David De Gea has lifted the lid on the supreme man management skills of legendary former boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Scot took De Gea to Old Trafford as a 20-year-old, showing incredible faith in the then youngster to be the long-term successor to Edwin van der Sar.
Ferguson famously missed only the third Manchester United game in his illustrious tenure, a League Cup match at Scunthorpe, to go and watch De Gea play for Atletico Madrid against Valencia.
He had already sent goalkeeper coach Eric Steele to watch De Gea on 20 separate occasions, and made his mind up on the flight home from Spain that the young shot-stopper would be his new No.1.
De Gea celebrates the 2013 title win with Sir Alex (
Image:
Manchester United)
Fergie showed his faith in De Gea in a press conference at the Bernabeu (
Image:
Angel Martinez)
But it was in De Gea’s second season, amid criticism of some of his displays, that Fergie told the world how brilliant De Gea was, which made the Spaniard feel ’emboldened’.
De Gea told the Daily Mail of how Fergie talked him up in a press conference at the Bernabeu prior to a Champions League match against Real Madrid.
“He told everyone, the British media, the Spanish media, that I had a special talent.
De Gea has established himself as one of the world’s premier goalkeepers
“I remember what he said exactly. He compared me to a toddler taking their first steps forward. You wobble, get up, wobble, get up again and then you walk.
“Ferguson ended that press conference saying, ‘the boy is walking npw’. Ferguson sat next to me and told the world how much he believe in me. I felt emboldened. Ferguson was very patient with me. He did not shot and was never too harsh. He knew I needed time and trust.”
