Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,oh
You were only waiting for this moment to arise, oh
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

ABBA was a Swedish pop music group active between 1972 and 1982. The band comprised Benny Andersson (Sweden), Björn Ulvaeus (Sweden), Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Norway), and Agnetha Fältskog (Sweden). They topped the charts worldwide from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The name “ABBA” is an acronym formed from the first letters of each of the group member’s given name (Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid)[1].

ABBA gained immense international popularity employing catchy song hooks, simple lyrics, and a Wall of Sound achieved by overdubbing the female singers’ voices in multiple harmonies. As their popularity grew, they were sought after to tour Europe, Australia, and North America, drawing crowds of near-hysterical fans (“ABBAholics”), notably in Australia. Touring became a contentious issue, being particularly unpopular with Agnetha, but they continued to release studio albums to great commercial success. At the height of their popularity, however, both marriages of the band members (Benny with Frida, and Björn with Agnetha) failed, and the relationship changes were reflected in their music, as they produced more thoughtful lyrics with different compositions.

In Frida the dvd, Lyngstad explains how she and Fältskog developed as singers, as Abba´s recordings got more and more complex over the years.

They remain a fixture of radio playlists and are one of the world’s best selling bands, having sold over 400 million records world wide;[2][3][4] they still sell two to four million records a year.[5] ABBA was also the first pop group from mainland Europe to enjoy consistent success in the charts of the English-speaking countries, mainly the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Their enormous popularity subsequently opened the doors for other Continental European acts.[6] The music of ABBA has been re-arranged into the successful musical Mamma Mia! that has toured worldwide and a movie version was released in July 2008. All four of the former members of ABBA were present at the Stockholm premieres of both the musical (2005) and the film (2008). The film première took place at the Benny Andersson-owned Rival theatre at Mariatorget, Stockholm on 4 July 2008.

A new museum devoted entirely to the pop supergroup was scheduled to open in Stockholm in 2009, but the project was postponed indefinitely as of September 2008. [7]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Before ABBA (1960s)
o 1.1 First live performance and the start of “Festfolk”
o 1.2 First record together “Hej, Gamle Man”
* 2 Forming the group (1970–1973)
o 2.1 Their first hit as ‘Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid’
o 2.2 “Ring Ring”
o 2.3 Official naming
* 3 Breakthrough (1973–1976)
o 3.1 Eurovision victory
o 3.2 1974 Tour
o 3.3 Reception in Australia
* 4 Superstardom (1976–1981)
o 4.1 European and Australian tour
o 4.2 Polar Music Studio formation
o 4.3 Fallout of success
o 4.4 Progression
* 5 The final album and performances (1981–1982)
o 5.1 Last recording sessions
o 5.2 Last performances
* 6 Breaking up
* 7 After ABBA
o 7.1 Andersson and Ulvaeus
o 7.2 Fältskog and Lyngstad
* 8 Revival
* 9 Fashion, videos, and advertising campaigns
* 10 Discography
* 11 Awards and recognition
* 12 Bibliography
* 13 See also
o 13.1 ABBA-related
o 13.2 Lists
o 13.3 Other
* 14 Notes
* 15 External links

[edit] Before ABBA (1960s)

Benny Andersson (born in Stockholm, Sweden on 16 December 1946) was a member of a popular Swedish pop-rock group, The Hep Stars, that performed covers of international hits, from the age of 18. He played keyboards and eventually started writing original compositions for his band, many of which became major hits including “No Response” that hit #3 in 1965, “Sunny Girl”, “Wedding”, “Consolation”, all of which hit #1 in 1966.[8] Andersson also had a fruitful songwriting collaboration with Lasse Berghagen, with whom he composed his first Svensktoppen entry “Sagan Om Lilla Sofi” in 1968.

Björn Ulvaeus (born in Gothenburg, Sweden on 25 April 1945) also began his musical career at 18, when he fronted The Hootenanny Singers, a popular Swedish folk-skiffle group. Ulvaeus started writing English language songs for his group, and even had a brief solo career alongside. The Hootenanny Singers and The Hep Stars sometimes crossed paths while touring, and on one occasion in June 1966 Ulvaeus and Andersson decided to write a song together. Their first attempt was “Isn’t It Easy to Say”, a song later recorded by The Hep Stars. Stig Anderson was the manager of The Hootenanny Singers and founder of the Polar Music label. He saw potential in the collaboration, and encouraged them to compose more. Both also began playing occasionally with the other’s bands on stage and on record, although not until 1969 did the pair write and produce some of their first real hits together: “Ljuva Sextiotal” (‘Merry Sixties’), recorded by Brita Borg and The Hep Stars’ 1969 hit “Speleman”.

