Soccer-Aberdeen to honour former manager Ferguson with statue at stadium

Euro 2020 - Group D - England v Scotland

(Reuters) - Former manager Alex Ferguson will be honoured with a statue outside Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium in recognition of his success at the club, the Scottish Premiership team said on Thursday.

Ferguson guided Aberdeen to three Scottish league titles, four Scottish Cups and the European Cup Winners' Cup. He managed them from 1978 to 1986 before joining Manchester United, where he won 38 trophies with the English Premier League club.

"I am thrilled and honoured by this recognition from Aberdeen Football Club, where I spent a fantastic and memorable part of my managerial career," Ferguson said in a club statement https://www.afc.co.uk/2021/07/29/afc-to-commission-statue-honouring-sir-alex-ferguson.

The bronze statue, to be located on the external concourse outside the Richard Donald Stand, will be based on a photograph of Ferguson celebrating Aberdeen's Scottish Premier Division victory in 1980.

That championship was a special event as the first time in 15 years that the league had not been won by either Rangers or Celtic, the two heavyweights of Scottish football.

Aberdeen said Ferguson's statue will be the first of a series that is being planned to "celebrate and honour the Club's heroes".

(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)