Sir Alex Ferguson's unlikely choice for first name on his dream Man Utd teamsheet - The Mirror

Manchester United achieved unprecedented Premier League success under Sir Alex Ferguson and has managed some of the division's best ever players in Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney

Few managers have coached such an array of quality first-team players that they believe they can only guarantee a place for one in their ultimate team.

That is the position Sir Alex Ferguson finds himself in when attempting to name his best-ever Manchester United side. The Scottish manager spent 27 years at Old Trafford and secured 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cup wins and two Champions League trophies in a successful tenure.

Ferguson has coached some of the Red Devils' greatest legends from Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo to Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney. There is no shortage of talent competing for a place in the 82-year-old's team with elite defensive talents such as Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Jaap Staap challenging for limited spaces too.

The former Man United boss had a talent for selecting the right player at the right moment too. Park Ji-sung was not the most high-profile name to arrive at Old Trafford but helped United towards some of their greatest nights.

Even Ferguson could not escape from the difficulty of selecting his greatest Manchester United side, however, when posed the question by the Sunday World in 2013. An impossible task.

"People ask you: 'Who is your best Man United team?' and it's absolutely impossible," said Ferguson. "It is absolutely impossible. You look at the strikers I had, going back to [Brian] McClair, [Mark] Hughes, [Andy] Cole, Cantona, [Ruud] van Nistelrooy, [Louis] Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, [Dwight] Yorke, Teddy Sheringham.

"Then to the present players - Wayne Rooney, [Robin] van Persie, Chicharito [Javier Hernandez]. How do you pick out of that? Cantona and somebody else maybe?"

Even with Cristiano Ronaldo among the players for selection, the Portuguese legend was not guaranteed a spot in the lineup. Ferguson instead sprung a surprise and perhaps the occasional raised eyebrow as it was instead the consistency of Dennis Irwin receiving the nod.

He said: "The midfield was probably a bit easier because you have [Roy] Keane, [Bryan] Robson and [Paul] Scholes - they were fantastic players - and [David] Beckham, Ronaldo and [Ryan] Giggs.

"Honestly, I would say Denis Irwin would be the one certainty to get in the team. I called him an eight out of 10. At Highbury in one game, he had a bad pass back in the last minute and [Dennis] Bergkamp came in and scored. After the game, the press said: 'You must be disappointed in that pass back.' I said: 'Well, one mistake in 10 years isn't bad.' He was an unbelievable player."

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