Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United F.C. (orignally L&Y Railway F.C.) is an English football club based at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Formed as Newton Heath in 1878 becoming Manchester United in 1902.

Whilst traditionally amongst the stronger clubs in England, since the beginning of the 1990s and Manchester United have, under manager Alex Ferguson achieved a degree of dominance in domestic competitions unseen since the great Liverpool F.C. sides of the mid 1970s and early 1980s.

Unlike those Liverpool sides, however, Manchester United have been largely unable to transfer their domestic dominance to European competition. The one exception was in 1999, when they came from behind in the last minutes of the UEFA Champions League final to beat Bayern Munich 2-1. United also won the League and FA Cup in that season, a 'Treble' achievement which at the time of writing is unique in English football.

History

The 1958 Manchester United team was nicknamed the "Busby Babes." On February 6, they were flying home from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade when the plane crashed on takeoff in a snow storm at Munich, Germany. Eight team members were killed, and 2 players suffered career-ending injuries. Amongst the dead was Duncan Edwards[?], the 21-year-old who many believe was on his way to establishing himself as one of England's greatest players ever. A survivor, Bobby Charlton would help lead England to the Football World Cup in 1966.

Noted players

• Bobby Charlton
• Dennis Law[?]
• George Best[?]
• Eric Cantona
• Ryan Giggs[?]
• David Beckham
• Fabian Barthez
• Paul Scholes[?]
• Roy Keane[?]
• Rio Ferdinand
• Ole Gunnar Solskjær
• Ruud van Nistelrooy[?]

Achievements

• League Championships: 15
  • 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, 1967, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
• FA Cups: 10
  • 1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999
• League Cup: 1
  • 1992
• UEFA Champions League Championships: 2
  • 1968, 1999
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1
  • 1991
• Inter-Continental Cup[?]: 1
  • 1999
• UEFA Super Cup[?]: 1
  • 1991
• FA Charity Shields[?]: 1
  • 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 (*as joint holders)

External link

• Manchester United Official website (http://www.manutd.com/)