
Domestic success was common, but success on the European stage was far more difficult to come by.
Two Champions League titles were won in 1999 and 2008, but Spanish powerhouse Barcelona prevented additional titles from being won in the finals in 2009 and 2011.
Messi, unsurprisingly, was a key contributor to the Red Devils' demise on each occasion.
The Argentine scored in both matches, but Ferguson believes the latter final would have been very different if he had made a tactical change at halftime.
Ferguson told Sport Bible that assigning noted big match specialist Park Ji-sung to man-mark the Argentine superstar would have resulted in a different name on the trophy.
Ferguson explained, "That's where I lost the final against Barcelona at Wembley." “At halftime, I should have changed and put Ji-sung Park on Messi.
“That was a mistake... I was going to do it at halftime, but then I thought, ‘Well, we just equalized before halftime, they might see the game differently, we might grow into the game better.'
“In the last 10 minutes of that half, we were actually quite good. We came in, and we could have taken the lead.
“However, if I had put Ji-sung Park up against Messi, I believe we would have won. I truly believe it.”
Ferguson would have preferred four stars at Manchester United.
Meanwhile, the legendary ex-Manchester United manager has revealed the four current players he would have liked to have managed during his time in charge.
Throughout his eventful career, he managed some of the biggest and most colorful names in Premier League history.
Ferguson, on the other hand, admits that there are four current stars he wishes he could have taken under his wing.
Ferguson named Harry Kane as the first player.
Tottenham are facing the very real prospect of losing their talismanic striker following a disappointing season. Kane has made it clear that he wants to leave the club during the upcoming transfer window. Tottenham, despite their reluctance to sell, could demand around £150 million for Kane, who will have no shortage of potential destinations.
Ferguson is promoting Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, a documentary about his life and recent health scares. This will be realized on May 29. During this interview (hosted by SPORTbible), he was quizzed by his former teammate, Gary Neville.
Ferguson also chose two current Tottenham players, Dele Alli and Heung-min Son. He also named Sergio Aguero, the departing Manchester City striker, as the fourth.
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