Sunday

My Favorite Player : Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro

Posted by Farhan Ghifary 07:22, under | No comments





Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo in Real Madrid 2.jpg
Personal information
Full name Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Date of birth 5 February 1985 (1985-02-05) (age 26)
Place of birth Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position Forward / Winger
Club information
Current club Real Madrid
Number 7
Youth career
1993–1995 Andorinha
1995–1997 Nacional
1997–2001 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2003 Sporting CP 25 (3)
2003–2009 Manchester United 196 (84)
2009– Real Madrid 51 (50)
National team
2001–2002 Portugal U17 9 (6)
2003 Portugal U20 5 (1)
2002–2003 Portugal U21 6 (3)
2004 Portugal U23 3 (1)
2003– Portugal 80 (26)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:11, 6 February 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:38, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, born 5 February 1985),[2] commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo is the most expensive player in football history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest-paid football player in the world.[3] Ronaldo holds the distinction of being the first player to win the FIFA Puskás Award, an honour handed by FIFA to the best goal of the year. He scored that goal from 40 yards out, against Porto in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final match, while still playing for Manchester United.[4]

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup, and reached the Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.

In 2008, Ronaldo won the Champions League with United, and was named player of the tournament. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year[5] and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years.[6] Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United."[7]


Early life

Ronaldo was born on 5 February 1985 in Santo António, a neighbourhood of Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener.[8] His second given name, "Ronaldo", was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father's favourite actor.[9] He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia.[2]

Club career

Early career

At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club Nacional, and, after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.[10]

Sporting CP

Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Academia Sporting, the club's football academy, in Alcochete. He became the only player ever to play for Sporting's under-16, under-17, under-18, B-team, and the first team, all within one season.[11] He scored two goals in his league debut on 7 October 2002, which Sporting CP won 3–0 against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the 2002 European Under-17 Championship.[12]
When he was 15, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldo's mother gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later.[13]
He was first spotted by then-Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier at the age of 16, but Liverpool declined to take him on because they decided he was too young and needed some time to develop his skills.[14] However, he came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldo's performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him.[15]

Manchester United

2003–2006


Ronaldo with Manchester United in April 2006
Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for €15 million[16] (£12.24 million) after the 2002–03 season.[17] He requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said 'No, you're going to have No. 7,' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour."[18]
Ronaldo made his team debut as a 60th-minute substitute in a 4–0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers. He scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 1 November 2003. Ronaldo ended his first season in English football by scoring the opening goal in United's 3-0 FA Cup final victory over Millwall.[19]
He scored United's 1000th Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough.[20] He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to his first FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award in 2005.
Ronaldo won his second trophy in English football in the 2005–06 season, scoring the third goal in Manchester United's 4-0 Football League Cup final victory over Wigan Athletic.[21]

2006–2009


Ronaldo with United during their 2006–2007 season.
The 2006-2007 season proved to be the breakout year for Ronaldo, as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and picked up his first league title with Manchester United.
In November and December 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996.[22][23] He scored his 50th Manchester United goal against city rivals Manchester City on 5 May 2007 as United claimed their first Premier League title in four years, and he was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year.
Despite rumours circulating in March 2007 that Real Madrid were willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo,[24] he signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week (£31 million total) extension with United on 13 April, making him the highest-paid player in team history.[25][26]
Ronaldo amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards, joining Andy Gray (in 1977) as the only players to receive this honour.[27] In April, he completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Year. Ronaldo was also one of eight Manchester United players named in the 2006–07 PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

Ronaldo (centre) and Rio Ferdinand celebrating a goal
Ronaldo's 2007–08 season began with a red card for a headbutt on Portsmouth player Richard Hughes during United's second match of the season, for which he was punished with a three-match ban.[28] Ronaldo said he had "learned a lot" from the experience and would not let players "provoke" him in the future.[29] After scoring the only goal in a Champions League away match against Sporting, Ronaldo also scored the injury-time winner in the return fixture as Manchester United topped their Champions League group.[30]
He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d'Or,[31] and was third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.[32]
Ronaldo scored his first hat trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of the Premier League table.[33] He scored his twenty-third league goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Reading, equalling his entire total for the 2006–07 season.[34] During a 1–1 Champions League first knockout round draw against Lyon on 20 February, an unidentified Lyon supporter continuously aimed a green laser at Ronaldo and United teammate Nani, prompting an investigation by UEFA.[35] One month later, Lyon were fined CHF5,000 (£2,427) for the incident.[36]
On 19 March 2008, Ronaldo captained United for the first time in his career in a home win over Bolton, scoring both goals in the 2–0 victory.[37] The second of the goals was his 33rd of the campaign, which set a new club single-season scoring record by a midfielder and thus topped George Best's forty-year-old total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season.[38] Ronaldo scored another brace in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa on 29 March, which at the time gave him 35 goals in 37 domestic and European matches as both a starter and substitute. Ronaldo's scoring streak was rewarded with his becoming the first winger to win the 2007–08 European Golden Shoe, finishing eight points ahead of Mallorca's Dani Güiza.[39]
In the 2007–08 Champions League final on 21 May against league rivals Chelsea, Ronaldo scored the opening goal after 26 minutes, which was negated by a Chelsea equaliser in the 45th minute as the match ended 1–1 after extra time. His misfire in the penalty shoot-out put Chelsea in position to win the trophy, but John Terry shot wide right after slipping on the pitch surface, and Manchester United emerged victorious 6–5 on penalties. Ronaldo was named the UEFA Fans' Man of the Match,[40] and wrapped up the campaign with a career-high 42 goals in all competitions, falling four short of Denis Law's team-record mark of 46 in the 1963–64 season.

