Manchester United FC are the biggest
club in England and some would say in the
world. They have won 16 first division titles
including a staggering 10 English Premier
League titles, 21 FA Cups, 2 League Cups
and 3 UEFA Champions League trophies.
Situated at Trafford in Greater Manchester,
the club was originally formed as Newton
Heath L&YP RC in 1898 as the works
team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire and
on April 26,1902 were officially renamed
as Manchester United FC.
Nicknamed as the Red Devils because of
their red stripes, Manchester United play
their home matches at Old Trafford what
is often denoted as "the theatre
of dreams". The club won its first
league title in 1907-1908 but it was later
under the great late Matt Busby era stretching
from 1948-1969 that Manchester United
came to the fore. During that period,
they were the best team in England and
also won the European Cup in 1968.
They went on a relatively lean patch after
the Busby era got wrapped up but the arrival
of a certain Sir Alex Ferguson in the
mid-1980s turned the club's fortunes
around. The Red Devils have dominated
top flight English football since the
start of the Premiership and won the Premiership
last season for the 9th time. They also
clinched the Champions League in 1999
in sensational fashion after scoring two
injury time goals to beat Bayern Munich
in the final at Camp Nou.
The Forbes magazine rank Man United as
the most valuable football club in the
world. Man U were taken over by American
business tycoon Malcolm Glazier in May,
2005. Man United boast of major players
such as Portuguese superstar Cristiano
Ronaldo, England star Wayne Rooney, Ryan
Giggs, Paul Scholes, Carlos Tevez and
Serbian international defender Nemanja
Vidic.
