Friday, August 10, 2007

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United's emblem


Manchester United Football Club are an English football club, based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is arguably the most popular football club in the world, with over 50 million supporters worldwide;average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964-65. The club is also one of the most successful in English football; for over twenty years, since the 1986-87 season, they have won 18 major honours, which is more than any other Premier League club.They are the Premier League's reigning champions, and have won the Premier League/Football League 16 times. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating S.L. Benfica 4–1, and they won a second European Cup in 1999. They also hold the record for the most FA Cup titles with 11.

Since the late 1990s the club has been one of the richest in the world, and until recently had the highest revenue of any football club for several years running. As of 2007, they have the fourth largest turnover in club football but remain the most profitable club based on operating income . Manchester United also remains the most valuable club in the world. The club is a founding member of the G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs.

The Treble (1998-99)

The 1998-99 season for Manchester United was the most successful season in English club football history as they became the first and only English team to win The Treble - winning the Premiership, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in the same season. After a very tense Premier League season, Manchester United won the title on the final day beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1, whilst Arsenal won 1-0 against Aston Villa. Winning the Premiership was the first part of the Treble in place, the one part that manager Alex Ferguson described as the hardest. In the FA Cup Final United faced Newcastle United and won 2-0 with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. In the final match of that season, the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final they defeated Bayern Munich in what was then considered one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed, losing going into injury time and scoring twice to win 2-1. Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football. Rounding out that record breaking year, Manchester United also won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1-0 in Tokyo.

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