Ronaldo and Manchester United against Albert Riera and rivals Liverpool.
On 5 June 2008, Sky Sports reported that Ronaldo had expressed an interest in moving to Real Madrid if they offered him the same amount of money the team had allegedly promised him earlier in the year.[41] Manchester United filed a tampering complaint with FIFA on 9 June over Madrid's alleged pursuit of Ronaldo, but FIFA declined to take any action.[42][43] Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when Ronaldo confirmed that he would stay at United for at least another year.[44]
Ronaldo underwent ankle surgery at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam on 7 July.[45] He returned to action on 17 September in United's UEFA Champions League goalless group-stage draw with Villarreal as a substitute for Park Ji-Sung,[46] and scored his first overall goal of the season in a 3–1 League Cup third round win over Middlesbrough on 24 September.

Ronaldo with Carlos Tévez.
In a 5–0 win over Stoke City on 15 November 2008, Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st goals in all competitions for Manchester United, both from free kicks.[47] The goals also meant that Ronaldo had now scored against each of the other 19 teams in the Premier League at the time.[48] On 2 December, Ronaldo became Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or recipient since George Best in 1968. He finished with 446 points, 165 ahead of runner-up Lionel Messi.[49] He was awarded the Silver Ball after finishing with two goals as United won the Club World Cup on 19 December.[50]
On 8 January 2009, Ronaldo was uninjured in a single-car accident in which he wrote off his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in a tunnel along the A538 near Manchester Airport. A breathalyser test he gave to police officers at the scene was negative, and he attended training later that morning.[51] Four days later, he became the first Premier League player ever to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to being the first Portuguese player to win the award since Luís Figo in 2001.[52]
Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season, and first since the final against Chelsea, in a 2–0 victory over Internazionale that sent United into the quarter-finals.[53] In the second leg against Porto, Ronaldo scored a 40-yard game-winning goal as United advanced to the semi-finals. He later called it the best goal he had ever scored.[54][55] Ronaldo participated in his second consecutive Champions League final, but made little impact in United's 2–0 loss to Barcelona. He finished with 53 appearances in all competitions, which was four higher than the previous year, but scored sixteen fewer goals (26) than his career-best total of 42 from the previous season.
On 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club.[56] It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson.[57] When Ronaldo had eventually completed his transfer to Real, he expressed his gratitude towards Ferguson for helping him develop as a player, saying, "He's been my father in sport, one of the most important factors and most influential in my career."[58]

Real Madrid

2009–10 season


Ronaldo and Real Madrid against Diego Forlán and city rivals Atlético Madrid.
On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million,[59] after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract.[60] Ronaldo's contract is worth €11 million per year[3] and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause.[61] He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July,[62] where he was handed the number 9 jersey.[63] The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo di Stéfano.[64] Ronaldo was welcomed by 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.[65]
Ronaldo made his Madrid debut on 21 July in a 1–0 win over Shamrock Rovers. His first goal came one week later with a penalty in Madrid's 4–2 LDU Quito.[66] On 29 August, Ronaldo capped his La Liga debut with a goal, scoring Real's second from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home win against Deportivo La Coruña.[67] On 15 September, Ronaldo scored two free-kicks in a 5-2 away victory over Zürich, his first Champions League goals for Real.[68] He broke a Madrid club record when he scored in a league match against Villarreal and thus became the first ever player to score in his first four La Liga appearances.[69]
An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Ronaldo was on international duty with Portugal against Hungary,[70] kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused him to miss both of Madrid's Champions League group stage matches against Milan. Ronaldo made his first post-injury start in a 1–0 El Clásico defeat to Barcelona on 29 November. On 6 December, he was sent off for the first time in his Madrid career in Madrid's 4–2 victory against Almería, a match which also saw him miss a penalty. He was carded first for removing his shirt during a goal celebration, then for kicking out at an opponent three minutes later.[71] Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín scored 53 league goals during the course of the season and became Real's highest scoring league duo in their history.[72]

2010–11 season

With the departure of Raúl during the summer of 2010, Ronaldo was handed the number 7 jersey.[73] On 23 October 2010, Ronaldo scored four goals against Racing Santander,[74] the most goals he has ever scored in a single match.[75] This completed a goalscoring run of six consecutive matches (3 La Liga, 1 Champions League, 2 international) in which Ronaldo scored in each match, totalling eleven goals, which is the most Ronaldo has scored in a single month.[76] His final match of the year saw him score a hat-trick on a 8-0 trashing of Levante in the Copa del Rey.[77]
Ronaldo began the 2011 with a very promising outlook, specially since Real Madrid acknowledge him to have broken many goalscoring records, previously settled and held by classic players such as Di Stéfano, Hugo Sánchez or Alday.[78][79] His year took-off by scoring two vital goals on a tight 3-2 victory over Getafe.[80] He then consolidated his massive performance by scoring a hat-trick and assisting Kaká to score his first league goal after his return from injury, on a 4-2 victory over Villareal on January 9. One game away from the middle of the season, Ronaldo held very clear perspectives of breaking Telmo Zarra and Hugo Sánchez's record of 38 League goals in a single season, since he was the league's top scorer with 22 goals, above Lionel Messi.[81][82]

