But Busby did talk to him about the eight Manchester United players – the ‘Busby Babes’, as they were known – who lost their lives, along with 15 other people, in the tragedy.
And Ferguson, whose famed Class of 92 became the foundation for United’s success in the 1990s and early 2000s, says he was hugely influenced during his own 26 years as manager by Busby’s unwavering philosophy in producing home-grown talent.
United will mark the 60th anniversary of Munich at Old Trafford on Tuesday and Ferguson, who will deliver a reading at the memorial, said: “While I was at Manchester United the Babes were always a reference point for us, in terms of having belief and trust in what young players can do and building a loyalty base from there.
“Matt never spoke to me about Munich, but he spoke about Duncan Edwards, David Pegg, Eddie Colman and all the boys who passed away.
“The one person who did speak about it a lot was Jimmy Murphy [Busby’s No2]. Jimmy did a bit of scouting for us [in the early days of Ferguson’s spell as manager] and he always spoke very openly about the Babes. He always had a tear in his eye by the end of the discussion because he was a very emotional guy.“
In an interview with United’s Match Day Review, Ferguson – then a 16-year-old growing up in Glasgow – recalled the fateful day when the plane carrying the United squad home from a European Cup quarter-final in Belgrade, crashed as it attempted to take off for the third time after a refuelling stop at snow-bound Munich airport.
“On the day of the disaster I was in the library studying for my exams,” he said. “I used to train two or three nights a week with Queens Park so after I’d finished my work I went along to the training ground, but when I arrived people were crying. These were grown men. There was so much sorrow in the dressing room they cancelled training that night.
“It was a really emotional time for anyone who was a football fan at that time. Matt Busby [who was from Ayrshire] carried great resonance for the people in Scotland so it was keenly felt up there too.”
Ferguson paid tribute to Busby’s bravery in playing the youngsters and says the ability of the Babes – along with the tragic way they perished – is the main reason why United became so popular.
“The philosophy of producing young players to play for Manchester United was a big thing at the time,” he said. “The team that won the 1948 FA Cup final was mature – there were no kids in that team. But seven years later Matt and Jimmy Murphy had a formation of all these young players playing together.
“It takes a brave person to do that. You’re in an industry where it is all about results and that’s why most managers have to rely on their first team to keep them in a job. To build a football team through young people is the braver thing to do and actually it’s the correct thing to do because once you’ve got a foundation then you can rely on that for years.
“The history that was made through that particular period of Matt playing those young players is really the history of Manchester United. A decade on, Matt won the European Cup while playing the same philosophy, using players for the most part produced by the club. It’s incredible.
“The Babes are what gives this club such a fantastic romance, in terms of how they played the game and how they generated this thread of youth throughout the club. The spirit of the club is created by all these young players – and that began back then.”
Jose Mourinho will be joined by his first-team squad at the event which is open to supporters and begins at 2.40pm with turnstiles open in the lower East Stand from 1.45pm.
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