Sir Alex Ferguson epitomizes the team mentality in Ronaldo's wake

Losing a loved one is hard. You grow and flourish with them, enjoy the best of times with them, and get used to having them in your life, so much so that you can't imagine life without them. Then they're suddenly gone, and for a long time, it seems like nothing can replace them. Though Cristiano Ronaldo likely does not feel this way about Manchester United (or, hopefully, about certain other recent associations of his), many loyal Red Devils surely hold such pangs of abandonment for him. But while the media view his departure in the same replacement-seeking way, Sir Alex Ferguson has shown in the past that he places a much higher value on the chemistry of the team.

When any superstar leaves, the media focuses on finding one player who fills the void. It's the natural response: "Who's going to 

replace all of those goals?" Superstars such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Karim Benzema, and Franck Ribery were all linked to perform the same functions as the departed Portuguese. The thought is so prevalent that it creeps into any related story, as the BBC demonstrated in mentioning "Ferguson (trying) to replace Cristiano Ronaldo" in their article on the transfer of Gabriel Obertan. Of course, such wording is mostly used to neatly summarize the issue, but to the public it portrays offseason changes as a player-for-player process, which influences the expectations of supporters.

 

In simplifying this, the media ignores similar precedents. In 2003, David Beckham left for Real Madrid after finally getting sick of Beckham's celebrity status impeding his duties to the team. However, nobody was brought in who was already considered a star at the time, as Sir Alex preferred to leave the scoring load to the increasingly rampant Ruud van Nistlerooy. (Louis Saha would be bought in the winter, but only once Ferguson realized he needed another goalscorer in the short term.) Beckham's successor was indeed bought during that offseason, but he was a prospect who then adjusted to Ferguson's team-first philosophy. Only at that point did he become a superstar, in the United mold. He took the number 7 shirt in Manchester, you may have heard of him. Think he moved to some team in Spain recently.

Likewise, in 2006 Ruud van Nistlerooy demanded a transfer after becoming increasingly frustrated with the dwindling number of playing opportunities on offer, and he got his ticket to Real Madrid. The blame for Ruud's frustration is a whole other matter entirely, but once it was clear that he was gone, Fergie saw the opportunity to liberalize the goalscoring responsiblity. Aware of the fact that United had become too dependent on feeding the ball to Ruud in the box for goals, he bought Michael Carrick to spread opportunities around the team, as well as Patrice Evra to give the backline some offensive tooth. This opened up the field for the likes of Ronaldo and Rooney to unleash their talents, and thus Sir Alex succeeded in molding the free-scoring squad of the last three years.

From these stories among many, we can see one undeniable truth: Ferguson understands the necessity of blooding players into the team over time. Great United teams have always had star players such as Beckham who developed at the club, mainly because on great teams, star players will inevitably emerge and attract more attention than anyone else, for one reason or another. However, Sir Alex knows that such stardom must develop organically at the club in order to serve the team's purposes, rather than players being imported as colorful but ultimately unfit puzzle pieces. His managerial career demonstrates his philosophy that even the greatest players in the world cannot always succeed without the almost telepathic support of the team, forged in the experience of growing up within the club.

 

Just as importantly, Ferguson understands that if a player no longer fits within the team's ethos, it is time for him to leave, no matter his talent. Beckham left because his celebrity got in the way of his duty, a phenomenon that can exist in the Hollywood 2.0 of Madrid, but not in the tunnels of Old Trafford. Van Nistlerooy left because Ferguson decided that his style of play seemed to dictate the team's approach, a situation he may have created but ultimately disposed of, much to Ruud's unhappiness. Games are determined by more than just the sum of individual talents; the players must augment and understand each other, and Fergie's greatest talent may be in mastering this 

conception of 'team'. It is why players such as Juan Sebastian Veron and Dimitar Berbatov have had difficulty at Old Trafford, why Real Madrid's first 'galactico' policy largely failed, and why there is no guarantee of success this year for the new breeds of galacticos at Real Madrid and Manchester City.

Ronaldo's departure is admittedly different than those of Beckham and van Nistlerooy. On their departures, Ferguson expressed that the latter two were hurting the team and benched them accordingly, but Fergie is clearly pained at losing who he calls "easily the best player in the world" and "streets ahead of them all". The other two were pushed out of Old Trafford, while Ronaldo could have stayed in Manchester as long as he liked, but eventually had to drag himself away to chase his "boyhood dream".

Nevertheless, a departure is still a departure no matter the story behind it, and the method of rebuilding remains the same. Once again, Ferguson has opted to develop a long-term successor in Obertan, virtually an unknown before this transfer. In the meantime, he has recruited Antonio Valencia to fill the role of pacy winger. Given the Ecuadorian's goalscoring record however, Ronaldo's goals are now more likely to come from established sources, as Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov seem likely to pick up some of that slack, with increased opportunity for Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda, and the rescued Michael Owen. In their preseason in Malaysia, Owen has particularly demonstrated a knack for scoring crucial goals, a role that had previously fallen to Ronaldo and the departed Carlos Tevez. Thus, at least until Obertan is ready, Fergie seems content that Ronaldo's many former roles are now spread throughout the team.

As many of us mourn the loss of CR7 and the rise of CR9, accustomed to focusing on one leading light, we may naturally reach out to find another star for our adulation. While an Ibrahimovic or a Ribery could have potentially fit into the team well, Sir Alex knows that such gambles are pricey, and not as dependable as the method he has used to make Manchester United the best team in England. It seems to be a cold, loveless method, but in avoiding a focus on replacing individuals, Ferguson defines his legacy by constantly working to retain the concept of team, more lasting and loved than any one player has ever been and will ever be.