United’s many late victories down to Fergie the gambler

Alex Ferguson believes his natural gambler’s instinct led to so many late wins for Manchester United down the years.

So often did United score in the latter stages of matches it was almost a surprise when they did not manage it. The epic 1999 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich, when United scored twice in stoppage time to turn the game on its head, was the most obvious example.

But, Ferguson indicated such triumphs did not occur by accident. “I am a gambler – a risk taker – and you can see that in how we played in the late stages of matches,” said Ferguson in a series of interviews to Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse.