Halting the Manchester United fall

“Nothing’s ever built to last.” These words from popular rock band Green Day’s hit song ’21 Guns’ perfectly sums up Manchester United‘s 2012-13 season. Hailed as one of the greatest ever United sides, much was expected of the current crop of players wearing red.

On the back of the heartbreak on the last day of the previous season, Sir Alex Ferguson hired the services of Robin van Persie from Arsenal and Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund, to avoid another potential goal-difference title loss. The season got off to a promising start with van Persie introducing himself in spectacular fashion to the Old Trafford crowd, netting in his first home game against Fulham. The flying Dutchman’s blistering form continued as he netted his first United hat-trick in that nerve-wracking comeback against Southampton. United marched into a commanding position at the top of the league with van Persie-influenced wins over Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and reigning champions Manchester City.

Robin van Persie of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Barclays Premier League against Everton at Old Trafford on February 10, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Getty Images)

Meanwhile in Europe, United dominated in the group stages of the Champions League. The Capital One Cup saw United ease into the fifth round after narrow wins against Newcastle United and West Ham United. The fifth-round clash against Chelsea was a high-stakes match on the back of their controversial Premier League clash 72 hours earlier. The second encounter was, in contrast, a much cleaner game of football. Sir Alex made 10 changes to the side that controversially beat Chelsea on the weekend. Chelsea however fielded a strong side with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Victor Moses and Juan Mata later joined by Eden Hazard and Oscar. A 3-3 score line at the end of the 90 minutes saw the match progress into extra-time. Chelsea went on to prevail 5-4 on the night as a furious Sir Alex blamed the loss on an under-performing Luis Nani.

When the UEFA Champions League round of 16 fixtures were announced, the countdown to the nights of February 13, 2013 and March 5, 2013 began as they would mark the first time Cristiano Ronaldo would face his former club – Manchester United – after leaving their ranks back in 2009. The first leg of the tie was an emotional and immense event; a wonderful match of pure football which couldn’t have been scripted better. Sir Alex has always been an unorthodox manager; when the team-sheets were released, his unorthodox and shrewd nature was once again glorified with the inclusion of Danny Welbeck and an under-performing Shinji Kagawa. Impeccable team selection and tactics saw the Scot’s side walk out of the Bernabeu with their heads held high, clutching an all-important away goal.

Prior to the second leg, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho proclaimed, “The world will stop to watch this tie.” Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford and Ryan Giggs’ 1000th appearance for United were to be the highlights of the night. The stage was set wonderfully with the score line in the balance at a precarious 1-1. The first shock of the night was the United starting line-up: Wayne Rooney had been left out and Nani started instead. Within the first 5 minutes, however, Sir Alex’s team strange team selection was completely justified with 39-year-old Ryan Giggs once again rolling back the years and making short work of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The second half commenced with United taking the lead on the back of a Sergio Ramos own-goal. It was destined to be another one of those memorable European nights for Sir Alex and his team. Alas, referee Cunneyt Cakir had other ideas. A moment of madness saw the Turkish referee send Nani off.

Nani of Manchester United is sent-off during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second leg match against Real Madrid at Old Trafford on March 5, 2013 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Getty Images)

In spite of the scandalous decision, the game went on and Luka Modric took advantage of the shell-shocked United players to curl a shot past David de Gea to level the tie. A few minutes later, United’s prodigal son Cristiano Ronaldo put the ball into the net to give Madrid an undeserved lead. As the 93rd minute ended, Jose Mourinho walked toward Sir Alex, gave the Scot an ‘embarrassed’ hug and walked off into the darkness of the tunnel. Cakir blew the final whistle to a chorus of jeers ringing around the Theatre of Dreams. United’s Treble dreams had ended.

Sir Alex and the United team consoled themselves by working even harder in the domestic circuit, thereby opening up a 15-point gap to their cross-town rivals. Taking solace in the fact that the Domestic Double was still on the cards, United ground out hard-fought victories in an effort to put the league title beyond doubt. The FA Cup quarter-final saw United take on Chelsea once again. Goals from Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney within the first 11 minutes displayed United’s determination and domination. However, Chelsea organised themselves and fought back valiantly to ensure a replay at Stamford Bridge.

“We’re lucky to be in the cup. We just ran out of legs and Chelsea were far the better team in the second half. But I can’t be critical of my side because the running they had to do on Tuesday night, against a really top side in Real Madrid, had its bearing on today’s result, no doubt about that! The two full backs, Rafael and Patrice, are knackered and the two central midfielders tired badly. We kept giving the ball away and it made it a long day for us, going from one penalty box and back to our own. The replay is not a problem for us. We’ve got plenty of time for it as we have no European games.”

- Sir Alex, after the 2-2 draw against Chelsea.

Unfortunately, the replay turned out to be another spanner in the works of Manchester United. A sumptuous ball from Juan Mata led to an acrobatic finish from Demba Ba in the 48th minute that ended United’s hopes of a Double.

Ramires of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the FA Cup Sixth Round match against Manchester United at Old Trafford on March 10, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Getty Images)

Like a phoenix, Manchester United has a habit of rising from the ashes. As has been seen throughout the club’s history, United have always played their way out of sticky situations and tight corners with utmost ease. After British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on that fateful day of 6 February, 1958, many speculated about United’s future, expecting the club to fold and fade away into the pages of history. Sir Matt Busby returned the next season to rebuild the United team and a second generation of the ‘Busby Babes’. 92, 225 people at the Wembley Stadium looked on as the team that was once destined to win the Cup a decade shy of the disaster, redeemed their pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. As United beat Benfica 4-1, the dream that had been shattered, came alive once more. The tragedy of 1958 led to the glory of 1968.

”What makes Manchester United strong is not history, not trophies, not our squad. But, our passion and loyalty.” – Edwin van der Sar, former United goalkeeper.

One of the worst Champions League nights for Sir Alex was the semi-final against Dortmund in 1997. The defeat at the hands of the German giants was what led the charismatic Eric Cantona to consider retirement. United missed a large number of decent chances after going behind early in the second leg, and Dortmund progressed to the final, where they tamed Juventus to win the trophy. Media speculation once again took over, stating that Sir Alex had missed his opportunity to go for glory. As United looked to Bobby Charlton for inspiration in 1968, the Red Devils found a new leader in the form of Roy Keane who led them to the unprecedented Treble of the 1998-99 season. ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ followed in the footsteps of the ‘Busby Babes’ as United scaled new heights of success in response to that terrible night in 1997.

1999: Manchester United captain Roy Keane wheels away after scoring in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg match against Juventus at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin, Italy. United won 3-2 on the night to go through 4-3 on aggregate. (Getty Images)

Setbacks and tragedies are abundant throughout United’s history, but the responses to these inconveniences are what makes United a force to reckon with on the world stage. As always, the onus is upon the man who has pulled United through so many times in his vast career – Sir Alex Ferguson, to retaliate. He will be the man to watch out for in the next couple of seasons as United return stronger than ever to Europe and go all the way on the grandest stage in club football. It is said that a wounded animal is a dangerous animal, which is the case with the current United side. The squad, filled with the perfect mix of young talent and experienced wisdom, will bring abundant glory to Old Trafford and Sir Alex. United must not rue missed chances and must concentrate on bringing the league title home.

The arrival of Robin van Persie has certainly eased the burden on Wayne Rooney. Developing youngsters like Tom Cleverley, Rafael da Silva, Nick Powell and the arriving Wilfried Zaha will add some much-needed depth to the squad. On the wings, Sir Alex will have to find a way to battle injury concerns and reduced productivity. Shinji Kagawa, once he settles into the side, will develop into a potential game-changer for United. Michael Carrick, of course, has had a gem of a season and will be a vital part of United in the years to come.

Manchester United will indeed, rise again.