Two weeks of unforgiving silence. Wayne Rooney reveals Sir Alex Ferguson's extreme reaction to a shocking FA Cup upset that cost Manchester United a treble.
For 27 years, Sir Alex Ferguson was the manager of Manchester United. Almost three decades during which figures like Eric Cantona, David Beckham, Peter Schmeichel, and Roy Keane passed through and in which they won 38 titles, including 13 Premier League trophies and two Champions Leagues. But every great team has its hard defeats, and there is one that Ferguson himself struggled to get over.
And no, it was not either of the two losses vs. Barcelona in the Champions League finals. In fact, it was a year before the first one, more specifically on March 8, 2008, against modest Portsmouth in the FA Cup quarterfinals. A match that might seem inconsequential and that many fans have likely completely forgotten, but for Ferguson, it was the worst.
It was the worst because it was with, arguably, the best Manchester United in history. That day, Manchester United fielded its star starting eleven: Edwin van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Cristiano Ronaldo, Scholes, Hargreaves, Nani, Rooney, and Tevez.
Ferguson's formidable team ended up losing 0-1 at Old Trafford, a match that, with van der Sar's injury and the sending-off of backup goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak, resulted in Rio Ferdinand putting on the gloves and trying to save the penalty that Muntari would ultimately convert for the winning goal. A result that Ferguson never forgave his team for.
"We played against Portsmouth in the FA Cup quarterfinals," began Rooney in his account on his own podcast for BBC Sport. "Tomasz Kuszczak got sent off, and Rio [Ferdinand] ended up in goal. We lost 1-0 at Old Trafford. It was the year we won the Champions League and the league."
"I think Middlesbrough and Cardiff were left in the semifinals and final for what would have been the treble. Alex Ferguson didn't speak to us for two weeks. Two weeks. And we had matches," revealed Rooney, to the astonished looks of his podcast co-hosts, who asked for explanations.
"He would pick the team on the morning of the match. If you passed him in the hallway, he wouldn't even look at you. Two weeks like that, because he knew we had let a tremendous opportunity to win the treble slip away. We just tried to stay away from him. If we saw him coming down the hallway, we'd turn around and go the other way," completed the former English striker.
Portsmouth ended up winning that FA Cup, in a historic feat for that modest team, but Ferguson had his reasons to be angry: the path to the final was West Bromwich and Cardiff City, two extremely accessible opponents for the best Manchester United in history.
That season, the Red Devils won the hardest part, the Premier League (by a two-point margin over Chelsea) and the Champions League (on penalties against Chelsea), and missed out on the treble by falling at home to Portsmouth in the FA Cup.
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