SPORTS.

Know the score? Contact the editor at sports@theotherpress.ca

United?

Alex Fergusons

autobiography raises

some eyebrows Wilkins

i) Sports Editor

sports@)theotherpress.ca

Eric

lex Ferguson is a

man who needs little introduction. The now retired Scotsman will forever be remembered as one of the finest managers the game has ever seen. With 38 trophies over his 26 years with Manchester United alone, even City fans have to admit a begrudging respect for him. Ferguson’s recently released autobiography, however, may slightly taint the image many have painted of him.

It’s always interesting to read these books when they come out. It’s typically a person’s last desperate grasp at fame. I’ve always viewed Ferguson as someone above pithy attacks. Someone who

wouldn't stoop to the common

level of exchanging barbs. With a track record like his, why would it be necessary? Apparently I thought wrong.

Ferguson openly criticizes

key figures in his originally named Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography, among them David Beckham and Owen Hargreaves.

Of Beckham, he said,

“David thought he was bigger than Alex Ferguson. There is no doubt in my mind,” along with, “The big problem for me is that he married Victoria.” Other criticisms of Beckham included his love of a celebrity lifestyle and essentially putting the game second.

As for Hargreaves, Sir Alex remarked, “When

National pride

Mens soccer off to the big show

i

eading into the Provincial

Championships (October 26-27), the men’s soccer team had one main goal in mind: qualify for Nationals in New Brunswick. A win in the semis was all the team needed to get through to Nationals, and they did just that with a 2-0 over the second seed, Langara. Although they lost to Thompson Rivers University in the final on penalty kicks, the fact remained: the Royals were going to Nationals.

Eric

Wilkins

Sports Editor “| sports@theotherpress.ca

20

“We knew the first game was the important one and the boys came out flying,” commented coach Robby Toor, before noting that the loss in the final wasn’t a huge issue. “They knew the ultimate goal of the season was to win a national title and we've qualified for that.”

Sunday (the final) showed a lot of great character in the older guys and even the rookies.

Keeper Marc Mincieli expressed some disappointment, but was clear that the team knows what the real prize is. “Our spirits are high and we are going to take the lessons learned and use them as our drive to excel in New Brunswick!”

Estefan Corra knows the journey isn’t over yet, but has no reservations about how he thinks Nationals will play out.

Sir Alex Ferguson | Photo courtesy of Tom Jenkins/The Gaurdian

I signed him there was something about him I didn’t like. It turned out to be a disaster.” He also spoke of how he questioned the former Bayern Munich man’s work ethic, and his desire to sue Hargreaves after he spoke out about the club’s medical treatments for him.

Ever the classy one,

“It won't be easy, but we've put in a lot of work to get back to this final tournament and I believe this season is our season to bring it home.”

And what work the team has put in. With 14 rookies, it’s a little surprising how well this confident bunch of Royals has done. After a bit of a rough start to the year, the team went on to post an 8-2-4 record en route to the Picture Province.

“We had many egos in week one, however, we’ve all straightened out and become the brotherhood that we are today,” says Mincieli, who will be heading into his second national tourney as a member of the Royals. “Training this far has been more intense than ever and we have an all or nothing mentality going which we can attribute to our coaches

Beckham responded with, “I’m not going to sit here and be negative about a man who gave me a chance to play

for my boyhood team, who

I always dreamt of playing for. He gave me the chance

to do that, he believed in me and believed in the rest of the young lads who came through this with us.”

and each other for being so competitive.”

Toor also spoke on the change the team has undergone. “] think the biggest thing that we ve been proud of is the way this team has come together. We've gone through some adversity over the course of the season—ups and downs. I think the biggest thing for any team is the character they show when you're down. And our boys have always bounced back.”

Different from previous Royals squads, this year’s edition hasn't featured one specific star. Various players have stepped up and done what was needed of them throughout the year—ike a true team.

Case in point, as pointed out

by Toor, the team doesn’t have

a double-digit scorer this year; rather, their leading scorers have

As for the famous

boot incident, the free kick

specialist cheekily revisited his initial comment with an, “Apparently they [dressing room tales] do [come out].”

Hargreaves was a little

more direct, commenting,

“For it [our relationship] to deteriorate like that was very disappointing and I think it’s a conversation he and I need to have personally.”

And he raises a valid,

if idealistic, point: why go public when you can settle things behind closed doors? Why try and mar someone’s reputation? The answer—as it often is—is money.

I get it. I really do. And

everyone probably does. The point of writing a book is

to make money. The way to make money is to get people’s attention. The easy way to get in the spotlight is to strike up controversy or bring up old rows. Ferguson has done both of these and his book is selling faster than umbrellas ina downpour.

Is Ferguson still one of the

greatest managers the world has ever seen? Of course. Has my opinion of him dipped? No doubt. Glory glory Man United? Sir Alex would have done well to think less of his pocketbook on this one.

six apiece with multiple others contributing a few as well.

But for all the growth the team has gone through this year, no one thinks they’re at their best yet.

“The sky is the limit,”” says Corra, hauling out the time- tested phrase.

Coach Toor adds, “I feel that at Nationals we will show that we've had yet to peak. And that’s always been our goal, to peak at Nationals, not before. We're going hoping to bring back a gold medal. I definitely feel that we have the team to get the job done.”

The Royals have already turned heads this season, but the final act promises to be even better.