Old Trafford, Manchester, also known, as the theatre of dreams, is the home of one of the most glamorous teams in World
football;
Manchester United (MU). MU was formed in the year 1878 under a different name Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway). When financial problems plagued Newton Heath in the early 1900s, Harry Stafford, a local brewery owner, saved the club that was destined to extinction otherwise.
Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were the names suggested and later rejected until Manchester United was born in April/May 1902. MU won its first ever league championship in the 1907-08 season.
The words Old Trafford entered
football folklore for the first time during the 1909/10 season. The land on which the stadium was built was bought by the Manchester Brewery Company (John Henry Davies) and leased to the club. Davies himself paid for the building work.
Old Trafford was even bombed once on March 11, 1941 during a German air raid, the attack destroyed the main stand, the dressing room and the offices. It was devastating, but within a few
years, there would be optimism again around the famous old ground. It came with a man named Matt Busby, who would prove to be the most important figure in the history of MU. Busby served in the Ninth Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment where his leadership qualities shone through. These qualities did not go unnoticed by United and Busby joined the Reds in 1945, initially on a five-year contract. Little did he know he would still be managing the club 25 years later!
Busby's mix of young local lads and established players won their first trophy in 1948, when they won the FA Cup. It was 39 years to the day that United had previously won the Cup, in 1909. The thrill of the chase for honours brought the fans flooding back.
On February 6 1958, a chartered flight carrying the United team crashed. In this unfortunate accident, seven players of the team lost their lives along with 15 other people. Duncan Edwards became the eighth player to die of his injuries, fifteen days later in a German hospital. English football entered a long period of mourning, and it seemed inconceivable that United could ever recover from such an appalling disaster! Among the Munich survivors Bobby Charlton, who came through the club's youth ranks enjoyed a great career at Old Trafford.
The 1980s saw United suffer ups and downs until in 1986, when Sir Alex Ferguson joined Manchester United. He later turned to be as influential as Sir Matt Busby and is therefore still present at the club after 19 glorious years at the helm.
In the early 90s Mark Hughes captained the side to the European Cup winners Cup title. In December 1992 Leeds, allowed one of their best players 'Eric Cantona' to leave for Old Trafford. Eric help United win the title after 26 long years! In 1993/94, the Reds won their league and FA Cup Double, With Cantona sporting the number seven shirt that had been Bryan Robson's property for so long. The number one, meanwhile, was undoubtedly Peter Schmeichel, arguably the best goalkeeper ever seen at Old Trafford. Cantona and Steve Bruce had, throughout the mid 90s, been an inspiration to the talented young players in the team, including David Beckham (arguably the most prominent figure in football today) and Gary Neville. Perhaps the greatest season in United's history was the 1999/00 season when the team won the treble by winning the League, FA Cup, and the Champions league. Their manager Alex Ferguson was subsequently knighted as his fans around the globe basked in the glory. The Treble became a quadruple later in the year when United beat Palmeiras of Brazil in World Club Championship. Officially, at the end of the millennium, the biggest football club in the world had also become the best and the richest in the world! ManU started the new millennium in a typical pioneering fashion. They entered a brand new competition - the FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil - buhe expense of their participation in the FA Cup, of which they were the holders.