With Sunderland always looking sharp on the counter-attack, David Bellion surged his way to the dead-ball line.
"As you get older you change the way you play, " added Bellion, the son of a Paris architect.
"It was a difficult time but in difficult times you grow up as well, " Bellion told BBC Sport.
If Bellion keeps scoring, the English scouts that spotted him seven years ago are sure to notice again.
"It was a non-game for us in London, " conceded Bellion, who turns 26 the day after Bordeaux host Chelsea.
"Chelsea are one of the biggest clubs in the world but we are confident and very excited, " added Bellion.
However, following a move to Sunderland as an 18-year-old in 2001, Bellion's career faltered when he switched to Old Trafford in 2003.
"That was maybe the only dark spot in my career, " said Bellion.
Bellion remains an avid watcher of Premier League football but there are few in this country who have followed his progress since he left United.
It would be easy for him to be bitter about his lack of opportunity but instead Bellion speaks earnestly about what he learnt through adversity.
"Those are the kind of things that make a great manager and maybe a great man, " enthused Bellion, who still refers to Ferguson as his "gaffer".
"Sir Alex told me I needed to go on loan more to play and I wanted to go as well, " Bellion said of his departure from English football.
If Bellion cherishes his time with Ferguson it is clear he does not remember playing for Pardew - who was sacked by Charlton this weekend - quite so fondly.
But it is clear from talking to Bordeaux striker David Bellion ahead of Wednesday's crunch Champions League match with Chelsea that his time in English football was the making of him.
"Sometimes, when players don't play they think the coach is unhappy with them but he always made me believe in myself and to try harder, even if I didn't play, " explained Bellion.
Once regarded as his hero Thierry Henry's natural successor in the France team, Bellion followed Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira out of Cannes' successful academy and seemed destined for the very top.
Now Bellion has a chance to remind us why Ferguson once fought off Liverpool and Arsenal to secure the player's signature when he leads Bordeaux's front line against an in-form Chelsea side.
Bordeaux were thumped 4-0 when they met the Blues at Stamford Bridge in September but Bellion is sure his side, which includes highly rated midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, will offer more of a threat this time.
If the Blues are beaten, then Ferguson would no doubt approve - and Bellion would welcome the chance to do his old manager a favour, even if the Scot hardly played him during his time with United.
Following his exit from United in 2006, Bellion rebuilt his reputation in his homeland with Nice before joining Les Girondins in 2007, scoring 14 goals in 28 games to help Laurent Blanc's side finish second in Ligue 1 last season.
He started only five Premier League matches in three years with Manchester United and his final act on these shores was a short stint at Upton Park, where Bellion alleges he was virtually ignored by then Hammers manager Alan Pardew.
After his goalscoring exploits last season, Bellion has featured slightly less frequently this term, thanks to Blanc's squad-rotation system, but he is content with life on the Garonne river and feels his maturity off the pitch is reflected by his play on it.
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