Legendary Managers Part #2 - The Phoenix that rose from its ashes

Manchester United is a club that is steeped in history. They have shaped English as well as European football like no other club (except possibly Liverpool). They have had the privilege of being coached by some of the greatest names in managerial folklore, and have included within their ranks the finest players football has ever witnessed. Names like George Best, Denis Law, Sir Bobby Charlton, the list goes on….

But this synonymy with eliteness did not arrive all of a sudden. Manchester United’s reputation was not built by its founding fathers, but strangely enough, by a player who had spent his playing career in rival clubs Manchester City and Liverpool. He would go on to establish the first generation of superstars of the English game. Meet Sir Matt Busby.

Pre-Managerial Career

Matt Busby was a fairly accomplished player as well. He made his debut for Manchester City at the age of 18. He went on to make 204 appearances for them in the span of eight years, with a solitary FA Cup victory in 1934. He then moved on to Liverpool, where his reputation had already reached a peak. Considered by many to be one of the best players for England at that time, the Reds had managed a successful coup by signing him. Although he could not win any trophies during his time at Anfield, he stamped his credentials as one of the finest right-halfs (a wing-half plays as a winger but with greater emphasis on defence, usually positioned behind the half-line) of the game. He forged a great partnership with soon-to-be Anfield legend Bob Paisley, which led to a lifelong friendship between the two of the greatest managers in English football history.

His international career was unremarkable, with Busby making just two appearances for Scotland.

Managerial Career

Trophies :

Manchester United : Championship 1952, 1956-57, 1965, 1967

FA Cup 1948, 1963

European Cup 1968

Manchester United were in a very bad situation when he took over the managerial reins in 1945. The club was bankrupt, with no viable source of funds, and a home stadium that had been bombed to pieces during the Second World War due to Nazi planes flying high over British territory. Someone was needed to bring trophies home. The board chose Matt Busby, who had rejected an offer from Liverpool in order to resurrect the flagging fortunes of the Red Devils.

In those days, the main job of the manager was to call the players to the training pitch for warm-ups, and act as a link between the players and the Boards, in case of any complaints or grievances. Also, he was the person who represented the club at press conferences and so on. The main duties of a manger, namely team selection, tactics, and transfers (whom to be bought or sold) were the exclusive privileges of the club’s Board. Thus, in those times, the manager was not as important a part of a club as much as he is today. Matt Busby (he hadn’t been knighted yet) revolutionized the position, by demanding in his contract that he be directly involved in training, pick the team on matchdays and even choose the players to be bought and sold without interference from the club directors, who, he believed, did not know the game as well as he did. Such a level of control over the team was unprecedented in the English game, but the United chairman was in no position to argue, desperately wanting Busby to steer the club to new heights. And he did so with aplomb.

In one season, he led United from being relegation battlers to runners-up in the Championship, behind powerhouses Liverpool. From 1947 to 1951, they achieved four runners-up positions, a noteworthy feat considering that Wolverhampton, Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur, along with eternal rivals Liverpool, had slowly risen to prominence, providing intense competition to United. But Busby was not fazed. His single-minded approach towards training and results eventually reaped dividends in 1948, when they won the FA Cup, with ageing stars such as Stan Pearson and Jack Rowley.

Busby felt the need to replace his old squad with new vibrant faces, and created an extensive scouting system, whose main job was searching for promising young talent who could step up to the mark and deliver. These scouted talents were amalgamated with the club’s youth products in creating the ‘Busby Babes’, in reference to the low age of the squad.

The Busby Babes- one of the greatest footballing generations ever

The Babes were noted for playing fast-paced attractive football, and they had the requisite players to achieve their aim of English domination. This team of Matt Busby boasted some of the most legendary names in English football. Heard of Bobby Charlton? He was one of the key members of this all-conquering side, which went on to win consecutive Championships in 1956 and 1957. Others included Eddie Colman, Billy Whelan, David Pegg, and saving the best for the last, Duncan Edwards, who was considered to be the most naturally gifted player of his era. Only 16 at the time of signing for the Manchester United first-team, the sprightly defensive midfielder, who also paid homage to the philosophy of Total Football by operating as a striker and on occasion, a winger, made history when he debuted for the England senior team at the age of 18, a record which stood for more than 50 years, until it was broken by Michael Owen.

