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Premier League

United have won 15 League Championships in total, three less than Liverpool’s record haul of 18 titles. Manchester United’s total includes eight Premier League titles (since 1992) and seven First Division Championships (pre 1992).

As Newton Heath the club first applied to join the Football League in 1890 only for their application to be rejected. The club were eventually granted a place in 1892 and made an inauspicious start to their first ever season in the Football League. After finishing bottom they had to win a play-off against Small Heath (now Birmingham City) to stay up.

After being relegated in 1894 the club finally returned to the First Division in 1907 as Manchester United, after changing its name in 1902, and won the Championship in 1908 and 1911. It wasn’t until the end of the Second World War, when under the leadership of Sir Matt Busby, that the club came back to life.

Now back in the First Division the club finished runners-up in 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1951 before winning its third League Championship in 1952. The next few years were to see the birth of the famed Busby Babes. More Championships followed in 1956 and 1957 before the tragic events of the Munich air crash, which claimed the lives of 21 people, including eight Manchester United players.

Over the next few years the club recovered to win the Championship again in 1965 and 1967. The next 26 years saw United finish runners-up four times before once again finishing top while claiming the inaugural Carling Premier League title in 1993 and following it up with further championships in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003.

FA Cup

The FA Cup, the world’s oldest national Cup competition was first played in 1871, with Manchester United, as Newton Heath, first taking part in 1890. Following its victory over Millwall in May 2004, the club has a record eleven FA Cups to its name and has appeared in the final on sixteen occasions. United are also the only club to appear in an FA Cup final in every decade since the war.
Manchester United first competed in the FA Cup in 1890 as Newton Heath, but were beaten 6-1 by the then League Champions Preston North End. In fact the club had to wait until 1902, when it changed its name to Manchester United, to progress beyond the Third round.

The club’s first win in the competition came in 1909 against Bristol City (1-0). The Reds had to wait until 1948 to reach another final when they beat Blackpool 4-2 at Wembley stadium. The club appeared in consecutive finals in 1957 and 1958.

United next won the FA Cup in 1963 when a Denis Law goal helped see off Leicester City 3-1. The late 1970’s saw the club reach three finals in four years, losing to Southampton in 1976, beating Liverpool in 1977 and losing an epic final to Arsenal in 1979. After being 2-0 down, they came back to score two goals in the final five minutes only to see Arsenal snatch the Cup with almost the last kick of the game.

Two more successes followed, against Brighton in 1983 and against Everton in 1985, when United defender Kevin Moran became the first player to be sent off in a Cup final. During the nineties the club reached no less than five finals, winning four of them. In 1990 United beat Crystal Palace 1-0 after a replay, in 1994 and 1996 the club completed the ‘Double’ after wins against Chelsea and Liverpool respectively and in 1999 United completed the second part of a historic ‘Treble’ with a 2-0 win over Newcastle.

During the 1999/2000 season United were unable to defend the FA Cup after being forced to withdraw from the competition in order to play in the inaugural Club World Championship in Brazil.

After one season of opting out and four seasons of failing en route, United reached the final again in 2004. After beating their arch-rivals Arsenal 1-0 in the semi-final at Villa Park, they had the more straightforward task of seeing off First Division side Millwall at the Millennium Stadium. Goals by Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy (2) won the match 3-0 for United.

Carling Cup

The Carling Cup or Football League Cup (also previously known as the Worthington Cup, Milk Cup, Coca-Cola Cup and Rumbelows Cup) was first played in 1961. Liverpool have won the trophy a record six times. Manchester United have not fared too well in the competition, winning it only once, in 1992, when Sir Alex Ferguson’s team defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0.

Manchester United would probably rather forget their first match in the Football League Cup. On 2 November 1960 the Reds lost 2-1 in the Second round to Third Division Bradford City. The club had to wait until 1983 for a first appearance in a final when their opponents on that day were Liverpool. A young Norman Whiteside, only seventeen years of age at the time, gave United the lead but Liverpool came back to win in extra time.

Undoubtedly the club’s golden period in the competition came in the early nineties when United reached three finals in four years. On their way to the 1991 final, lost to Ron Atkinson’s Sheffield Wednesday, United’s young side demolished the then League Champions Arsenal 6-2 at Highbury.

The following season United reached the final again, this time winning the competition. Sir Alex Ferguson’s team defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 with a goal from Brian McClair. United reached the final again in 1994 only to lose for a third time (1-3), when a win would have ultimately given the club the domestic ‘Treble’ as the side would go on to win the League and FA Cup later that year. United’s opponents on that March day were Aston Villa, managed by former United boss Ron Atkinson. It was the second time that an Atkinson side had beaten United in a final.

