MANCHESTER UNITED SOCCER REPLICAS |
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MANCHESTER UNITED HOME JERSEY |
MANCHESTER UNITED AWAY JERSEY |
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United F.C. (often abbreviated to Man United or just Man U,
pronounced man-yoo) is an English football club based at Old
Trafford, Greater Manchester. Formed as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in 1878, as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath, becoming Manchester United on 28 April 1902. Traditionally one of the larger and most-supported clubs in England, Manchester United, under manager Sir Alex Ferguson achieved a degree of dominance in domestic competitions in the 1990s unseen since the great Liverpool F.C. sides of the mid 1970s and early 1980s. This culminated in 1999, with the club winning an unprecedented treble of the English Premier League, FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. In 2004, Manchester United qualified for the group stage of the Champions League for the ninth successive year, breaking a record held by Norway's Rosenborg. Manchester United have been largely unable to transfer their domestic dominance to European competition; in fact qualifying for the European Cup final on only two occasions in their history. Their last success in this competition was in 1999, when they came from behind in the last minutes of the UEFA Champions League final to beat Bayern Munich 2-1. Although their dominance in English football is considered by some to be over, Manchester United is still the most financially successful club in England. Manchester United began life in 1878 as Newton Heath, formed by workers of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. They nearly went bankrupt in 1902 and were rescued and renamed as Manchester United. The earliest known film of Manchester United is the 2-0 victory at Burnley on 6 December 1902, filmed by Mitchell and Kenyon. United have had three successful eras, under Ernest Magnall in the 1900s, in the 50s and 60s under Sir Matt Busby, and in the 90s to present under Sir Alex Ferguson. They have won the FA Cup 11 times, the most of any team, and 15 league championships. They have also won the European Cup (now Champions League) twice. These trophies make them the second-most succesful club ever in England, behind Liverpool F.C. who have a record 18 league titles, 4 European Cups and 6 FA Cups. The 1958 Manchester United team was nicknamed the "Busby Babes". On February 6, they were flying home from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade when the plane crashed on takeoff in a snow storm in Munich, Germany (see Munich air disaster). Eight team members were killed, and 2 players suffered career-ending injuries. Amongst the dead was Duncan Edwards, a 21-year-old who many believe was on his way to establishing himself as one of England's greatest players ever. A survivor, Bobby Charlton would help England to win the Football World Cup in 1966. A little known fact about Manchester United is that they are not actually from the city of Manchester. In fact, the club ply their trade in Trafford, a separate metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester. |
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