International career


Ronaldo playing against Brazil
Ronaldo earned his first cap for Portugal in a 1–0 victory against Kazakhstan on 20 August 2003.[83] He was called up for Euro 2004,[84] scoring in a 2–1 group stage loss to eventual champions Greece[85] and in a 2–1 semi-final win over the Netherlands.[86] He was named in the team of the tournament despite finishing with only two goals.[87] He also represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[88][89]

2006 World Cup

Ronaldo was the second-highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with seven goals,[87] and scored his first World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick.[90]
During a quarter-final match against England on 1 July 2006, Ronaldo's United teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off for stamping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho. The English media speculated that Ronaldo had influenced referee Horacio Elizondo's decision by aggressively complaining, after which he was seen in replays winking at the Portuguese bench following Rooney's dismissal. After the match, Ronaldo insisted that Rooney was a friend and that he was not pushing for Rooney to be sent off.[91] On 4 July, Elizondo clarified that the red card was due to Rooney's infraction and not the fracas between Rooney and Ronaldo that followed.[92]
The angry reaction from the English press caused Ronaldo to consider leaving United,[93] and he allegedly told Spanish sports daily Marca that he wished to move to Real Madrid.[94] In response to the speculation, Ferguson sent Portuguese assistant manager Carlos Queiroz to speak to Ronaldo in attempt to change his mind, a sentiment that was shared by Rooney.[95][96] Ronaldo stayed, and signed his new five-year extension in April 2007.[97]
Ronaldo was booed during Portugal's semi-final defeat to France,[98] and missed out on the competition's Best Young Player award due to a negative e-mail campaign from England fans.[99] Though the online vote only affected the nomination process, FIFA's Technical Study Group awarded the honour to Germany's Lukas Podolski, citing Ronaldo's behaviour as a factor in the decision.[100]

Post-World Cup

One day after his 22nd birthday, Ronaldo captained Portugal for the first time in a friendly against Brazil on 6 February 2007.[101] This move was in honour of Portuguese Football Federation president Carlos Silva, who had died two days earlier. Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari explained, "Mr. Silva asked me to make [Ronaldo] captain as a gesture... [he] is too young to be captain, but Mr. Silva asked me, and now he is no longer with us."[102]

Euro 2008

Ronaldo scored eight goals in Portugal's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign,[103] behind Poland's Ebi Smolarek, but finished with only one goal in the tournament as Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Germany.[104][105] When Carlos Queiroz was named Portugal's new coach in July 2008,[106] he appointed Ronaldo as team captain.[107]

2010 World Cup

On 15 June 2010, in Portugal's opening 2010 FIFA World Cup match against Côte d'Ivoire, Ronaldo was tackled by right-back Guy Demel, which led to an argument and both being booked. The next day, Portugal contacted FIFA to suggest that Ronaldo's yellow card be rescinded since he was "pulled into" the confrontation after having already moved away from the spot where he was tackled, but the appeal was rejected.[108]
Ronaldo failed to make an impact in the World Cup; after going scoreless in the qualifiers, his only goal came in Portugal's 7–0 group stage thrashing of North Korea on 21 June,[109] which marked his first international goal in sixteen months.[110] Portugal were ultimately eliminated by Spain in the round of sixteen.

Honours

Club

Manchester United
2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
2003–04
2005–06, 2008–09
2007
2007–08
2008

Individual





2004
2004
2004, 2005
2006–07
2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
2003-04, 2006–07, 2007–08
2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
2006–07
2006–07, 2007-08
2006–07, 2007–08
2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
2006–07, 2007–08
  • Barclays Player of the Season: 2
2006–07, 2007–08
November 2006, December 2006, January 2008, March 2008
2007–08
  • Barclays Merit Award: 1
2007–08
2007-08
2007–08
2007–08
2007–08
2007–08
2008
2008
2008
2008
2008
2009














Friday

My Favorite Football Club : Manchester United

Posted by Farhan Ghifary 17:40, under | No comments

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.
In 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United was the first English football club to win the European Cup, ten years after the Munich air disaster that claimed the lives of eight players. The current manager, Alex Ferguson, is the most successful manager in the club's history, having won 26 major honours since he took over in November 1986.[3]
Having won 18 league titles, four League Cups and a record 11 FA Cups,[4] Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football. The club has also won three European Cups and is unique in having won a Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League Treble, in the 1998–99 season.
Manchester United is one of the wealthiest and most widely supported football teams in the world.[5][6][7][8] The club is said to be worth £1.19 billion, making it the most valuable football club in the world.[9] After being floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was purchased by Malcolm Glazer in May 2005 in a deal valuing the club at almost £800 million.[10]

History

Early years (1878–1945)

