Can any football discourse ever be complete without the mention of The Red devils, Manchester United, the centenarian football club that occupies The Theatre of Dreams, on the banks of river Irwell, in Greater Manchester, England? We think not!
Distinguished by their peculiar crest featuring an intimidating devil holding a three-pronged fork and having garnered more trophies than any other English football club, Manchester United have shown that they are devilishly good at a game of football, thereby living up to their nickname, The Red Devils.
Founded in 1878 and originally known as Newton Heath L&YR Football Club, The Red Devils have come a long way, evolving from a modest team of players who primarily worked for the Lancaster and Yorkshire Railway Company in Newton Heath, to become a team consisting of the world’s most coveted football players. What started as a football competition between departments in L&Y Railway Company and other railway companies in England soon flared out, not only to national prominence in England but to global prominence. Newton Heath L&YR Football Club along with other local football clubs went on to found the football league in 1888 but by the beginning of the twentieth century, they terribly swayed in a storm of financial problems. On the brink of extinction, a group of local business men, including John Henry Davies pulled in financial support and took on some rights on the running of the club, leading to the renaming of Newton Heath L&YR Football Club in 1902 to Manchester United FC as we know it today.
Manchester United under manager Matt Busby won the Football League in 1956 and 1957 and this marked the beginning of a string of success for the club. Even after the dreadful incident of 1958 when the club lost good players in the Munich plane crash, Manchester United proved to be a formidable force in football when they won the Football League in 1965 and 1967, even taking it further by winning the European Cup in 1968.
On winning trophies, Manchester United ranks tops as one of the most successful football clubs in Europe. In the English football scene, The Red Devils hold the record of twenty League titles, twelve FA cups, 5 League Cups and twenty-one FA Community Shields. Manchester United are quite the champions of football having aced the Champions League on three different occasions including, 1968, 1999 and 2009. Its recent victory in the 2016-2017 UEFA Europa League raised Manchester United to be named as the fifth club in history to win the coveted European Treble which is made up of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Europa League.
By 2016-2017, Manchester United became listed as the highest-earning football club in the world and by 2018, it was named world’s most valuable football club tagged at a value of 3.1 billion pounds. The Red Devils have over the years proved to the world that they are devilishly good at their game. Is your blood red enough for you to be considered a fan of The Red Devils? Take this quiz now to see!