In recent years Premier League clubs have been given byes into the Third round. However, Manchester United and other top clubs have fielded weakened teams in the competition as commitments in European competition have increased.

Charity Shield

From its humble beginnings in 1908, when it was known as the Sheriff of London Shield, to its place today as the annual curtain raiser to the English football season, the FA Charity Shield has long been an important part of the football calendar.

The FA Charity Shield was introduced as a professionals v amateurs charity match with the first game being played in 1908. The reigning Football League Champions, Manchester United, took on Queens Park Rangers, the then-Southern League Champions. This format, with the occasional representative side taking part, was to form the basis of the competition for many years.

The competition's profile was raised immeasurably in 1974 when the then-FA Secretary Ted Croker proposed the Shield be played at Wembley. It was to prove a great success with the 1974 encounter attracting 67,000 fans when Liverpool beat Leeds United 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Manchester United and Liverpool have each won a record fourteen Shields, with United sharing the Shield four times and Liverpool five times. Nowadays whenever a Charity Shield match is drawn the tie is decided by a penalty shoot-out, although for a short spell during the 1980s and 1990s the trophy was shared. United also hold the record for Charity Shield appearances with twenty.

United appeared in no fewer than seven Shield matches in the 1990s - winning four, drawing one and losing one. In 2001 United appeared in their sixth Shield in a row and eighth in nine years. United also competed in the highest scoring Shield match ever when they defeated Swindon Town 8-4 in 1911.

A loss in the Charity Shield has proved to be a good omen for United in recent years - they lost the match at the start of the 1998/99, 1999/2000 and 2000/01 seasons and won the Premiership title at the end of each term!

UEFA Champions League

The Champions League is the ultimate club prize in European football. United have won the trophy twice, in 1968 and 1999, although Real Madrid have the record number of wins, with eight European Cups to their name.

Manchester United first played in the European Cup in 1957. The decision did not go down well with the Football League due to the fear that it would affect the quality of domestic competitions was quickly quashed as the competition helped raise standards in the English game.

Manchester United’s first match in the competition was a 10-0 win against Belgian Champions Anderlecht. United reached the semi-finals in both 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons, but the club’s involvement in the 1957-58 competition, however, will be forever linked to the Munich air disaster. United’s draw in Belgrade and subsequent semi-final defeat against AC Milan were overshadowed by the tragic death of eight United players.

From tragedy came hope as Sir Matt Busby built a new team. Another semi-final in 1965-66 was followed by the club’s first European Cup success in 1967-68 when Goals from Bobby Charlton (two), George Best and Brian Kidd at Wembley gave England its first European Cup winning side against Benfica.

The club had to wait a long 26 years to compete in the competition again, now expanded and renamed the Champions League. United have played in the Champions League every year since 1994 and reached the semi-finals in 1997 before winning the Cup for a second time in 1999.

The final in Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium looked all but lost as United trailed 1-0 going into the three minutes of added time at the end of the match. Goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left Bayern devastated and the club’s 50,000 throng of supporters in ecstacy. Sir Alex Ferguson had finally emulated the achievement of his predecessor Sir Matt Busby.

UEFA Super Cup

The Super Cup was created in 1973 when Willie Waddell, the assistant manager of Glasgow Rangers, suggested his club could mark their centenary by playing Dutch champions Ajax.

The Amsterdam newspaper De Telegraaf then developed the idea even further, to acknowledge Ajax's status as European Champions and the success of Rangers in the Cup-Winners Cup. The paper proposed a play-off between the Continent's top two sides, a two-legged tie that would be known as the European Super Cup final.

The experimental Ajax-Rangers final was attended by a total of more than 100,000 fans across the two legs in Glasgow, where Ajax won 3-1 on 16 January 1973, and Amsterdam where the Dutch side won 3-2 a week later. Aggregate score: 6-3.

UEFA were so impressed by the prototype, they adopted the competition in 1974. Ajax retained the trophy that year, thrashing AC Milan 6-1. The Italians have since fared much better, and are jointly the record winners with Ajax on three Super Cups apiece.

Manchester United have won the Super Cup once, in 1991, when they beat Red Star Belgrade 1-0 at Old Trafford. Political troubles in Yugoslavia forced the 'away' leg to be cancelled.

From 1998, the two-legged format was abandoned altogether. In order to raise the status of the competition, UEFA decided the Super Cup final would be a single match played in Monte Carlo every August. The final is now considered to be a curtain raiser to the new European season.