refer to caption
A chart showing the progress of Manchester United F.C. through the English football league system from joining as Newton Heath in 1892–93 to 2007–08
Manchester United was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath.[11] The team initially played games against other departments and rail companies, but on 20 November 1880, they competed in their first recorded match; wearing the colours of the railway company – green and gold – they were defeated 6–0 by Bolton Wanderers' reserve team.[12] By 1888, the club had become a founding member of The Combination, a regional football league. However, following the league's dissolution after just one season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance, which ran for three seasons before being merged with the Football League. This resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the rail company and dropped the "LYR" from its name.[11] After just two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division.[11]
A black-and-white photograph of a football team lining up before a match. Four players, wearing dark shirts, light shorts and dark socks, are seated. Four more players are standing immediately behind them, and three more are standing on a higher level on the back row. Two men in suits are standing on either side of the players.
The Manchester United team at the start of the 1905–06 season, in which they were runners-up in the Second Division
In January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £210,000 as of 2011[13] – the club was served with a winding-up order.[14] Captain Harry Stafford found four local businessmen, including John Henry Davies (who became club president), each willing to invest £500 in return for a direct interest in running the club and who subsequently changed the name;[15] on 24 April 1902, Manchester United was officially born.[16][17] Under Ernest Mangnall, who assumed managerial duties in 1903, the team finished as Second Division runners-up in 1906 and secured promotion to the First Division, which they won in 1908 – the club's first league title. The following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield[18] and ended with the club's first FA Cup title. Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City.[19]
In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, the club was relegated to the Second Division, where it remained until regaining promotion in 1925. Relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934. Following the death of the club's principal benefactor, J. H. Davies, in October 1927, the club's finances deteriorated to the extent that Manchester United would likely have gone bankrupt had it not been for James W. Gibson, who, in December 1931, invested £2,000 and assumed control of the club.[20] In the 1938–39 season, the last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division.[20]

Busby years (1945–1969)

A black-and-white photograph of several people in suits and overcoats on the steps of an aircraft.
The Busby Babes in Denmark in 1955
In October 1945, the impending resumption of football led to the managerial appointment of Matt Busby, who demanded an unprecedented level of control over team selection, player transfers and training sessions.[21] Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947, 1948 and 1949, and to FA Cup victory in 1948. In 1952, the club won the First Division, its first league title for 41 years.[22] With an average age of 22, the media labelled the back-to-back title winning side of 1956 "the Busby Babes", a testament to Busby's faith in his youth players.[23] In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season.[24] En route to the semi-final, which they lost to Real Madrid, the team recorded a 10–0 victory over Belgian champions Anderlecht, which remains the club's biggest victory on record.[25]
A stone tablet, inscribed with the image of a football pitch and several names. It is surrounded by a stone border in the shape of a football stadium. Above the tablet is a wooden carving of two men holding a large wreath.
A plaque at Old Trafford in honour of the players who died in the Munich air disaster
The following season, on the way home from a European Cup quarter-final victory against Red Star Belgrade, the aircraft carrying the Manchester United players, officials and journalists crashed while attempting to take off after refuelling in Munich, Germany. The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed 23 lives, including those of eight players – Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Billy Whelan – and injured several more.[26][27]
Reserve team manager Jimmy Murphy took over as manager while Busby recovered from his injuries and the club's makeshift side reached the FA Cup final, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers. In recognition of the team's tragedy, UEFA invited the club to compete in the 1958–59 European Cup alongside eventual League champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite approval from the FA, the Football League determined that the club should not enter the competition, since it had not qualified.[28][29] Busby rebuilt the team through the 1960s by signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand, who combined with the next generation of youth players – including George Best – to win the FA Cup in 1963. The following season, they finished second in the league, then won the title in 1965 and 1967. In 1968, Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1 in the final[30] with a team that contained three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best.[31] Matt Busby resigned as manager in 1969 and was replaced by the reserve team coach, former Manchester United player Wilf McGuinness.[32]

1969–1986

A smiling man with dark hair wearing a white, green and blue tracksuit top over a blue shirt. He is holding a washbag under his right arm.
Bryan Robson was the captain of Manchester United for 12 years, longer than any other player.[33]
Following an eighth-place finish in the 1969–70 season and a poor start to the 1970–71 season, Busby was persuaded to temporarily resume managerial duties, and McGuinness returned to his position as reserve team coach. In June 1971, Frank O'Farrell was appointed as manager, but lasted less than 18 months before being replaced by Tommy Docherty in December 1972.[34] Docherty saved Manchester United from relegation that season, only to see them relegated in 1974; by that time the trio of Best, Law, and Charlton had left the club.[30] The team won promotion at the first attempt and reached the FA Cup final in 1976, but were beaten by Southampton. They reached the final again in 1977, beating Liverpool 2–1. Docherty was dismissed shortly afterwards, following the revelation of his affair with the club physiotherapist's wife.[32][35]
Dave Sexton replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977. Despite major signings, including Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Gary Bailey, and Ray Wilkins, the team failed to achieve any significant results; they finished in the top two in 1979–80 and lost to Arsenal in the 1979 FA Cup Final. Sexton was dismissed in 1981, even though the team won the last seven games under his direction.[36] He was replaced by Ron Atkinson, who immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from West Bromwich Albion. Under Atkinson, Manchester United won the FA Cup twice in three years – in 1983 and 1985. In 1985–86, after 13 wins and two draws in its first 15 matches, the club was favourite to win the league, but finished in fourth place. The following season, with the club in danger of relegation by November, Atkinson was dismissed.[37]

Ferguson years (1986–present)