Andersson wrote and submitted the song “Hej, Clown” for the 1969 Melodifestivalen, the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest finals. The song tied for first, but re-voting relegated Andersson’s song to second place.[9] On this occasion, Andersson briefly met his future spouse, singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who also participated in the contest. A month later, the two had become a couple. As the two bands began to break up, Andersson and Ulvaeus teamed up and eventually recorded their first album together in 1970, called Lycka (“Happiness” in Swedish), that included original compositions sung by both men. Ulvaeus still occasionally recorded and performed with The Hootenanny Singers until the summer of 1974, and Andersson took part in producing their records.

Agnetha Fältskog (born on 5 April 1950 in Jönköping, Sweden) had a #1 record in Sweden when she was only 17, and was soon noted by the critics and songwriters as a talented singer/songwriter of schlager style songs. Fältskog’s main inspiration in her early years were singers like Connie Francis. Along with her own compositions, she recorded covers of foreign hits and performed them on tours in Swedish folkparks. She submitted an original song for Melodifestivalen at 17 years old, titled “Försonade”, but it was rejected. She briefly met Anni-Frid Lyngstad for the first time during a TV show in January 1968, and Björn Ulvaeus at a concert venue a few months later.

During filming of a Swedish TV special in May 1969, Fältskog met Ulvaeus again, and they eventually became romantically involved and they married in 1971. Fältskog and Ulvaeus eventually got involved in each other’s recording sessions,[10] and soon even Andersson and Lyngstad added backing vocals to her 1970 album “Som Jag Är” (As I Am). In 1973, Fältskog starred as Mary Magdalene in the original Swedish production of Jesus Christ Superstar and attracted favourable reviews. Between 1967 and 1975, Fältskog released five studio albums.[11]

Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad (born on 15 November 1945 in Bjørkåsen in Ballangen, Norway) sang from the age of thirteen with various dance bands, and worked mainly in a jazz-oriented cabaret style. She also formed her own band named Anni-Frid Four. In the summer of 1967, she won a national talent competition with the song “En Ledig Dag”, included in the EMI Compilation Frida 1967-1972. The first prize was a recording contract with EMI Sweden and to perform live on the most popular TV show in Sweden. This first TV performance is included in Frida the dvd. Lyngstad released several singles on EMI and had many hits in the Swedish charts. When Benny Andersson started to produce her recordings in 1971, she got her first #1 single, “Min Egen Stad” (My Own Town), for which all four future ABBA members sang the backup vocals. Lyngstad toured and performed regularly in the folkpark circuit and made appearances on radio and TV. She met Björn Ulvaeus briefly in 1963 during a talent contest, and Agnetha Fältskog during a TV show in early 1968.

Lyngstad finally linked up with her future bandmates in 1969. On 1 March 1969, she participated in the Melodifestivalen, where she met Andersson for the first time. A few weeks later they met again during a concert tour in southern Sweden and they soon became a couple. Andersson produced her single “Peter Pan” in September 1969 – the first collaboration between her and Benny & Björn, as they had written the song. Later Andersson produced Lyngstad’s debut album, Frida, which was released in March 1971 and praised by critics. Lyngstad also played in several revues and cabaret shows in Stockholm between 1969 and 1973. After ABBA formed, she recorded another successful album in 1975, Frida Ensam, which included the original Swedish rendition of “Fernando”, which became a huge hit in Scandinavia before the English version was recorded.[12]

[edit] First live performance and the start of “Festfolk”

An attempt at combining their talents occurred in April 1970 when the two couples went on holiday together to the island of Cyprus. What started as singing for fun on the beach ended up as an improvised live performance in front of the United Nations soldiers stationed on the island. Andersson and Ulvaeus were at this time recording their first album together, “Lycka”, which was to be released in September 1970. Fältskog and Lyngstad added backing vocals on several tracks during June, and the idea of them all working together saw them launch their own stage act, “Festfolk”, which translates from Swedish to mean both “Party People” and “Engaged Couples”, on 1 November 1970 in Gothenburg. The cabaret show attracted positive reviews. The foursome performed the Andersson and Ulvaeus hit “Hej, Gamle Man” – the first recording credited to all four – and solo numbers from respective albums, but the foursome did not feel like working together, and soon concentrated on individual projects again.

[edit] First record together “Hej, Gamle Man”

“Hej, Gamle Man”(“Hello, Old Man”) became the foursome’s first hit, -the song’s lyrics is about an old Salvation Army soldier, and the record was credited to Björn & Benny reaching no 5 on the sales charts, and no 1 on Svensktoppen, staying there for 15 weeks. In the first half of 1971, the four artists worked more together, adding vocals to the others’ recordings. Fältskog, Andersson and Ulvaeus went on a tour together in May, while Lyngstad toured on her own. Frequent recording sessions brought the foursome tighter together during the summer.[13]

[edit] Forming the group (1970–1973)

After the 1970 release of Andersson and Ulvaeus’ album “Lycka”, two more singles credited to ‘Björn & Benny’ were released in Sweden, “Det Kan Ingen Doktor Hjälpa” and “Tänk Om Jorden Vore Ung”, but clearly with more prominent vocals by Fältskog and Lyngstad -and with moderate chart success. Fältskog released her fourth album in 1971 and married Ulvaeus on 6 July 1971. Andersson, Ulvaeus, and Fältskog started performing together on a regular basis during the summer of 1971.

