Sir Alex Ferguson secretly visited cathedrals before big Manchester United matches in Europe.
The former Red Devils boss – perhaps seeking divine help – sometimes took players along too.
Ex-Scotland international Brian McClair went with Fergie to see the enormous St Elisabeth Cathedral in Kosice, Slovakia. That was before United beat FC Kosice 3-0 in a Champions League group match in 1997. McClair came on in the last 15 minutes.
The visits were revealed by football writer Henry Winter, who says Ferguson – once in the Boys’ Brigade, a Christian group – is a culture vulture.
Explaining how he ran into him in Kosice, he said: “I’m a former choirboy – I love going in listening to the choirs and hearing what the acoustics are like.
“And I saw Brian was walking around there with Sir Alex. And that sort of always struck me – that interest in life.”
Ferguson – famous for his “hair dryer” rants at players – was keen for them to study the history and culture of places where they played. When asked how he knew so much about foreign towns, Wayne Rooney told Winter: “Sir Alex told me to read this book.”
Ferguson became manager of United in 1986 and, during his 26 years as boss, won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League titles.
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