Two years ago, before the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles - which was won by Europe - European captain Paul McGinley enlisted the help of Alex Ferguson.
Fergie gave McGinley's 12 players a team talk ahead of the tournament. Rory McIlroy said he was unable to 'take his eyes off' Ferguson - perhaps that had something to do with his Man Utd fandom.
This September, Darren Clarke will helm Europe at Hazeltine as they attempt to best the Americans for the fourth consecutive time.
Once again, Ferguson could be involved in the build up. Though, he won't be the only one. Clarke has big plans, some of which could be influenced by being a Liverpool fan.
Clarke plans to consult Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, someone he describes as a 'livewire'. It will be interesting to see if the Tyrone man attempts to incorporate gegenpressing into his tactics.
He told the BBC:
Jürgen Klopp is definitely one of the guys I want to speak to, especially as a Liverpool fan myself. He’s an absolute livewire isn’t he? He’s a bundle of energy and that sort of thing can be infectious. He’s obviously very passionate and a terrific motivator so I want to pick his brains a bit.
Kenny Dalglish is someone else I’ll seek out. Sir Alex Ferguson was such an inspirational figure at Gleneagles that I’d love to have him on board again. I’ll look into whether he’s free that week, and check out the possibility of flying him over with us.
It won't just be football from which Clarke takes inspiration, it will also be rugby.
The 47-year-old intends to seek the guidance of both World Cup winner Clive Woodward and Paul O'Connell.
But I’ll be talking to a bunch of people over a whole range of sports. Clive Woodward is another guy who would be very interesting on the team dynamic and the former Ireland and Lions captain Paul O’Connell is another one.
Picture credit: Oliver McVeigh / SPORTSFILE
