Manchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Manchester, England. They currently feature in the English Premier League and are one of the two biggest clubs in the world and are arguably the most supported club in the world.
Manchester United are said to have over 330 million supporters across the world and are the second most successful English clubs of all times. At a value of 1,333 million euros, they are one of the two richest clubs in the world and were a founding member of the now defunct G-14 group and its successor, the European Club Association.
Manchester United were formed as Newton Heath L&YR FC in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. They entered the Football League in 1888 and one year later were renamed as Newton Heath FC.
On April 26,1902 the club was reformed as Manchester United and won their first ever FA Cup trophy in 1908-1909. They were successful until the start of World War I but revived under Matt Busby from the 1940s.
Matt Busby was appointed as the manager of Man United in 1945 and that was the beginning of the club’s first period of success. Under Busby, Man United won the old first division title in 1951-1952,1955-1956,1956-1957, 1964-1965 and 1966-1967. But during these glory years, there was the Munich Air Disaster of February 6,1958 in which Man United players Geoff Bent, Duncan Edwards and Liam “Billy” Whelan were killed.
In 1968, Man United won their European Cup in 1968 by beating Benfica 4-1 in the final, becoming the first English club to win the top tier European club competition. After Busby’s resignation in 1969, the club sank into a some sort of a decline. Then came a certain Sir Alex Ferguson in 1986 and the club recovered.
Man United were one of the founders of the English Premier League in 1992 and won the inaugural Premier League in 1992-1993. Man United have been dominating the Premiership since then and have become the most recognizable football club from England.
In 1999 Man United did a historic treble when they won the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup in the 1998-1999 season, becoming the first English club to do so. Manchester United again won the Champions League in 2008.
In May 2005, American business tycoon Malcolm Glazer tookover the club but several fans have been frustrated by this takeover.
Manchester United play their home matches at Old Trafford which has a capacity of 76,212. The stadium is also known as the “Theatre of Dreams” and hosted the UEFA Champions League final between Juventus and AC Milan in 2003.
Man United bear the nickname the Red Devils.
Manchester United foster massive rivalry with Manchester City, Liverpool and Leeds United.
Major honors of Manchester United include:
* 17 Premier League/First Division titles
* 11 FA Cups
* 2 League Cups
* 3 Champions League (European Cup) titles
* 1 UEFA Cup
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