The torso and head of a grey-haired white man. He is wearing spectacles and a black coat.
Alex Ferguson has been manager of Manchester United since November 1986.
Alex Ferguson and his assistant Archie Knox arrived from Aberdeen on the day of Atkinson's dismissal,[38] and guided the club to an 11th-place finish in the league.[39] Despite a second-place finish in 1987–88, the club was back in 11th place the following season.[40] Reportedly on the verge of being dismissed, victory over Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup Final replay (after a 3–3 draw) saved Ferguson's career.[41][42] The following season, Manchester United claimed its first Cup Winners' Cup title and competed in the 1991 UEFA Super Cup, beating European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 in the final at Old Trafford. A second consecutive League Cup final appearance followed in 1992, in which the team beat Nottingham Forest 1–0 at Wembley.[37] In 1993, the club won its first league title since 1967, and a year later, for the first time since 1957, it won a second consecutive title – alongside the FA Cup – to complete the first "Double" in the club's history.[37]
A white football player with short, dark, greying hair. He is wearing a red shirt, white shorts, white socks and white football boots. He is running and has puffed-out cheeks.
Ryan Giggs is the most decorated player in English football history.[43]
Manchester United's 1998–99 season was the most successful in English club football history as they became the first team to win the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League – "The Treble" – in the same season.[44] Losing 1–0 going into injury time in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored late goals to claim a dramatic victory over Bayern Munich, in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks of all time.[45] The club also won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1–0 in Tokyo.[46] Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football.[47]
In 2000, Manchester United competed in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil,[48] and won the league again in the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 seasons. The team finished as runners-up in 2001–02, before regaining the title in 2002–03. They won the 2003–04 FA Cup, beating Millwall 3–0 in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.[49] In the 2005–06 season, Manchester United failed to qualify for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade, but recovered to secure a second-place league finish and victory over Wigan Athletic in the 2006 Football League Cup Final. The club regained the Premier League in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons, and completed the European double by beating Chelsea 6–5 on penalties in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. Ryan Giggs made a record 759th appearance for the club in this game, overtaking previous record holder Bobby Charlton.[50] In December 2008, the club won the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup and followed this with the 2008–09 Football League Cup, and its third successive Premier League title.[51][52] That summer, Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid for a world record £80 million.[53] In 2010, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 at Wembley to retain the League Cup, its first successful defence of a knockout cup competition.[54]

Crest and colours

A football crest. In the centre is a shield with a ship in full sail above a red field with three diagonal black lines. Either side of the shield are two stylised roses, separating two scrolls. The upper scroll is red and reads "Manchester United" in black type, while the lower scroll is white with "Football Club" also written in black.
Manchester United badge in the 1960s
The club crest is derived from the Manchester City Council coat of arms, although all that remains of it on the current crest is the ship in full sail.[55] The devil stems from the club's nickname "The Red Devils"; it was included on club programmes and scarves in the 1960s, and incorporated into the club crest in 1970, although the crest was not included on the chest of the shirt until 1971 (unless the team was playing in a Cup Final).[55]
A photograph of the Newton Heath team, taken in 1892, is believed to show the players wearing a red-and-white quartered jerseys and blue shorts.[56] Between 1894–96, the players wore distinctive green and gold jerseys[56] which were replaced in 1896 by white shirts, which were worn with blue shorts.[56] After its name change in 1902, the club colours were changed to red shirts, white shorts, and black socks, which has become the standard Manchester United home kit.[56] Very few changes were made to the kit until 1922 when the club adopted white shirts bearing a deep red "V" around the neck, similar to the shirt worn in the 1909 FA Cup Final. They would remain part of their home kits until 1927.[56] In 1934, players sported cherry and white hooped shirts, but the following season the red shirt was recalled after the club's lowest ever league placing of 20th in the Second Division.[56] The black socks were changed to white from 1959 to 1965, where they were replaced with red socks up until 1971, when the club reverted to black. The current home kit is a red shirt with a white collar, worn with white shorts and black socks.[57]
The Manchester United away strip has more often than not been a white shirt, black shorts and white socks, but there have been several exceptions. These include the navy blue shirt with silver horizontal pinstripes worn during the 1999–2000 season,[58] and the current away kit which is a white shirt with red and black flashes on the sleeves, with black shorts and white socks.[59] An all-grey away kit worn during the 1995–96 season was dropped after just two games because players claimed to have trouble finding their team-mates against the crowd.[60] In 2001, to celebrate 100 years as "Manchester United", a reversible white/gold away kit was released, although the actual match day shirts were not reversible.[61] The club's third kit is often all-blue, this was most recently the case during the 2008–09 season, to celebrate 40 years since it was worn for the club's first European Cup win in 1968.[62] Exceptions include blue-and-white striped shirts worn during the 1994–96 season, an all black kit worn during the Treble winning season, and white shirts with black-and-red horizontal pinstripes worn between 2003–05.[63] The club's 2008–09 season away kit – a white shirt with blue and red trim, worn with blue shorts and white socks – was used as the club's third kit during the 2009–10 season.[64][65]

