MANCHESTER UNITED
Manchester United Football Club is an English football club based at the Old Trafford Stadium in Greater Manchester in the North of England. Manchester United FC was a founding member of the Premier League in 1992 and has played in the top division of English football since 1975. Also known as the Red Devils, it is the most popular football team in the world with over 330 million supporters worldwide and one of the most successful in English and European Football, with 16 league titles, 11 FA Cups and 3 UEFA Champions Leagues! Since 1986, Sir Alex Ferguson has been manager of the team, leading them to win 18 trophies in 20 years! According to Forbes Magazine, Manchester is the richest football club in the world, with a $1.5 Billion value.
CLUB LEGENDS
Sir Bobby Charlton is a former English striker. He played almost his entire career at Manchester United and was well-known for his attacking instincts and his amazing long-range shot. He started his professional career in 1954 with United. Having survived the Munich air disaster, he played as if every game was for his fallen colleagues. One of the Busby Babes, he played a record of 754 games, scoring 247 goals, holding both appearances and goals records in United's history. Named European Footballer of the Year in 1966, he also won the World Cup with England the same year. Part of the famed Best-Law-Charlton triumvirate, he retired in 1973. In June 1984 Charlton became a director of Manchester United, a position he still holds today.
Edwin Van der Sar is a Dutch goalkeeper and the captain of the Dutch national team. In 1990, he joined the Ajax's youth centre. In 9 years with Ajax, he played in 226 games, won the 1992 UEFA Cup and the 1995 Champions League. He then moved to Juventus for 2 years making only 66 appearances and eventually lost his place to Gianluigi Buffon. He joined the Premiership with Fullham in 2001 for around £7.7 million. He has been playing for Manchester since 2005, Sir Alex Fergusson consider him as one of the best goalkeeper in the world. Van der Sar’s solid presence, agility and reliability have been crucial to United’s success in recent years. He started his international career in 1995 against Belarus, and has played in all the major international competitions since then. On October 2007, he said he intends to retire from international football following the 2008 Euro.
Wayne Rooney is an English striker, and is always where he is supposed to be! Opportune like no other, he’s the key reference to every play in the English team. Rooney never gives up on a ball and is one of the top strikers in the powerful offensive line of Manchester United with Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. He started his professional career in 2002 with Everton, before joining United in 2004 for £23 million. In his first game at Old Trafford, he produced a stunning display to blast an unforgettable debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce! Sir Alex Ferguson describes him as “the best young player I have seen in my time”. He has scored a total of 72 goals in 179 appearances. Gary Neville is an English defender. He started his professional career in 1992 with the Reds, and has been playing for them since then. In December 2005, Gary was appointed the new captain of Manchester United, following Roy Keane's departure. He enters every game refusing to contemplate defeat, and the fans love him for it. He has won an impressive amount of trophies, with seven Premiership titles, three FA Cups, one European Cup and one League Cup! Since his debut with the Red Devils, he has played in 540 matches and scored 7 goals! His brother Phil Neville is a former player of United (1993-2005). Gary Neville made his debut with the English National Team in 1995, in a friendly against Japan and has earned 85 caps so far.
George Best was a Northern Irish winger. He started his professional career in 1963 with Manchester United at the age of 17. Spotted by United scout Bob Bishop, who famously told Matt Busby: “Boss, I think I’ve found you a genius”, he was one of the key players alongside Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law in United's first European Cup in 1968. Nicknamed The Fifth Beatle for his long hair, good looks and extravagant celebrity lifestyle, he was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and won 2 League titles and the 1968 European Cup with the Reds. In 1974, he left United with 470 appearances and 179 goals! He then joined several clubs in Australia, Scotland and in the US. He played his first international game with Northern Ireland in 1964 and scored a total of 9 goals in 37 caps. He died on December 3, 2005 at the age of 59: 100,000 people were at his funeral in Belfast.
The Club's Best Season
The 1998-1999 season was United's most successful season as they became the first and only English team to win The Treble Premiership, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League! In particular, United went undefeated from December 1998 – May 1999, a run of 33 matches. United won the title on the final day beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 and they won the FA Cup Final 2-0 against Newcastle United, the 2 goals were scored by Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes.
In the UEFA Champions League Final, they won against Bayern Munich: they scored twice in injury time (Teddy Sherringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer) to finally win 2-1!They also won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1–0 in Tokyo.
Coach: Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex is a Scottish football manager and former player. He has been the manager of Manchester United since 1986. Considered as one of the best managers in the world, he is the second-longest serving manager in the history of Manchester United after Sir Matt Busby and the most successful manager in the history of English football! He has won 9 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 1 Champions League, 1 Supercup, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup. In 1999, he became the first manager to lead an English team to the treble of Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League.