“Physically, he was enormous. He was strong and had a fantastic football brain. His ability was complete — right foot, left foot, long passing, short passing. He did everything instinctively.” – Sir Bobby Charlton

On 6 February 1958, the Busby Babes, along with staff, were returning from Belgrade, having scraped out a 3-3 draw against Red Star Belgrade, thus progressing to the semi-finals of the 1958 European Cup. But tragedy occured. One of the worst sporting accidents in history, and certainly the most shocking and lamentable accidents occured at the Munich air field, when the plane carrying the team crashed, after a failed take-off. Seven players (Colman, Pegg among them) perished on the scene. The mercurial Duncan Edwards died from complications a week later. Jackie Blanchflower and John Berry sustained serious injuries, so serious that they could never play football again. It was a mortifying incident, which remained imprinted in the minds of the footballing fraternity for many years to come.

Even Matt Busby was presumed dead at first. But later he was admitted in critical care for nine months,and he heroically staved off his injuries in order to return to the helm at United. He blamed himself for the tragedy that occurred, as he had gone against the England FA’s wishes by pressing for Manchester United’s participation in the European Cup. But on the insistence of his wife and several other well-wishers, he resumed active management of the club, and led it into another chapter of its glorious history.

Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes were among the few players who had survived the Munich air crash, and Busby built the new-look team around them. Busby also gave the green light for several transfers from other clubs. Denis Law (who also began his career at Manchester City) was among the high-profile names who arrived for a then world-record £115,000. A young Irish prodigy by the name of George Best was brought to the club for a trial, and eventually was signed up by the impressed selection committee. The rest, as they say, is history.

Inspired by the souls who died in the air crash, United went on to soar to new heights. Busby’s side beat Leicester City in the 1963 FA Cup final to begin their revival under the Scotsman. They then swept past the other 21 clubs as they won the Championship in 1965 and 1967. But their greatest moment under Busby came during the 1967-68 season.

Despite having an excellent domestic campaign, they fell short of Manchester City by a single point, relinquishing their grip on the trophy to their rivals. But all that was covered up as they went on to claim their first European Cup (today’s Champions League). This, being the 10th anniversary of the Munich air crash, made it even more special. They skipped past Gornik Zarbrze in the quarters before meeting up with European giants Real Madrid in the semis. There was only one goal scored in the first leg at Old Trafford as Best converted Aston’s low cross in the 37 minute to shoot the ball into the net. A tense match was expected in the second game, at the hostile Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid, having the vocal support of their home crowd, gave it all. But like the present-day England, national team, they fielded a 4-4-2 with two banks of four pegged way behind the dee. Thus Madrid found it difficult to penetrate the barrier(s). But they leveled the aggregate score 1-1 when an unmarked Pirri headed home from a free-kick. Having breached the defence finally, the confident Madristas dominated the game for large parts of the game, and made it 2-1 when veteran winger Francisco Gento lashed superbly home.

The game took a dramatic twist nearing half-time, when Real Madrid playmaker Ignacio Zoco inadvertently tapped the ball into his own net. 3-1 on aggregate. But right on half-time, Amancio Amaro, the team’s talisman, restored Madrid’s one-goal advantage. 3-2. Real Madrid looking favourites to progress via the recently-established away goals rule.

But the never-say-die attitude instilled in them by Sir Busby manifested itself in the second half, when two goals from George Best and Bill Foulkes swinged the tie in favour of the Red Devils. Busby’s side were forced to undergo a nervous 10 minutes as Real desperately tried to score that all-important fourth goal. But United held on grimly, fending off attacks by the dozen.

As the final whistle blew, Manchester cheered. They had cleared a big, big obstacle by beating one of the most dominant European superpowers. Manchester United had beaten Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate, and were through to their first European Cup final. They were up against a might Benfica side led by the legendary Eusebio.

Unlike the semi-finals, United did not defend much. Instead, they went on the front foot right from the whistle. It was a spectacular attacking force on show, and eventually ran out 4-1 victors. Eusebio’s side were finally humbled by a team who had been attempting to revive itself after that tragedy 10 years ago, and did so in awesome fashion.

Matt Busby was knighted in 1968 for his side’s European cup triumph, and was made a Knight Commander of St Gregory by the Pope in 1972. His death in 1994 was a major blow to the footballing world, and to Manchester United in general. His funeral saw many people line the streets of Manchester as his cortege drove from Chorlton to Old Trafford and finally to Manchester’s Southern Cemetery. Tributes to Sir Matt came from around the world and supporters of many different clubs sent thousands of shirts, wreaths, pictures and scarves to create a multi-coloured memorial. A bronze statue of Sir Matt was unveiled on 27 April 1996 at the Scoreboard End of Old Trafford as Manchester United remembered the man who epitomised the club.

Let’s all pay our tribute to this great man, who rose from the depths of despair, to the pinnacle of European glory. May his soul rest in peace, and may we be the more enlightened for having read about the illustrious career of this legend.