Old Trafford
Theatre of Dreams
A stand of a football stadium. The seats are red, and the words "Manchester United" are written in white seats. The roof of the stand is supported by a cantilever structure. On the lip of the roof, it reads "Old Trafford Manchester".
Location Sir Matt Busby Way,
Old Trafford,
Greater Manchester,
England
Broke ground 1909
Opened 19 February 1910
Owner Manchester United
Operator Manchester United
Construction cost £90,000 (1909)
Architect Archibald Leitch (1909)
Capacity 75,957 seated[2]
Tenants
Manchester United (1910–present)
Newton Heath initially played on a field on North Road, close to the railway yard; the original capacity was about 12,000, but club officials deemed the facilities inadequate for a club hoping to join The Football League.[66] Some expansion took place in 1887, and in 1891 Newton Heath used its minimal financial reserves to purchase two grandstands, each able to hold 1,000 spectators.[67] Although attendances were not recorded for many of the earliest matches at North Road, the highest documented attendance was approximately 15,000 for a First Division match against Sunderland on 4 March 1893.[68] A similar attendance was also recorded for a friendly match against Gorton Villa on 5 September 1889.[69]
In June 1893, after the club was evicted from North Road by its owners, Manchester Deans and Canons, who felt it was inappropriate for the club to charge an entry fee to the ground, secretary A. H. Albut procured the use of the Bank Street ground in Clayton.[70] It initially had no stands, by the start of the 1893–94 season, two had been built; one spanning the full length of the pitch on one side and the other behind the goal at the "Bradford end". At the opposite end, the "Clayton end", the ground had been "built up, thousands thus being provided for".[70] Newton Heath's first league match at Bank Street was played against Burnley on 1 September 1893, when 10,000 people saw Alf Farman score a hat-trick, Newton Heath's only goals in a 3–2 win. The remaining stands were completed for the following league game against Nottingham Forest three weeks later.[70] In October 1895, before the visit of Manchester City, the club purchased a 2,000-capacity stand from the Broughton Rangers rugby league club, and put up another stand on the "reserved side" (as distinct from the "popular side"). However, weather restricted the attendance for the Manchester City match to just 12,000.[71]
When the Bank Street ground was temporarily closed by bailiffs in 1902, club captain Harry Stafford raised enough money to pay for the club's next away game at Bristol City and found a temporary ground at Harpurhey for the next reserves game against Padiham.[72] Following financial investment, new club president J.H. Davies paid £500 for the erection of a new 1,000-seat stand at Bank Street.[73] Within four years, the stadium had cover on all four sides, as well as the ability to hold approximately 50,000 spectators, some of whom could watch from the viewing gallery atop the Main Stand.[73]
However, following Manchester United's first league title in 1908 and the FA Cup a year later, it was decided that Bank Street was too restrictive for Davies' ambition;[73] in February 1909, six weeks before the club's first FA Cup title, Old Trafford was named as the home of Manchester United, following the purchase of land for around £60,000. Architect Archibald Leitch was given a budget of £30,000 for construction; original plans called for seating capacity of 100,000, though budget constraints forced a revision to 77,000. The building was constructed by Messrs Brameld and Smith of Manchester. The stadium's record attendance was registered on 25 March 1939, when an FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town drew 76,962 spectators.[74]
Bombing in the Second World War destroyed much of the stadium; the central tunnel in the South Stand was all that remained of that quarter. After the war, the club received compensation from the War Damage Commission in the amount of £22,278. While reconstruction took place, the team played its "home" games at Manchester City's Maine Road ground; Manchester United was charged £5,000 per year, plus a nominal percentage of gate receipts.[75] Later improvements included the addition of roofs, first to the Stretford End and then to the North and East Stands. The roofs were supported by pillars that obstructed many fans' views, and they were eventually replaced with a cantilevered structure. The Stretford End was the last stand to receive a cantilevered roof, completed in time for the 1993–94 season.[32] First used on 25 March 1957 and costing £40,000, four 180-foot (55 m) pylons were erected, each housing 54 individual floodlights. These were dismantled in 1987 and replaced by a lighting system embedded in the roof of each stand, which remains in use today.[76]
The Taylor Report's requirement for an all-seater stadium lowered capacity at Old Trafford to around 44,000 by 1993. In 1995, the North Stand was redeveloped into three tiers, restoring capacity to approximately 55,000. At the end of the 1998–99 season, second tiers were added to the East and West Stands, raising capacity to around 67,000, and between July 2005 and May 2006, 8,000 more seats were added via second tiers in the north-west and north-east quadrants. Part of the new seating was used for the first time on 26 March 2006, when an attendance of 69,070 became a new Premier League record.[77] The record was pushed steadily upwards before reaching its peak on 31 March 2007, when 76,098 spectators saw Manchester United beat Blackburn Rovers 4–1, with just 114 seats (0.15 percent of the total capacity of 76,212) unoccupied.[78] In 2009, reorganisation of the seating resulted in a reduction of capacity by 255 to 75,957.[2][79]

Support

Manchester United is reputed to be the most popular football club in the world, with the highest average home attendance in Europe.[80] The club's worldwide fan base includes more than 200 officially recognised branches of the Manchester United Supporters Club (MUSC), in at least 24 countries.[81] The club takes advantage of this support through its worldwide summer tours. Accountancy firm and sports industry consultants Deloitte estimate that Manchester United has 75 million fans worldwide,[6] while other estimates put this figure closer to 333 million.[7]
Supporters are represented by two independent bodies; the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association (IMUSA), which maintains close links to the club through the MUFC Fans Forum,[82] and the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST). After the Glazer family's takeover in 2005, a group of fans formed a splinter club, F.C. United of Manchester. The West Stand of Old Trafford – the "Stretford End" – is the home end and the traditional source of the club's most vocal support.[83]

Rivalries

Manchester United has major ongoing rivalries with three clubs: Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United.[84][85] The most hotly contested derby fixture is often versus Liverpool, described by Ryan Giggs as "probably the most famous fixture in English football",[86] as both teams have dominated certain periods of English football.[87] The rivalry is considered a manifestation of the cities' competition during industrial times, when they competed for supremacy of the north-west; Manchester was famous for its textile industry, while Liverpool was considered the world's pre-eminent port.[88] This fixture also has a history of hooliganism; at the 1996 FA Cup Final, an unidentified Liverpool fan spat at Eric Cantona and threw a punch at Alex Ferguson as a victorious Manchester United team walked up the steps at Wembley Stadium to collect the trophy from the Royal Box.[89] At an FA Cup match in 2006, an ambulance carrying Alan Smith, who had broken his leg during the match, was attacked by Liverpool fans.[90]
Informally known as the "Roses Rivalry",[91] the rivalry with Leeds United has its origins in the Wars of the Roses fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, Manchester United representing Lancashire and Leeds representing Yorkshire.[92] Independent research by the Football Fans Census showed that in English football Leeds and Manchester United are among the top three clubs which fans of other sides feel passionately against.[93]