Manchester United made their second Super Cup appearance in 1999 when, as European Champions, they played against Lazio in Monte Carlo. The Italians won the match 1-0, and were consequently the last European Cup-Winners Cup winners to claim the Super Cup. The UEFA Cup winners now provide the opposition to the Champions League winners, following the demise of the Cup-Winners Cup.

The other British clubs who have won the Super Cup are Liverpool (1977, 2001), Nottingham Forest (1979), Aston Villa (1982), Aberdeen (managed by Alex Ferguson, 1983) and Chelsea (1998).

United's record: Winners 1991, Runners-up 1999.

Alex Ferguson

After spells as a player with Queen's Park, St Johnstone, Dunfermline, Glasgow Rangers, Falkirk and Ayr United, and as manager of East Stirlingshire, St Mirren and Aberdeen, Alex Ferguson succeeded Ron Atkinson as manager of Manchester United on 6 November 1986.

In the thirteen League matches up to Ferguson's arrival at Old Trafford, United had only won three and had lost six. They had also been knocked out of the Littlewoods Cup after suffering a 1-4 defeat at Southampton. Looking back it is easy to see why United's position was so dire: "Ferguson inherited a dispirited team of underachievers who had consistently, to their supporters' foaming discontent, failed to break Liverpool's domination. The team sheet drawn up by the new man for his first match says it all: Turner, Duxbury, Albiston, McGrath (Olsen), Moran, Hogg, Blackmore, Stapleton, Moses, Davenport, Barnes. The team lost 0-2 to Oxford United." (Jim White quoted in Total Sport, May 1997).

Stuck in the bottom four of the Division One table, Ferguson immediately set about attempting to stave off the very real threat of relegation. Without resorting to the transfer market, Ferguson guided United up the table to finish in eleventh place. By now it was apparent to Fergie that it was a major job to turn the club around. United were an entertaining side but one that seemed unable to cope with the more physical aspects of League football. Crucially for the future, there seemed to be few players coming through the youth system to challenge the established stars.

In his first full season, Ferguson guided United to a League runners-up position as new signings Viv Anderson, Steve Bruce and Brian McClair made their mark. This was followed by eleventh position in 1988/89 and, after a further threat of relegation, thirteenth position in 1989/90. The fans were not convinced by Alex Ferguson and on his third anniversary as manager of Manchester United a banner was unfurled in the scoreboard end saying: "Three years of excuses; Ta-ra Fergie". Ferguson remembers the period as 'Black December': "It was, without question, the lowest, most desperate point ever in all my years in management." (Alex Ferguson, Just Champion).

United's poor League form continued, but at least the fans were able to cheer a Cup run. On 17 May 1990, for the first time in five years, the fans tasted success when United won the FA Cup, defeating Crystal Palace 1-0 after a replay. United have since gone from strength to strength. In 1991 Ferguson's team were League Cup finalists, but went on to defeat Barcelona 2-1 in the European Cup-Winners' Cup Final.

However it was in the League that the Old Trafford faithful were demanding success. United again came close in 1991/92 when Leeds United pipped them to the title after United had looked the better team for most of the season. Some silverware did return to Old Trafford that season as Nottingham Forest were defeated 1-0 in the League Cup Final and Red Star Belgrade were defeated by the same scoreline in the European Super Cup Final.

Finally United's time had come, despite a strong challenge from Aston Villa, Ferguson's team became the inaugural Champions of the breakaway F.A. Premier League in 1992/93. The twenty-six year wait was over. "The Championship triumph, apart from ending 26 years of collective cursing and frustration, was unquestionably the breaching of a barrier that had defied so many talented people, world renowned players as well as Managers". (Alex Ferguson, Just Champion).

This Championship victory also won him the 'Manager of the Year' trophy, an award he won again the following year as United retained their hold on the Premier crown. His team went one better becoming only the sixth team to win the League and FA Cup Double. It was close to being an unprecedented treble but Ron Atkinson's Aston Villa side won a hard-fought League Cup Final 3-1.

His 1993 Premier League victory meant that Ferguson became the first manager to win League titles north and south of the border. He is also only the second manager, after Johan Cruyff, to win the European Cup-Winners' Cup with teams from different countries.

At the start of 1995 things were looking rosy for Ferguson. He'd just been awarded the C.B.E. in the New Year honours list, United had landed Andy Cole for £7m from Newcastle United and had just beaten their title rivals Blackburn Rovers 1-0 in a great battle at Old Trafford. A third Premier League title looked destined for the trophy room at Old Trafford. However on 25 January, United's season took a cruel twist when Eric Cantona attacked an abusive Crystal Palace fan after being sent off. Failure to win at West Ham on the last day of the season and losing to Everton in the FA Cup Final meant that the trophy cabinet at Old Trafford was empty for the first time in five years. Ferguson still muses that at least one trophy would have found it's way to Old Trafford had Cantona not been banned for nine months by the FA.

