Tonight sees the final of the Champions League: Manchester United vs. Barcelona. Even for someone like me - who has steadily fallen out of love with football over the last few years - it is a mouthwatering tie.
Should United win, it'll be further evidence that their manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is one of the greats.
I read an interview with Ferguson in the paper last week where he discussed his work ethic. It makes for interesting reading:
'I say to my players, "What is the hardest thing to achieve in life?" I think one of the hardest things you can do is to work hard all your life. I don't think that's easy. I say to them, "Look at me: have I changed? Am I still as hungry as I was ten years ago when you first came to me as young kids?" The answer is yes. So if I don't change, does that not tell you something that is nice? Which is that working hard is actually good for you.
I hear that people want to retire at 50 or 55 and I can't believe that. What are they going to do with their lives? Sit in the house and read the paper or twiddle their thumbs when there's a world out there that you should be working for?
It's great to get up early. I'm up early every morning and I've got a whole day to enjoy. I try to get it across to my players that working hard is a quality. People think it's an easy things to be able to say, "He works hard, right enough; he's enthusiastic, right enough", but it's not. It's hard to be that way all the time.'
Ferguson's sentiments bring to my mind a proverb: 'All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.' (Proverbs 14:23)
Back to work it is!
As a 56 year old I agree with Sir Alex. So many people my age have stopped living on the edge and settled down to mediocrity.
Retirement - what a terrible word.
Posted by: Roger | May 27, 2009 at 01:26 PM