Global brand

Manchester United has been described as a global brand; a 2009 report valued the club's trademarks and associated intellectual property at £329 million, and gave the brand a strength rating of AAA (Extremely Strong).[94] In 2010, Forbes magazine ranked Manchester United second only to the New York Yankees in its list of the ten most valuable sports team brands, valuing the Manchester United brand at $285 million (16 percent of the club's $1.835 billion value).[8] The club is currently ranked third in the Deloitte Football Money League (behind Real Madrid and Barcelona).[95]
The core strength of Manchester United's global brand is often attributed to Matt Busby's rebuilding of the team and subsequent success following the Munich air disaster, which drew worldwide acclaim.[83] The "iconic" team included Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles (members of England's World Cup winning team), Denis Law and George Best. The attacking style of play adopted by this team (in contrast to the defensive-minded "catenaccio" approach favoured by the leading Italian teams of the era) "captured the imagination of the English footballing public".[96] Busby's team also became associated with the liberalisation of Western society during the 1960s; George Best, known as the "fifth Beatle" for his iconic haircut, was the first footballer to significantly develop an off-the-field media profile.[96]
As the first English football club to float on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club raised significant capital, with which it further developed its commercial strategy. The club's focus on commercial and sporting success brought significant profits in an industry often characterised by chronic losses.[97] The strength of the Manchester United brand was bolstered by intense off-the-field media attention to individual players, most notably David Beckham (who quickly developed his own global brand). This attention often generates greater interest in on-the-field activities, and hence generates sponsorship opportunities – the value of which is driven by television exposure.[98] During his time with the club, Beckham's popularity across Asia was integral to the club's commercial success in that part of the world.[99]
Because higher league placement results in a greater share of television rights, success on the field generates greater income for the club. Since the inception of the Premier League, Manchester United has received the largest share of the revenue generated from the BSkyB broadcasting deal.[100] Manchester United has also consistently enjoyed the highest commercial income of any English club; in 2005–06, the club's commercial arm generated £51 million, compared to £42.5 million at Chelsea, £39.3 million at Liverpool, £34 million at Arsenal and £27.9 million at Newcastle United. A key sponsorship relationship is with sportswear company Nike, who manage the club's merchandising operation as part of a £303 million 13-year partnership established in 2002.[101] Through Manchester United Finance and the club's membership scheme, One United, those with an affinity for the club can purchase a range of branded goods and services. Additionally, Manchester United-branded media services – such as the club's dedicated television channel, MUTV – have allowed the club to expand its fan base to those beyond the reach of its Old Trafford stadium.[6]

Sponsorship

In an initial five-year deal worth £500,000, Sharp Electronics became the club's first shirt sponsor at the beginning of the 1982–83 season, a relationship that lasted until the end of the 1999–2000 season, when Vodafone agreed a four-year, £30 million deal.[102] Vodafone agreed to pay £36 million to extend the deal by four years, but after two seasons triggered a break clause in order to concentrate on its sponsorship of the Champions League.[102]
To commence at the start of the 2006–07 season, American insurance corporation AIG agreed a four-year £56.5 million deal which in September 2006 became the most valuable in the world.[103][104] At the beginning of the 2010–11 season, American reinsurance company Aon became the club's principal sponsor in a four-year deal reputed to be worth approximately £80 million, making it the most lucrative shirt sponsorship deal in football history.[105]
The club's first kit manufacturer was Umbro, until a five-year deal was agreed with Admiral Sportswear in 1975.[106] Adidas received the contract in 1980,[107] before Umbro started a second spell in 1992.[108] Umbro's sponsorship lasted for ten years, followed by Nike's record-breaking £302.9 million deal that will last until 2015; 3.8 million replica shirts were sold in the first 22 months with the company.[109][110] In addition to Nike and Aon, the club also has several lower-level "platinum" sponsors, including Audi and Budweiser.[111]

