Manchester United F.C. in international football
With the backing of The Football Association's chairman, Stanley Rous (who would later go on to become the president of FIFA), Manchester United were allowed to compete in the 1956–57 European Cup.
A long run in the European Cup followed, including wins over Borussia Dortmund and Athletic Bilbao and culminating with a semi-final tie against Real Madrid.
Eight of those who died were Manchester United players, among them Duncan Edwards, Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor, while club secretary Walter Crickmer, trainer Tom Curry and coach Bert Whalley were also killed.
A 2–1 win at Old Trafford in the first leg gave the team hope of a place in the final, but a 4–0 defeat back at the San Siro put paid to those dreams.
After sweeping aside Willem II of the Netherlands and the defending champions, England's Tottenham Hotspur, United were drawn against Sporting CP in the quarter-finals.
They reached the semi-finals, knocking out Djurgården, Borussia Dortmund, Everton and Strasbourg before losing 2–1 to Ferencváros in a play-off after a 3–3 aggregate draw over two legs.
After seeing off Finland's HJK Helsinki and Vorwärts Berlin of East Germany in the first two rounds, Manchester United were drawn against four-time finalists, two-time winners and the previous season's runners-up, Benfica.
Despite this tag, United ran out 3–2 winners in the first leg at Old Trafford, before beating the Lisbon side 5–1 back at the Estádio da Luz, in what is considered to be the greatest match of George Best's career.
Best had injured his knee in an FA Cup Sixth Round match against Preston North End a couple of weeks before, and although he played in the first leg against Partizan, he was not fully fit and United struggled, losing 2–0 at the JNA Stadium.
Manchester United won the 1966–67 Football League title by four points over Nottingham Forest with a game to spare; this secured their second European Cup appearance in three seasons for 1967–68.
United won the first leg at Old Trafford 2–0; an own goal from Stefan Florenski put them 1–0 up after an hour, and Brian Kidd doubled their lead in the final minute.
United's 1–0 win in the first leg at Old Trafford was all that separated the sides after a 3–3 draw at the Bernabéu, setting up a meeting with Benfica in the final at Wembley Stadium.
Best was again on the scoresheet, along with two goals from Charlton and one from Kidd on his 19th birthday, as United beat the Portuguese champions 4–1 after extra time to claim their first European trophy.
Following the retirement of Sir Matt Busby as manager at the end of the 1968–69 season, United entered a barren period that culminated in relegation to the Second Division in 1974.
Promotion was achieved at the first attempt under the management of Tommy Docherty, who had taken over in December 1972, and in that first season back in the top flight, United finished third in the league to qualify for the UEFA Cup.
[4] Their defence of the trophy in the 1991–92 season was short-lived, ending at the hands of Atlético Madrid in the second round, and they lost at the first hurdle in the 1992–93 UEFA Cup.
This campaign in Europe also saw them suffer their first home defeat in a European competition, 40 years after first competing on the continent, losing 1–0 to Turkish side Fenerbahçe in the group stage.
[12] A year later, however, they won the trophy for the third time, beating fellow English side Chelsea on penalties in Moscow after a 1–1 draw in the first all-English European Cup final.
[19] It was the first time that Manchester United had played in the qualifying phase of the Champions League since beating Hungarian side Debrecen in the 2005–06 competition.
