Following Jock Stein’s death, Sir Alex Ferguson led Scotland to the 1986 World Cup.
Many people forget that Sir Alex Ferguson managed Scotland at the World Cup during his final days at Aberdeen.
That is partly due to the success he achieved during his 26-year reign at Manchester United, winning 13 Premier League titles, two European Cups and more major trophies.
Here’s the story of Ferguson’s short tenure as Scotland manager at Mexico ’86.
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Sir Alex Ferguson steps in for Jock Stein and snubs Alan Hansen for the 1986 World Cup
Ferguson was 44 when he was asked to manage Scotland at the 1986 World Cup, having served as the part-time assistant to Stein while retaining his role as Aberdeen manager.
Scotland secured the 1-1 draw they required against Wales to reach the inter-continental play-off. Stein suffered a heart attack after the final whistle and tragically passed away in the stadium medical room.
In the wake of the tragedy, the Scottish FA proposed that Ferguson would take over temporarily before guiding the players to a 2-0 aggregate victory over Australia to qualify for the World Cup.
Ferguson drew controversy from his Scotland squad selection for the World Cup with his omission of Liverpool defender Alan Hansen. He preferred his Aberdeen defensive duo, Alex McLeish and Willie Miller, raising eyebrows at the time.
Scotland eliminated in World Cup group stages
Scotland were drawn in a difficult group consisting of Denmark, West Germany and Uruguay.
Ferguson’s side lost their opening match 1-0 against a Denmark side featuring players like Preben Elkjær and Michael Laudrup.
Although Scotland took a shock lead in the 18th minute against West Germany, with Gordon Strachan finding the back of the net, they made it two defeats in as many games following a 2-1 loss.
It was the final group game against Uruguay that sparked more of a reaction from the media. The South American nation required a point from the game, and they got exactly that following a scoreless draw.
Ferguson criticised Uruguay for their feisty approach to the game, with José Bautista sent off after just 56 seconds for a reckless challenge on Strachan. It remains the fastest red card in World Cup history.
The Uruguayans were also accused of feigning injuries, wasting time, and committing professional fouls on Scotland players at every turn.
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- Scotland 0-1 Denmark
- Scotland 1-2 West Germany
- Scotland 0-0 Uruguay
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Sir Alex Ferguson’s fury at Uruguay
Even though Uruguay had a man sent off, Scotland were unable to break them down. It is perhaps telling that the best save of a scoreless draw against Uruguay came from Jim Leighton, denying Wilmar Caberera’s close-range header.
Ferguson used his press conference in Nezahaulcóyotl to slam Uruguay, saying: “It’s a shambles.
“It is not just a part of football, it’s the whole bloody attitude of the nation. They’ve got no respect for people’s dignity. It’s a disgrace what they did, and turns the game into a complete farce.
“You’d never think that in a competition such as the World Cup, with all that talk of a FIFA clampdown [on ill-discipline], that one team would be able to overpower the whole system.”
Ferguson added: “After what happened today, and the traumas that have happened to world football in the last year – I tell you, I’m glad to go home, believe me, because it’s no part of football, as we’ve been accepting it for years and years.
“It’s not my problem any longer. It’s FIFA’s problem. It will be Argentina’s problem on Monday.”
By November 1986, Ferguson left Aberdeen to become United manager. The rest, as they say, is history.
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