Ownership and finances

Originally funded by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, the club became a limited company in 1892 and sold shares to local supporters for £1 via an application form.[15] In 1902, majority ownership passed to the four local businessmen who invested £500 to save the club from bankruptcy, including future club president J.H Davies.[15] After his death in 1927, the club faced bankruptcy yet again, but was saved in December 1931 by James W. Gibson, who assumed control of the club after investing £2,000.[20] Gibson promoted his son, Alan, to the board in 1948,[112] but died three years later; the Gibson family retained ownership of the club,[113] but the position of chairman passed to former player Harold Hardman.[114]
Promoted to the board a few days after the Munich air disaster, Louis Edwards, a friend of Matt Busby, began acquiring shares in the club; for an investment of approximately £40,000, he accumulated a 54 percent shareholding and took control in January 1964.[115] When Lillian Gibson died in January 1971, her shares passed to Alan Gibson who sold a percentage of his shares to Louis Edwards' son, Martin in 1978; Martin Edwards went on to become chairman upon his father's death in 1980.[116] Media tycoon Robert Maxwell attempted to buy the club in 1984, but did not meet Edwards' asking price.[116] In 1989, chairman Martin Edwards attempted to sell the club to Michael Knighton for £20 million, but the sale fell through and Knighton joined the Board of Directors instead.[116] . Manchester United was floated on the stock market in June 1991 (raising £6.7 million),[117] and received yet another takeover bid in 1998, this time from Rupert Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting Corporation. This resulted in the formation of Shareholders United Against Murdoch – now the Manchester United Supporters' Trust – who encouraged supporters to buy shares in the club in an attempt to block any hostile takeover. The Manchester United board accepted a £623 million offer,[118] but the takeover was blocked by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission at the final hurdle in April 1999.[119] A few years later, a power struggle emerged between the club's manager, Alex Ferguson, and his horse-racing partners, John Magnier and J. P. McManus, who had gradually become the majority shareholders. In a dispute that stemmed from contested ownership of the horse Rock of Gibraltar, Magnier and McManus attempted to have Ferguson removed from his position as manager, and the board responded by approaching investors to attempt to reduce the Irishmen's majority.[120]
In May 2005, Malcolm Glazer purchased the 28.7 percent stake held by McManus and Magnier, thus acquiring a controlling interest through his investment vehicle Red Football Ltd in a highly leveraged takeover
valuing the club at approximately £800 million (then approx. $1.5 billion).[121][122] In July 2006, the club announced a £660 million debt refinancing package, resulting in a 30 percent reduction in annual interest payments to £62 million a year.[123][124] In January 2010, with debts of £716.5 million ($1.17 billion),[125] Manchester United further refinanced through a bond issue worth £504 million, enabling them to pay off most of the £509 million owed to international banks.[126] The annual interest payable on the bonds – which mature on 1 February 2017 – is approximately £45 million per annum.[127] Despite restructuring, the club's debt prompted protests from fans on 23 January 2010, at Old Trafford and the club's Trafford Training Centre.[128][129] Supporter groups encouraged match-going fans to wear green and gold, the colours of Newton Heath. On 30 January, reports emerged that the Manchester United Supporters' Trust had held meetings with a group of wealthy fans, dubbed the "Red Knights", with plans to buying out the Glazers' controlling interest.[130]

Players

First-team squad

As of 2 February 2011[131][132]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No.
Position Player
1 Netherlands GK Edwin van der Sar
3 France DF Patrice Evra
4 England MF Owen Hargreaves
5 England DF Rio Ferdinand
6 England DF Wes Brown
7 England FW Michael Owen
8 Brazil MF Anderson
9 Bulgaria FW Dimitar Berbatov
10 England FW Wayne Rooney
11 Wales MF Ryan Giggs
12 England DF Chris Smalling
13 South Korea MF Park Ji-Sung
14 Mexico FW Javier Hernández
15 Serbia DF Nemanja Vidić (captain)
16 England MF Michael Carrick
17 Portugal MF Nani

No.
Position Player
18 England MF Paul Scholes
20 Brazil DF Fábio
21 Brazil DF Rafael
22 Republic of Ireland DF John O'Shea
23 Northern Ireland DF Jonny Evans
24 Scotland MF Darren Fletcher
25 Ecuador MF Antonio Valencia
26 France FW Gabriel Obertan
28 Republic of Ireland MF Darron Gibson
29 Poland GK Tomasz Kuszczak
33 Portugal FW Bébé
34 Denmark GK Anders Lindegaard
37 Republic of Ireland MF Robert Brady
45 England DF Oliver Gill
49 England MF Ravel Morrison


Honours

Manchester United's first trophy was the Manchester Cup, which it won as Newton Heath in 1886.[157] In 1908, the club won its first league title, and won the FA Cup for the first time the following year. In terms of the number of trophies won, Manchester United's most successful decade was the 1990s; the club won five league titles, four FA Cups, one League Cup, five Charity Shields (one shared), one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and one Intercontinental Cup.
The club currently holds the record for the most FA Cups, with 11, and the record for the most FA Cup Final appearances, with 18.[158] Manchester United and Liverpool have each won a joint-record 18 top-division titles, but Manchester United holds the record for the most Premier League titles (11), and was the first English team to win the European Cup in 1968. The most recent trophy came in August 2010, when the club won the FA Community Shield.
The only major honour that Manchester United has never won is the UEFA Europa League,[159] although the team reached the quarter-finals in 1984–85 and the semi-finals of the competition's precursor tournament, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, in 1964–65.[160][161]

Domestic

League

Cups

European

Worldwide

Doubles and Trebles

Especially short competitions such as the Charity/Community Shield, Intercontinental Cup (now defunct), FIFA Club World Cup or Super Cup are not generally considered to contribute towards a Double or Treble.[163]


Manchester United
The words "Manchester" and "United" surround a pennant featuring a ship in full sail and a devil holding a trident.
Full name Manchester United Football Club
Nickname(s) The Red Devils[1]
Founded 1878, as Newton Heath LYR F.C.
Ground Old Trafford
(Capacity: 75,957[2])
Owner United States Glazer family
Co-chairmen United States Joel & Avram Glazer
Manager Scotland Alex Ferguson
League Premier League
2009–10 Premier League, 2nd
Website Club home page

A red shirt with a white collar and a white stripe on each sleeve. White shorts with a black stripe on either side. Black socks with red tops and white trim.
Home colours
A white shirt with black shoulders and a red pattern on both sleeves. Black shorts with a white stripe on either side. White socks with black tops and red trim.
Away colours
A black shirt with a shallow blue chevron on the chest. Black shorts with a blue stripe on either side. Black socks.
Third colours
Current season

sumber : wikipedia.com