SUMMARY
- Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the most important person for Manchester United's success. He has lead the club to 13 Premier League Trophies.
- There is a conspiracy that, Ferguson used to switch the twins in United to get an extra substitution.
Sir Alex Ferguson is regarded as the most influential manager in Manchester United’s history. The 82-year-old Scottish manager was in charge of the Red Devils for a period of about 26 seasons. He led United to a magnificent tally of 13 Premier League titles.
However, over the years a rumored theory about one of the strange tactics adopted by Sir Alex Ferguson during his time at Manchester United has done the rounds on social media. The conspiracy terms that, the Scottish manager used to swap United’s twin brother players Rafael da Silva and Fabio during half time stage of the match, which enabled him to get an extra substitution.
Sir Alex Ferguson used to swap Fabio and Rafael at half-time to get an extra sub https://t.co/3Az5X7KMeM pic.twitter.com/0mRdiLRTnh
— Mod (@CFCMod_) February 14, 2024
However, none of the reputed media houses nor any credited published reports have confirmed any such thing done by Sir Alex while he was in charge of the Red Devils. Both Rafael and Fabio looked extravagantly similar to each other. Not only in their looks but the twin brothers also resembled each other in on-field mannerisms.
Sir Alex Ferguson once considered playing Rafael da Silva instead of his twin brother Fabio
According to earlier reports, United’s veteran manager Sir Alex Ferguson once considered playing Raphael da Silva instead of his twin brother Fabio. It was when Raphael da Silva wasn’t allowed to participate in a match due to suspension formalities.
Raphael was suspended for one match after being sent off the pitch during one of United’s top-tier matches. Sir Alex was interrogated regarding the fact that how he would manage without the player during his pre-match conference. “I might put in Raphael there” (instead of Fabio). “They (the referees) wouldn’t know (the difference)“, the former United manager stated.
Rafael da Silva on Sir Alex Ferguson confusing him for his twin brother
The Brazil player Rafael da Silva inflicted an incident when Sir Alex confused him for his other twin brother Fabio. Expressing the former United’s boss dilemma in identifying the twins correctly, Raphael reportedly asserted – “It happened many, many times”.
The right-back inflicted – “It wasn’t rare that before training he’d (Sir Alex) at me and say, ‘come on, go to the left wing’. When that happened, I used to just look at him. Then he’d go, ‘I meant right-wing, Rafael'”. Also, there were several incidents when the on-field referees were confused between Raphael and his twin Fabio while they played for Manchester United together in England.
Sir Alex Ferguson guards a tremendous amount of respect from all the players that have played under him. Raphael da Silva has often laid upon the fact that how the veteran manager emerged as one of the most important personalities he met in his life. At the club level, Raphael currently plays for the Serie A club Botafogo in Brazil.