My introduction to this Club
As the famous quote by Gary Weaver says: “It is in the fabric of this football club, it is in the soul of this football club, they never, never give up.”
I used to practice football in our school days and watch it on TV as I was fascinated by this beautiful game and wanted to learn more by watching the great players play. This was the time when Manchester United was at their supreme best. They were on a winning trot in the English Premier League and went on to win the league by edging past Arsenal in the year 2002. This is when I fell in love with this football club.
As Eric Cantona quoted: You can change your political beliefs, you can change your religion, but never ever you can change your favorite football team.
This is what most passionate football fans do, they stick with their favorite team and never ever leave supporting them even in the team’s distress times. I have been following United since then. I have seen highs and lows with this clubs.
History of the club
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath’s Carriage and Wagon division established Manchester United Football Club in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club. Initially competing against other departments and train firms at their home field of North Road, the squad joined The Combination, a regional football league, in 1888. Newton Heath, however, joined the newly established Football Alliance after the league was dissolved before the end of its first season. The Football Alliance lasted for three seasons until being combined into The Football League. Due to this, the team began the 1892–93 season in the First Division, at which point it had separated from the rail business and omitted the “LYR” from its name.
Busby Years (1945-1969)
Football was about to resume after the world war, which led to the appointment of Matt Busby as manager in October 1945. Busby requested an unprecedented level of control over team selection, player transfers, and practice sessions. In 1947, 1948, and 1949, the club finished second in the league under Busby’s leadership. In 1948, the team also won the FA Cup. The team won the First Division in 1952, marking its first league crown in 41 years. The team, who had an average age of 22, went on to win back-to-back league championships in 1956 and 1957. The media dubbed them “the Busby Babes,” which was a monument to Busby’s belief in his young players. Notwithstanding The Football Association’s reservations, Manchester United became the first English team to participate in the European Cup in 1957.
Munich Air Disaster
The next year, after Manchester United had defeated Red Star Belgrade in the quarterfinal of the European Cup, the team’s plane containing players, officials, and journalists crashed as it was attempting to take off from Munich, Germany, where it had refueled. Eight players—Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, and Billy Whelan—were among the 23 people killed and numerous others were injured in the Munich flight accident on February 6, 1958.
The Era of Sir Alex Ferguson (1986-2013)
Sir Alex Ferguson joined as the manager at Manchester United in 1986 from Aberdeen and went on to become the greatest manager of all time. During his 26 years with Manchester United he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two UEFA Champions League titles (1999 and 2008).
The Class of ‘92
Manchester United’s Class of ’92 is the most popular gathering of football foundation graduates in Head Association history. In numerous ways, the gathering highlighting David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, and the Neville siblings, was the last extraordinary gathering of young people to be advanced into an English first-group around a similar time span.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at the world stage
On 12th August 2003, Manchester United signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon making him the first Portuguese player to ever play for the club. He went on to be one of the greatest players of all time. Sir Alex played a crucial part in the player’s over all development, Ronaldo went on to say about Sir Alex that,” He’s been my father in sport, one of the most important and influential factors in my career.” Ronaldo won his first prestigious Ballon D’Or award in 2008 under Sir Alex.
Post-Ferguson Era:
After Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, David Moyes was announced as the next club manager, It was a huge honor for him along with a huge legacy to carry forward. But just after one year he was sacked from his position as the club failed to defend its premier league title and qualify for the champions league for the first time since 1995-96. After Moyes, Louis Van Gaal replaced him as the manager and club legend Ryan Giggs was his assistant, Under Van Gaal United won 12th FA Cup, but a disappointing performance in the league led to the sacking of Van Gaal as well just two days after the FA Cup final. Jose Mourinho was appointed the manager, in the first year of his managerial stint Manchester United went on to win FA Community Shield, EFL Cup and Europa League.
