The story of Manchester United FC

HARRISON, NJ – JULY 27: Manchester United celebrate with the trophy after their 4-0 victory over the MLS All-Stars during the MLS All-Star Game at Red Bull Arena on July 27, 2011 in Harrison, New Jersey.

The name Newton Heath L&YR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) FC may sound oddly unfamiliar to many people, but the world’s most supported football club – Manchester United began its life by that name. The club, born in the year 1878, was launched by a group of Victorian industrialists who decided that their workers needed some healthy exercise. Little did they know that after a few generations, the club would become one of the most popular clubs in the world with over 300 million fans spread across the globe.

After the first ever trophy – The Manchester Cup, which MUFC won in the year 1886 by beating Manchester City FC 2-1, the club has now won 19 top flight English Football League known as the English Premier League and 3 European titles, known as the UEFA Champions League.

The other club achievements include 11 FA Cups, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, Club World Cup, Inter Continental Cup and European Super Cup. MUFC won the prestigious UEFA Champions League in the years 1968, 1999 and 2008. A unique treble was achieved in the year 1999 when the club won the FA Cup, Premier League and The UEFA Champions League.

However, the early years of MUFC were not the ones we would like to remember, as they were not admitted to the Football League until the season of 1892-93. They competed in the FA Cup on four occasions between 1886 and 1892. Their very first entry into the FA Cup resulted in a first round exit in the hands of Fleetwood Town. The match ended 2-2 after 90 minutes and the referee asked the two clubs to play a period of extra-time in the hope of settling the tie. MUFC refused and the tie was consequently awarded to their opponents.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MAY 30: Rio Ferdinand (C) of Manchester United celebrates with the trophy during the Manchester United Premier League Winners Parade at Old Trafford on May 30, 2011 in Manchester, United Kingdom.

The club nearly went bankrupt at the start of the twentieth century, yet within a few years Manchester United were champions and in 1910, moved into the finest club stadium in the country – Old Trafford also popularly known as ‘The Theatre of Dreams’.

After triumph came relegation and disappointment, until Sir Alex Ferguson took charge and, under him, United rose again. With the start of the Premier League era, the Reds would dominate, thanks to stars like Cantona, Giggs, Scholes, Ronaldo and Rooney winning more premier league titles than all the others put together.After a period of decline, a young manager called Matt Busby took over the club, with its bomb-damaged stadium. He began to focus on developing young talent, but so many of the Busby Babes would lose their lives in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958. Somehow Busby found the will to do it all again and eventually built a team around the combination of Best, Law and Charlton and finally won the European Cup in 1968.

For me, Manchester United FC is the best football club on this planet, keeping in mind its rich history and the great comeback spirit. I don’t think any other club would have been able to reach the great heights that Manchester United have reached after losing one of its first teams to a tragic airplane crash and recovering from the verge of bankruptcy.

#MUFCforLife