Manchester United  were formed in 1878 under the name of Newton Heath. Their stadium is called Old Trafford and is situated in greater Manchester, their current capacity is 76,000 people. They are nicknamed the red devils, and their first great side were established in the 1950's under the management of Matt Busby.

Unfortunately tragedy struck United in 1958 after the Munich air crash which took the lives of eight first team players. United gained many supporters after the disaster as many fans sympathized with the club. Many thought the event would lead to the end of a successful era under Busby, they rebounded though in 1967 when they won the league title.. Club legends such as the late George Best and the incomprible Bobby Charlton featured in that cup winning side in a high point in the Manchester United's illustrious history.
 
After indifferent periods in the 1970's and early 80's Sir Alex Ferguson was brought in as manager from Aberdeen in 1986. Ferguson slowly began building a championship winning side and interestingly came close to being sacked in 1990. After several trophies being added to the cabinet their first league title in 26 years came in 1993, a team consisting of greats such as the enigmatic French striker Eric Cantona and then thrilling youngster Ryan Giggs inspired the reds to a league and cup double in 1994.

In 1999 came Manchester United's historical treble winning year under Ferguson and influential captain Roy Keane when they won the UEFA Champions League, the F.A. Cup and English Premiership.

Their dominance started to falter slightly in the early part of the 21st century, but was regained with back to back premiership titles in 2007 and 2008. If they win the league again in 2009 they will equal Liverpools record of 18 domestic title's. Current stars include world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo and 23 year old England Striker Wayne Rooney.

Manchester United are the most poular football club in the world with their support covering thought to equate 5% of the entire world's population. United won their third striaght Premier League crown in 2009, asserting their unrivaled dominance in the English game.

European Performance:

Their first European cup triumph came in 1968 when they defeated Portugeese team Benfica in the final. In 1999 they defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 in Injury time in the Champions League final with the winner coming from Norwegian folk hero Ole-gunnar Solksjaer. In the 2008 UEFA Champions League final against they beat Chelsea in a a penalty shootout. United went to their second consecutive European cup final in 2009, but were blown away on the night by a fantastic Barcelona team and lost 2-0 Profile by Chris Howe.