Overview of the establishment of the Manchester United Football Club

Formed: 1878

Previous Name: Newton Heath LYR FC

Registered in the Football League: 1892

Stadium: Old Trafford (opened 1910)

European Cup / Champions League: 1967-68, 1998-99, 2007-08

European Cup / Winners ‘Cup: 1990-91

Intercontinental Cup: 1999

FIFA Club World Cup: 2008

UEFA Super Cup: 1991

Division 1 and Premier League: 19

Division 2: 2

FA Cup: 11

League Cup: 4

Manchester United is the most worldwide English club. They were the first English club to play in the European Cup and the first English club to win it, and they were the only English club to ever become an Inter Club World Cup champion.

The club was founded in 1878 under the name Newton Heath LYR Football Club by workers in Lancashire and the Yorkshire Railway Depot. They played in the Football League for the first time in 1892, but were relegated two years later. The club became Manchester United in 1902, when a group of local businessmen took over. That's when they adopted the red shirt which will become very well known today.

The club won their first league under Ernest Mangnall in 1908 and 1911, adding their first FA Cup in 1909. Mangnall then left United to join Manchester City in 1911.

Manchester United experienced a gloomy period after going up and down the division within 30 years before it was taken over by Matt Busby after the end of World War 2. Busby changed the shape of the club, establishing a policy of developing young players that would later prove to be a great success. United won the FA Cup in 1948 and were runners up in the league in three consecutive seasons from 1947 to 1949, then, in 1952, Busby won United's first league title for 41 years.

The team that won the league in 1956 became known as "Busby Babes", due to an average age of only 22 years. These include Duncan Edwards, a formidable player with extraordinary skills, and two fantastic goalscorers in Tommy Taylor and Dennis Viollet. They regained the title the following season, and followed the European Cup which was under pressure from English soccer authorities to withdraw from the Football League. United slaughtered Anderlecht 10-0 in their first home game, and reached the semi-finals before losing to Real Madrid.

A year later, the team was on their way home after their victory against Red Star Belgrade in the quarter-finals when a plane crash in Munich killed 23 people, eight of whom were players: Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, Billy Whelan, Tommy Taylor, David Pegg and Geoff Bent. This tragedy became known as the "Munich Air Disaster".

Busby escaped the accident and, and after losing most of his best players, he rebuilt his team from the beginning in the early 1960s by pivoting "The Holy Trinity", namely Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law. United then won the FA Cup in 1963 and the league champions in 1965 and 1967; Busby's trip was complete by beating Benfica in the European Cup final in 1968. United defeated Benfica 4-1 through extra time at Wembley, with two goals scored by Charlton, who also escaped the accident 10 years earlier.

When Busby resigned in 1969, United experienced a drastic decline in performance. After only succeeding in avoiding relegation in 1973, United were finally relegated also one year later. Ironically, United legend Denis Law, playing for Manchester City, scored the winning goal against them at Old Trafford. The goal that sent United to division 2.

United immediately won Division Two that year, but at the highest level they still could not give the best performance. Under the control of Tommy Docherty, United performed more in the FA Cup. They defeated Southampton's Second Division team in the 1976 FA Cup final, and destroyed Liverpool by beating them 2-1 at Wembley a year later. Docherty was fired shortly after the FA Cup victory, after having an affair with the team's physiotherapy wife; his successor, Dave Sexton, was more cautious, and many fans felt his playing style betrayed the club's philosophy.

Sexton worked for four years and took United to runner-up in the league and FA Cup, but he was fired in 1981 despite winning the last seven matches. His successor, Ron Atkinson, brought United back to the '70s and the Docherty era. With an emphasis on attacking and widening football, and buying an outstanding Englishman Bryan Robson, United enjoyed an impressive five years under Atkinson. They won the FA Cup in 1983 and 1985 - but Atkinson could not end the long wait to win the league, and was replaced by Alex Ferguson in November 1986.

It's hard to imagine now, but Ferguson's first few years at Old Trafford were very difficult. United finished the league finishing 11th, 2nd, 11th and 13th in their first four seasons, and only a victory in the FA Cup Final in 1990 was a good achievement. Ferguson never looked back from that success: it was the first of 25 major trophies he would win over the next 20 years, including 11 league titles.

United beat Barcelona to win the Cup Winners Cup in 1991, but there was only one prize they really wanted: a first league title since 1967. Finally arrived in 1993, the first season of the Premier League, and was catalyzed by the phenomenal joining of Eric Cantona in mid-season from last season's champion Leeds United.

The club won its first double title in 1994, with Cantona with young players winning again in 1996. Now, Ferguson and United have a new Everest: Champions Cup. They won it on May 26, 1999 - what would be Sir Matt Busby's 90th birthday - when they beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in an amazing match, with United scoring two goals in injury time. With another Double already in the bag, United thus became the first English club to win the Treble. Then in the same year they defeated Palmeiras to become world champions.

United went on to win three consecutive league titles from 1999-2001 and, despite the great turmoil caused by the controversial takeover of the Glazer family in 2005, this achievement was repeated by a new generation between 2007 and 2009. They also added a third United Cup title. Europe, beating Chelsea on penalties in the dramatic finals in Moscow, while the 2009 league title earned United 18 league titles, the same as their great rivals Liverpool. The 19th title eluded them in 2009-10 but in the 2010-11 season the record was set. Manchester United was officially ordained King of England after winning 9 points over Chelsea at the end of the competition to win the 19th title.

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