Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club (F.C.) is a football club that plays in the Premier League. They play their home games at Old Trafford which is in Greater Manchester.

Matt Busby led the club to lots of success by using the youth players until the Munich air disaster in 1958, where many United footballers and staff died. Sir Alex Ferguson led the club to many titles, including the treble (Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League), from 1986 to 2013, when he retired. The club has 3 UEFA Champions League titles, 20 league titles, 12 FA Cups, and a FIFA Club World Cup.

History 
Manchester United are the most successful club in England and have won 20 league titles, which is more than any other team. They have also won 12 FA Cups and 3 European Cups.

The club started as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878. All of the team worked at Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. After nearly closing in 1902, John Henry Davies took over and changed the club's name to Manchester United F.C.. Manchester United made Matt Busby their manager after World War II. Matt Busby used the youth team to get new players, and this was very successful. The club won the Football League in 1956 and 1957. The success was stopped by the Munich air disaster in 1958, when eight of the club's players died. It was thought that the club might close, but it did not. They won the Football League in 1965 and 1967, and the European Cup in 1968.

Sir Alex Ferguson era 

In 1986, manager Ron Atkinson was sacked by the club because they were in danger of being relegated. They brought in Sir Alex Ferguson. He did not win anything for the first couple of years.

The team won their first trophy under Ferguson, the 1990 FA Cup, against Crystal Palace in the replay after a 3-3 draw. The next season, United won the UEFA Cup Winners Cup. In 1993, Manchester United won the very first Premier League. In 1999, Manchester United won the treble, made of the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League. Manchester United won the league 7 times again until Sir Alex Ferguson retired after the 2012–13 season. From the 2006–07 season to the 2008–09 season, Man United won the league 3 times in a row. The club also won its third UEFA Champions League in 2008 against Chelsea F.C., and almost won the next season as well but lost to FC Barcelona in the final. They won their first FIFA Club World Cup in December 2008.

Recent history

2013 - 2018 
David Moyes was made manager in 2013. In April 2014, he was sacked by the club and club legend Ryan Giggs became player-manager (when a player is also the manager at the same time). They finished in 7th place. In 2014, Louis Van Gaal took over. He led United to a 4th-place finish. In 2015, after winning 3-0 against Sunderland, Man United reached 1st place for the first time in over two years. However, after losing 0-3 to Arsenal, they dropped to 3rd place. Van Gaal was sacked at the end of the season and José Mourinho replaced him. He then led the club to a League Cup and Europa League victory in the 2016–17 season. Mourinho was sacked in December 2018 because of poor results and replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

2018 - Present 
Since Mourinho was fired in the middle of the season, United brought in a temporary manager for the rest of the season. A former player, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer moved from his position at Molde to manage Manchester United. Under Solksjaer, United won 14 of their remaining 19 games that season. This good run meant they qualified for UEFA Champions League that season. United made Solksjaer their permanent manager in March 2019.

Honours

Domestic

League 
 First Division (until 1992) and Premier League: 20
1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13 

 Second Division: 2
 1935–36, 1974–75

Cups 
 FA Cup: 12
 1908–09, 1947–48, 1962–63, 1976–77, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2015-16
 League Cup: 5
 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2016/17
 FA Charity/Community Shield: 20 (16 outright, 4 shared)
 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013 (* shared)

European 
 European Cup/UEFA Champions League: 3
 1967–68, 1998–99, 2007–08
 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1
 1990–91
 UEFA Super Cup: 1
        1991
 UEFA Europa League
 2017

Worldwide 
 WORLD CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP 
 1999
 FIFA Club World Cup: 1 2008

 Doubles and Trebles 
 Doubles:League and FA Cup: 2 1993–94, 1995–96
 League and League Cup: 1 2008–09
 European Double (League and European Cup): 1 2007–08
 "The Treble" (League, FA Cup and European Cup): 1'''
1998–99

League position 

*Bold indicates a place of third or higher.

Former position

Grounds 

The Old Trafford became the club's home ground in 1909, and the stadium was constructed to a capacity of 77,000. In the Second World War, bombings damaged the stadium. While the stadium was being fixed, they played "home" games at Manchester City's Maine Road. The stadium was converted to an all-seater stadium in 1993 for safety reasons, but the capacity fell to 44,000. In 1995, expansions in the North Stand raised the capacity to 55,000. In the middle of 1999, the East and West Stands were expanded to give the stadium a capacity of 67,000. Then between 2005 and 2006 8,000 more seats were added to make a capacity of 75,000.

Players

First-team squad

On loan

Rivalries 
United has many rivalries including Liverpool, Manchester City, Leeds United and Arsenal. Their most intense rivalry is with "The Citizens" (Manchester City). This is because both clubs are from Manchester and each time they play against each other it is called the Manchester Derby.

Club records 
 Record League victory: 10-1 v Wolverhampton, Division 1, 15 October 1892
 Record Premiership victory: 9-0 v Ipswich Town, 4 March 1995
 Record European Cup victory: 10-0 v Anderlecht, European Champion Clubs' Cup, Preliminary Round, 26 September 1956
 Record European Cup (Champions League era) victory: 7-1 v A.S. Roma, 10 April 2007
 Record home win 10-0 v R.S.C. Anderlecht, 26 September 1956
 Record away win: 8-1 v Nottingham Forest, 6 February 1999
 Record League defeat: 0-7 v Blackburn Rovers, Division 1, 10 April 1926 / v Aston Villa, Division 1, 27 December 1930 / v Wolves, Division 2, 26 December 1931
 Record Cup defeat: 1-7 v Burnley, FA Cup, 1st Round, 13 February 2020
 Record 'Home' attendance: 83,250 v Arsenal, Division 1, Maine Road, 7 January 1948
 Record League attendance (at Old Trafford): 76,998 v Arsenal, April 2008
 Longest unbeaten run: 45 (all competitions), 24 December 1998 to 3 October 1999
 Most appearances: 900 - Ryan Giggs
 Most League appearances: 606 - Bobby Charlton
 Most goals scored: 250 - Wayne Rooney
 Most League goals: 199 - Bobby Charlton
 Most League goals in a season: 32 - Dennis Viollet, Division 1, 1959-60
 Most goals in a season in all competitions: 46 - Denis Law, 1963-64
 Most goals scored in a match: 6 - George Best v Northampton Town, 7 February 1970 / Harold Halse v Swindon Town, 25 September 1911
 Most goals scored in European competition: 38 - Ruud van Nistelrooy
 Goals in consecutive league matches: 10 consecutive matches - Ruud van Nistelrooy, 22 March 2003 to 23 August 2003
 Highest transfer fee paid: £59.7 million - Angel Di Maria (from Real Madrid)
 Most League goals in a season (by team): 103 (1956/57, 1958/59)
 Most points in a 42-game season: 92 - 1993/94
 Most points in a 38-game Season: 91 - 1999/2000
 Most capped player: 129 - Peter Schmeichel - Denmark
 Fastest goal: 15 seconds - Ryan Giggs v Southampton, Premiership, 18 November 1995
 Fastest four goals: 13 minutes - Ole Gunnar Solksjær v Nottingham Forest, Premiership, 6 February 1999

Related pages 
 List of Manchester United F.C. players

Notes

References 

1878 establishments in England
Premier League clubs
Sport in Manchester