Sir Alex Ferguson admits he was terrified the first time he walked back into Old Trafford after the brain haemorrhage that nearly cost him his life. The most decorated manager in British football history, a man who spent 26 years reducing opponents to rubble with that famous temper, was genuinely unsure whether supporters would welcome him back. He need not have worried.

"I wish I could say I was comfortable. I wasn't," Ferguson tells BBC Breakfast ahead of his 85th birthday in May. When he and his wife Cathy took their seats in the directors' box for United's Premier League fixture against Wolves in September 2018 — just four months after emergency surgery — the stadium rose as one. "My wife was with me, and she was nearly crying. When we sat down, she said 'that's fantastic'."

Finding His Voice Again

The days immediately after surgery were frightening in ways that went beyond the physical. Ferguson, one of football's great communicators — whose hairdryer treatment became the stuff of legend — lost his voice entirely. "That was a frightening moment," he says. "I remember my grandsons coming to see me and I had lost my voice."

Recovery came slowly, guided by a therapist who used word-association exercises to coax his speech back. "She started doing things like asking me to write down the names of birds, names of animals, names of rivers. That way my voice came back."

Now, approaching 85, Ferguson is in decent shape. "I'm feeling quite good despite small injuries," he says — a remark that carries the wry understatement of a man who has seen a few things.

Games of My Life

Ferguson has a new book out, titled Games of My Life, in which he revisits 21 matches spanning his entire career — from player to the most successful manager English football has produced. The book stretches from a school cup final in Glasgow in 1955, when a 13-year-old Ferguson picked up his first winner's medal at Govan High School, all the way through to his retirement from United in 2013 after 38 trophies.

"That was my starting point," Ferguson says, producing the medal from that childhood win. "I played for Glasgow Schools, Scotland Schools and the Scotland youth team. I can look back with great satisfaction."

His upbringing in working-class Govan, he insists, was formative. His mother Elizabeth gave him inner confidence; his father Alexander, a shipyard worker, gave him the drive to improve. "He was so proud of me and my brother. He was a hard taskmaster — whenever I scored a hat-trick, my mother would say 'that's great, son'" — while his father offered rigorous, unsentimental critique however many goals his son had scored.

The Hat-Trick That Changed Everything

One of the book's more remarkable revelations concerns a period early in Ferguson's playing career when he was a frustrated reserve at St Johnstone and had quietly made plans to emigrate to Canada. He had filled in the paperwork, lined up a sponsor — an aunt already living there — and said nothing to his parents.

The next day, St Johnstone arrived at Ibrox to face Rangers with a squad ravaged by illness. The 21-year-old Ferguson was thrown into the starting XI and scored a hat-trick. That performance in 1963 reignited his career and, ultimately, set him on the path to Old Trafford.

"I would say this to young people — don't miss the biggest opportunity in your life. It's recognising it," Ferguson says.

The man who went on to win 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups, four League Cups and a cluster of other honours across 1,500 games in charge of United nearly gave it all up before it began. It is the kind of detail that makes Games of My Life worth reading, and it is the kind of life — nearly ended in May 2018, now being reflected on with gratitude — that reminds you there is more to football than the 90 minutes.

Frequently asked

What happened to Sir Alex Ferguson in 2018?
Sir Alex Ferguson suffered a brain haemorrhage in May 2018 and underwent emergency surgery. He lost his voice during his recovery but regained it through speech therapy and returned to Old Trafford just four months later.
What is Sir Alex Ferguson's new book about?
Ferguson's new book, Games of My Life, covers 21 defining matches from his playing and managerial career, ranging from a school cup final in 1955 through to his retirement as Manchester United manager in 2013.
How many trophies did Sir Alex Ferguson win at Manchester United?
Ferguson won 38 trophies during his 26 years in charge of Manchester United between 1986 and 2013, including 13 Premier League titles and two UEFA Champions League titles.