Tuesday 16 September 2014 19:42, UK
Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Hampden Park in Glasgow to be selected as a venue for the Euro 2020 finals.
To celebrate 60 years of the European Championship, UEFA are to stage the event using stadia in 13 different countries.
Munich and Wembley have bid to host the semi-finals and final, while Glasgow are hoping to secure other matches in the tournament.
The 52,000-capacity stadium has staged half-a-dozen UEFA club finals, with Europe’s governing body for football set to announce the 13 host cities on Friday, and Ferguson believes Scotland's national stadium would be a great choice to be included among the venues.
The former Manchester United manager was a teenage spectator at the European Cup final in 1960 when Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 in one of the competition’s most famous ties.
Ferguson, 72 and a son of the city, said: "Everyone who is involved in the decision making of this (Euro 2020) only has to look back at the six finals for a start.
"I go back as a young lad to the first final at Hampden Park between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt. I went along there thinking that Eintracht Frankfurt were gods.
"They beat Rangers in the semi-final 6-3 at Ibrox, which was unthinkable, but Real Madrid splattered them 7-3. The atmosphere was unbelievable, with 133,000 people there.
"There was a documentary recently on Alfredo Di Stefano who spoke about his five finals, and he made a special reference to the people of Glasgow and the atmosphere in the stadium.”
Ferguson also talked about the friendly nature of Glaswegians which he said was evident during this year’s Commonwealth Games.
He added: "If anyone watched the Commonwealth, it was a perfect example of why Glasgow still has this wonderful atmosphere, and also the friendship.
"There was a great slogan attached to the Commonwealth Games that said that, 'People Make Glasgow' which is absolutely correct.
"Along with this great history of six finals and with that special occasion against Real Madrid in everyone's mind, I think that Glasgow can create that again.
“Glasgow will make visitors feel welcome and the Commonwealth Games was a perfect example of that.”
