Alex Ferguson

Football management is such a pressurised thing - horseracing is a release. I'm also learning to play the piano - I'm quite determined - it's another release from the pressure of my job.

The culmination of three trophies was the pinnacle of my career and it has been rewarded with a knighthood.

I'm going to tell you the story about the geese which fly 5,000 miles from Canada to France. They fly in V-formation but the second ones don't fly. They're the subs for the first ones. And then the second ones take over - so it's teamwork.

The time I have already spent at Harvard has been a stimulating experience, and I look forward to developing my relationship and activities with the students, faculty and friends of the Harvard Business School community.

In England, it's a rare thing to see a player smoking but, all in all, I prefer that to an alcoholic. The relationship with alcohol is a real problem in English football and, in the short term, it's much more harmful to a sportsman. It weakens the body, which becomes more susceptible to injury.

If my parents were still alive, they would be very proud. They gave me a good start in life, the values that have driven me, and the confidence to believe in myself.

I've never played for a draw in my life.

You are responsible to each other because when you win a game of football, you only need eight players to perform well.

Well, football is a hard game; there's no denying it. It's a game that can bring out the worst in you, at times.

One of the things I always thought about as a young coach was finding solutions to things that happened, but the most important thing I always referred to was never giving in.

I think you have a duty and a responsibility to entertain. We have to always remember that there's a public to be entertained.

Human beings of today are more fragile, whereas people born in wartime, during the Second World War, eventually became the great players like Pele. They were fantastic players.