Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club who play at Old Trafford in Stretford, Greater Manchester. Having won a joint-record 18 league titles and a record 11 FA Cups,[3] Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football, and are the reigning Premier League champions and Football League Cup holders. The club is one of the wealthiest and most widely supported football teams in the world.[4]
Founded as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in 1878, the club joined The Football League in 1892 and has played in the top division of English football since 1938, with the exception of the 1974–75 season. They were the first English club to win the European Cup, in 1968, and the Treble, in 1999; they added a third Champions League title in 2008.
Alex Ferguson has been manager since 6 November 1986[5] and is the most successful manager in the club's history, having won 26 major honours. The club captain is Gary Neville who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005.[6] Average attendances at Old Trafford have been higher than at any other English club ground for all but six seasons since 1964–65.[7]
Alex Ferguson era (1986–present)
Main articles: History of Manchester United F.C. (1986–1998), 1998–99 Manchester United F.C. season, and History of Manchester United F.C. (1999–present)
Alex Ferguson and his assistant, Archie Knox, arrived from Aberdeen on the same day that Atkinson was dismissed,[33] and guided the club to an 11th-place finish in the league in their debut season.[34] Despite a second-place finish in 1987–88, the following season the club was back in 11th place.[35]
In 1990, victory over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Final replay (after a 3–3 draw) saved Ferguson's career.[36][37] The following season, the team claimed their first Cup Winners' Cup title by beating Barcelona in the 1991 final in Rotterdam. This allowed them to compete in the 1991 UEFA Super Cup, in which they beat European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 at Old Trafford. A second consecutive League Cup final appearance followed in 1992, in which they beat Nottingham Forest 1–0 at Wembley.[32]
In 1993, Manchester United won their first league title since 1967, and a year later, for the first time since 1957, won a second consecutive title – alongside the FA Cup – to complete the first "Double" in the club's history.[32] Failure to win a third consecutive league title in 1995 prompted Ferguson into major restructuring, selling established players Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis and Mark Hughes. They were replaced by members of the club's youth team, including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes, who helped the team win a second Double in 1996.
Manchester United's 1998–99 season was the most successful season 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.[38] Losing 1–0 going into injury time in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, late goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær secured a dramatic victory over Bayern Munich, in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks of all time. The club also won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1–0 in Tokyo.[39] Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football.[40]
In 2000, Manchester United competed in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil[41] but did not regain the league until 2003. They won the 2004 FA Cup, beating Millwall 3–0 in the final in Cardiff.[42]
The club made a poor start to the 2005–06 season; midfielder Roy Keane left for Celtic in acrimonious fashion[43] and the club failed to qualify for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade. However, the team recovered to secure a second-place league finish and victory over Wigan Athletic in the 2006 Football League Cup Final in a season that also saw the departure of Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid.[44]
On 21 December 2008, the club won the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup, defeating the Ecuadorian side LDU Quito 1–0 in Japan. This was followed by the 2008–09 Football League Cup, defeating Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 on penalties in the final.[46] Manchester United then secured their third consecutive Premier League title, the second time they have achieved this feat.[47] They failed, however, to win a second consecutive Champions League title, losing 2–0 to Barcelona in the final in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.[48] That summer, Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid for a world record £80 million and replaced by Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia.[49]
In 2010, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 at Wembley to retain the League Cup, the first time they have successfully defended a knockout cup competition.[50]
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