Best and Worst Sports Executives 2008

There is a whole other game that goes on behind the scenes in any sport. TIME has chosen some of the notable — and not so notable — sports executives and asks you to vote on who plays the game best

By Sean Gregory, Josh Tyrangiel, Adam Smith, Hannah Beech, Kristina Dell, Andrew Downie, Uki Goni, Jeff Israely, Tony Karon, Glen Levy, Catherine Mayer, Simon Robinson, Bill Saporito, and Yuri Zarakhovich

Sir Alex Ferguson

John Peters / Manchester United / Getty
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Age: 66
Title: Manager, Manchester United

PRO: He's been in charge of arguably the world's most popular soccer club for close to 22 years, and he has won the same amount of major trophies, including an epic 2008 Champions League victory over Chelsea. Sir Alex has developed the Manchester United brand and the careers of world-class players (David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney) and has been a mentor to many a rival manager, too.

CON: If star player Ronaldo is sold to Real Madrid, will Ferguson be able to replace him with players of a similar caliber? His track record has, at times, been rather patchy (for every Cantona and Keane, there's a Kleberson and Djemba-Djemba).

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