Manchester United – The World’s Most Famous Soccer Club!
Manchester United Football Club (MUFC) is arguably the world’s best and most successful soccer club. As the name suggests, Manchester, England is home to this magnificent soccer club. Following is a short synopsis of the history of this marvelous soccer club.
The club was founded in 1878 under the name of Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) and was made up of a group of men simply playing between the different railway departments. Shortly after joining the Football League the club was overwhelmed with financial problems until John Henry Davies decided to invest in the club and run it as well.
It was at this time, in 1902, that the club name was changed to Manchester United, or Man. Utd., or simply United for short. Later on the club was nicknamed “The Red Devils”.
After a few key player acquisitions, United reached the last eight of the FA Cup, and also finished second in the Second Division. In 1908 United won League Championship and their first ever Charity Shield in 1908, and in 1909 the FA Cup was added to the silverware.
In 1910, Man. Utd. moved to their newly built stadium, Old Trafford, with a crowd capacity of 80,000. At the end of their first season in their new home, United won the League Championship for the second time, although this would be their last trophy for a long time to come.
After the First World War and in 1922, United were relegated and played very mediocre soccer for the next few years. In fact in 1934 they were almost relegated to the Third Division – an excruciatingly painful experience for the United supporters! In 1936, however, they finished first in the Second Division, were promoted to the First Division only to come right back down the following year!
In 1941, Old Trafford was bombed as part of the Second World War and it sustained heavy damage. In 1945, United hired Matt Busby as their manager. Busby immediately made several changes that had an instant impact, winning the FA Cup in 1948. The following few years were rather unfruitful for Manchester United, but they eventually won the First Division Championship in 1956.
Tragically, on returning from a great victory against Red Star Belgrade, the United plane crashed in Munich, Germany on February 6, 1958, killing 22 people, including 8 Manchester United players. Understandably, the next few years became transitional for the great club of Manchester. Matt Busby once again managed to rebuild the team and was rewarded with FA Cup victory in 1963.
In 1963, the first notable player acquisition was made… his name being George Best, a speedy winger and prolific goal scorer. In 1965, the now legendary trio of George Best, Dennis Law, and Bobby Charlton, helped United win the League Championship. The next few years were to be glorious in Manchester United history; 1967 not only saw the FA Cup, but also the European Cup land at Old Trafford.
Sir Matt Busby’s retirement in the 1970s left the club in turmoil, and they were relegated to the Second Division in 1974, but promptly returned to top flight in 1975, and then winning the FA Cup in 1977.
Ron Atkinson took over as manager in 1981 and he in turn brought in new players, most notably Bryan Robson and Ray Wilkins.
The FA Cup once again returned to Old Trafford in 1983 and 1985. What United needed though was to win the League Championship which had evaded them for many years now.
In 1986, Alex Ferguson was appointed the new United manager. Their first trophy won under the new manager was the FA Cup in 1990, and then the European Cup in 1991. In 1993, after Eric Cantona and Peter Schmeichel’s arrival at Old Trafford, United finally won the League Championship! That opened the door to a swarm of trophies that followed: -
- 1994: League Championship and FA Cup.
- 1996: FA Cup.
- 1997: League Championship.
- 1999: League Championship, FA Cup, and UEFA Cup. Also Inter-Continental Cup.
- 2000: League Championship.
- 2001: League Championship.
- 2003: League Championship.
- 2004: FA Cup.
This superb run of winning trophies over recent years also brought in some world-class players to Old Trafford including: -
- David Beckham
- Paul Scholes
- Ryan Giggs
- Eric Cantona
- Roy Keane
- Ruud Van Nistelrooy
- Wayne Rooney
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Ji-Sung Park
- Rio Ferdinand
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