Breaking News English

The most successful football coach Britain has ever seen announced his retirement on Wednesday when Sir Alex Ferguson called an [ending / end] to his 26 years in charge [by / of] Manchester United, one of the world's footballing [powers / power] . Sir Alex is perhaps the most successful coach in any British sport. He brought [paralleled / unparalleled] success to his club, winning 38 trophies during his [region / reign] . In a statement he said: "The decision to retire is one that I have [thinking / thought] a great [deal / dual] about and one that I have not taken [lightness / lightly] . It is the right time. It was important to me to leave an organisation in the strongest [possibly / possible] shape and I believe I have done so." He added: "I must pay tribute to my family. Their love and support have been [essences / essential] ."

Twitter said the news of Sir Alex's retirement received four times more [mentions / mentioned] than news of the death of Margaret Thatcher last month. The top names [on / in] football were quick to [ply / pay] homage to the [legendary / legend] manager. David Beckham tweeted: "Without him, I would never have achieved what I have done [in / on] my career….I am [truly / truth] honoured to have been guided [in / by] the greatest manager in football." FIFA president Sepp Blatter tweeted: "His achievements in the game place him [without / with] doubt as one of the [greats / bests] ." UEFA president Michel Platini described Ferguson as a "visionary" who "has made a massive contribution to football". His successor has an exceedingly [leathery / tough] act to follow.