When the 1995/6 season began it did so minus Eric Cantona, Mark Hughes, Andrei Kanchelskis and Paul Ince, players who had played such an important part in United's success. By the end of the season, memories of 1995 had been washed away as United's 'kids', led by a rejuvenated Cantona, won an historic 'Double Double'. No less that five players were under the age of 21 and had graduated from United's youth system. A testimony to Alex Ferguson's managerial ability, which won him the Carling Premiership 'Manager of the Year' award yet again.

The following season expectations were high. Ferguson had made some shrewd buys during the summer including Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ronny Johnsen. In November 1996, the Boss completed ten years as manager of Manchester United, the longest serving coach since Sir Matt Busby and the second longest serving boss in the League behind Crewe's Dario Gradi.

The season ended with United picking up their fourth Premiership title and narrowly missing out on reaching the European Cup Final, losing the semi-final to the eventual winners Borussia Dortmund. Again Ferguson won the Carling Premiership 'Manager of the Year' award, confirming his place amongst the great Managers to have graced the British football scene.

That status was confirmed in the 1998/99 season, when United completed the unprecedented Treble – Premiership, FA Cup and European Cup. He followed Matt Busby to Buckingham Palace, and became the first working football manager to be knighted.

In the following season, 1999/2000, the pressure was really on for United to defend their three crowns. And although there was huge disappointment when they crashed out of the European Cup following a 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid, United again came up trumps on the domestic front as they stormed to their sixth Championship in eight years, finishing a massive 18 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal. Sir Alex also became the first United manager to lift the Inter-Continental Cup when the Reds defeated Palmeiras 1-0 (Keane scored) to become the first British winners of the competition.

The Boss made history again at the end of the 2000/01 season when he guided United to their third Championship in three consecutive seasons. The title race was virtually over in January, such was United's supremacy in the Premiership. Having led by 15 points just after the turn of the year, they never looked back and went on to finish 10 points ahead of nearest rivals Arsenal. However, Europe proved to be another big disappointment as United lost out at the quarter-final stage yet again, this time to Bayern Munich.

Although the end of season 2001/02 saw United finish trophyless for only the third time in 13 seasons, the club was boosted by the news that Sir Alex had decided to delay his retirement and stay on for a further three years. Another big plus was the form of striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who finished the campaign with 36 goals. Sir Alex had stuck by his initial decision to sign the big Dutchman, following his cruciate ligament injury a year earlier, and it certainly looked to be paying off.

Apart from their Worthington Cup final defeat to Liverpool, United were back to doing what they do best in 2002/03 - winning Championships; their eighth in eleven years to be precise. The triumph, which Sir Alex described as the 'best title win yet,' came at the end of an incredible run-in. Arsenal had been clear favourites but they were overhauled in spectacular fashion as United won nine of their last ten games, the pick of which was their 6-2 victory at Newcastle. Meanwhile, in the Champions League, United's epic quarter-final clash with Real Madrid will forever be remembered by the Old Trafford faithful, even though the Reds were eliminated from the competition by Ronaldo's superb hat-trick.

Did You Know?

Sir Alex Ferguson was voted the 'Best Coach' in Europe at the 1999 UEFA Football Gala.

Sir Alex is a keen musician, and is learning to play the piano in his spare time.

As a boy he would climb over walls to watch his beloved Glasgow Rangers, for whom he would later play.

He shares his birthday, on New Year's Eve, with former club captain Steve Bruce.

He owns several racehorses, and regularly watches them in action.

Team 2005/2006

1 Howard GK
2 G. Neville Df
4 Heinze Df
5 Ferdinand Df
6 Brown Df
7 Ronaldo Md
8 Rooney Sc
9 Saha Sc
10 Van Nistelrooy Sc
11 Giggs Md
13 Park Md
14 Smith Sc
16 Keane Md
17 Miller Md
18 Scholes Md
19 Van der Sar Gk
20 Solskjaer Sc
22 O'Shea Df
24 Fletcher Md
25 Fortune Md
27 Silvestre Df

(02. May 2007, 21:53:55)

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Obavestenje: Poruka je preseljena od strane moderatora cg_ac (Vreme: 13. Oct 2007, 16:53:38)

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Obavestenje: Poruka je preseljena od strane moderatora kokota (Vreme: 13. Oct 2007, 17:12:02)