Manchester United is an old powerhouse in English football, formerly known as “Newton Heath L&Y Railway F.C.” founded in 1878, renamed Manchester United in 1902, and now plays in the English Premier League. Because the team’s uniform is red, fans call it “the Red Devils”. The team’s home stadium is Old Trafford, which has a capacity of 80,000 seats, and is currently the largest football stadium in England. Manchester United joined G-14 as a founding member in 2000.
Manchester United is one of the most successful football clubs in the world, with no less than 50 million fans worldwide, and is undoubtedly one of the most profitable sports clubs in the world. In the 2007/08 season, Manchester United’s home usage rate was as high as 99.4%, and the business is managed very successfully. For example, the revenue from its two home games alone is roughly equivalent to the annual home revenue of the Premier League Wigan Athletic.
On February 6, 1958, Manchester United, who had just won two consecutive league championships, encountered the darkest time in the history. Eight players with unlimited prospects died in the Munich air crash and were recalled as “Busby Babes”. In addition, more than a dozen people, including Busby and Bobby Charlton, were injured, and the team fell from the peak to the trough. Manchester United finished ninth in the league after the season.
Scottish coach Alex Ferguson took over from Ron Atkinson in November 1986, and he ushered in a new era for Manchester United over the next 20 years. With the maturity of famous players such as Brian Robson and Mark Hughes, and the joining of players such as Eric Cantona and Paul Ince, Manchester United’s strength is increasing day by day. After wining the Premier League championship in the 1992-93 season, the Manchester United under Ferguson also took the flight. In the following Premier League, Manchester United was heroic and dominant, winning four championships in five seasons. In the European competition, Manchester United also has a good record, winning the first trophy since the British team returned to European competitions, and won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in the 1990-91 season. In the 1999-00 season, Manchester United completed a miraculous reversal, winning the Champions League trophy, and gripping the “Triple Crown”.
In the following two seasons after winning the “Triple Crown”, Manchester United failed to defend the Champions League, but won two Premier Leagues and achieved three consecutive Premier League titles. It is a pity that with the gradual ageing and departure of the main players of the Triple Crown era, Manchester United began to regress. In the 2001-02 season, Manchester United was overtaken by Arsenal and lost the Premier League title. In the subsequent 2002-03 season, relying on Van Nistelrooy’s peak state, Manchester United regained the Premier League title, but the decline of the team’s strength is already a fact. After David Beckham left Manchester United, the club began to rebuild the squad by bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo. In the 2003-04 season, with the strong rise of Arsenal and Chelsea, Manchester United was brought to a low point in the Premier League, being defeated by Muhammad in the Champions League. The defeat by Porto, led by Rinho, symbolised that Manchester United’s winter has come. It’s not surprising that Chelsea dominated the Premier League in the next two seasons, Manchester United ended up the runner-up. Last but not the least, in the Champions League, they were double-killed by AC Milan and failed to qualify for the group stage.