Izuchukwu OkosiFormer Premier League managers, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger on Wednesday, 29 March 2023, became the first set of former coaches to be inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Premier League body.
The legendary coaches won multiple titles at their former clubs.
While Ferguson now plays ambassadorial role at United, Wenger heads the FIFA body for new rules in the game.
Ferguson, 81, is the most successful manager in Premier League history with a record 13 titles.
Wenger won three league titles during his 22-year spell in charge of the Gunners.
The Frenchman led Arsenal’s “Invincibles” to an unbeaten league-winning season in 2003-04.
The Hall of Fame launched in 2021 with David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Alan Shearer as the inaugural inductees.
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Last year, Sergio Aguero, Didier Drogba, Vincent Kompany, Wayne Rooney, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, Patrick Vieira and Ian Wright were added.
Ferguson, who managed Manchester United from 1986 until 2013, won three league titles in a row on two separate occasions.
“It’s an honour when you receive recognition like this,” he said. “However, it’s not just about me as a person.
“It’s about the job at Manchester United and the bond we had over many years, so I’m also proud for the club, the staff and my players.
“My job was to send the fans home happy. United’s history and my own expectations were the things that drove me.”
Wenger, 73, arrived as one of the Premier League’s first foreign managers in 1996 and won the league in his first full season at Arsenal.
“I’d like to be known as someone who loved Arsenal, who respected the values of the club and left it in a position where it can grow and become even bigger,” Wenger said.
“To share this with Sir Alex is a great honour for me. It’s like two boxers, you fight like mad and go the distance together.
“At the end of the day, you have respect and it will be a great opportunity to meet with him, share a good bottle of wine and memories of our old battles.”
Wenger managed the Gunners for 22 years between 1996 and 2018 taking charge of a record 828 matches in the league and winning the title three times in 1998, 2002 and 2004.
While the first two titles were garnished with triumphs in the FA Cup, it was the ‘Invincible’ season of 2004 that continues to go unmatched in the modern era.
Challenged by Wenger to go unbeaten, his players did what no team had done in 115 years securing the top spot thanks to 26 wins, 12 draws and zero defeats.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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