Stig Anderson, founder and owner of Polar, was determined to break into the mainstream international market with music by Andersson and Ulvaeus. “One day the pair of you will write a song that becomes a worldwide hit”, he predicted.[14] Stig encouraged Ulvaeus and Andersson to write a song for Melodifestivalen, and after two rejected entries in 1971,[15] Andersson and Ulvaeus submitted their new song “Säg Det Med En Sång” (“Say It With A Song”) for the 1972 contest, and they chose newcomer Lena Anderson to perform. The song won third place, encouraging Stig, and became a huge hit in Sweden.[16] The first signs of foreign success came as a surprise, as the Andersson and Ulvaeus single “She’s My Kind of Girl” was released by chance by Epic in Japan in March 1972, giving the duo a Top 10 hit. Thus, two more singles were released in Japan, “En Carousel” [17] (earlier version of “Merry-Go-Round”) and “Love Has It’s Ways” (a song they wrote with Koichi Morita).[18]

[edit] Their first hit as ‘Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid’
The cover of “People Need Love”.

Ulvaeus and Andersson persevered with their songwriting and experimented with new sounds and vocal arrangements. “People Need Love” was released in June 1972, featuring guest vocals by the women, who were now given much greater prominence. Stig Anderson released it as a single, credited to Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid. The song reached #17 in the Swedish combined single and album charts, enough to convince them they were on to something.[19] The single also became the first record to chart for the quartet in the United States, where it peaked at #114 on the Cashbox singles chart and #117 on Record World’s singles chart. Billed as Björn & Benny (with Svenska Flicka), it was released there on Playboy Records. However, according to Stig Anderson, “People Need Love” could have been a much bigger American hit, but a small label like Playboy Records did not have the distribution resources to meet the demand for the single from retailers and radio programmers.[20] The foursome decided to record their first album together in the autumn of 1972, and sessions began on 26 September 1972. The two women shared lead vocal on “Nina, Pretty Ballerina”, on this day, and the two women’s voices combined in harmonies for the first time gave the foursome an idea of the qualities of their combined talents.

[edit] “Ring Ring”

For 1973, the band and their manager Stig Anderson decided to have another try at the Melodifestivalen, this time with the song “Ring Ring.” The studio sessions were handled by Michael B. Tretow, who experimented with a “wall of sound” production technique that became the wholly new ABBA sound. Anderson arranged an English translation of the lyrics by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody and they thought this would be a surefire winner, but in the Melodifestivalen, on 10 February 1973, it placed third, and thus never reached the international contest. Nevertheless the proto-group put out their first album, called Ring Ring. The album did well and the “Ring Ring” single was a hit in many parts of Europe, but Stig Anderson felt the true breakthrough could only come with a UK or US hit.[21]

[edit] Official naming
The ABBA logo.

In early 1973, Stig Anderson, tired of unwieldy names, started to refer to the group privately and publicly as ABBA. At first, this was a play on words, as Abba was also the name of a well-known fish-canning company in Sweden. However, since the fish canners were unknown outside Sweden, Anderson came to believe the name would work in international markets. A competition to find a suitable name for the group was held in a Gothenburg newspaper. The group was impressed with the names “Alibaba” and “Baba”, but in the end all the entries were ignored and it was announced in the summer that the name “ABBA” was official. Later the group negotiated with the canners for the right to the name.[22] “ABBA” is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member’s name: Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid (Frida).[1] The first ‘B’ in the logo version of the name was reversed on the band’s promotional material from 1976 onwards and became the group’s registered trademark. The first time the name is found written on paper is on a recording session sheet from the Metronome Studio in Stockholm, dated 16 October 1973. It was first written as “Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida”, but was subsequently crossed out with “ABBA” written in large letters on top.

The official logo was designed by Rune Söderqvist, used for the first time on “Dancing Queen” single in August 1976, and subsequently on all later original albums and singles. In 1992 Polygram redesigned the logo for the ABBA Gold compilation, having a different font along with a crown emblem. Still, the classic logo is more commonly seen, for instance being used on the official ABBA website. [23]

[edit] Breakthrough (1973–1976)

[edit] Eurovision victory

Ulvaeus, Andersson, and manager Stig Anderson believed in the possibilities of using the Melodifestivalen and Eurovision TV contests as a way to make the music business aware of the band and Andersson, Ulvaeus and Stig as composers. In late 1973, they were invited by Swedish television to contribute a song for the 1974 contest, and from a number of newly written compositions, the foursome chose the upbeat “Waterloo”; the group was now inspired by the growing glam rock scene in England. “Waterloo” was an unashamedly glam-style pop track produced with Michael B. Tretow’s wall-of-sound approach.

ABBA won their national heats on Swedish TV on 9 February 1974, and with this third attempt were far more experienced and better prepared for the international contest. With an album’s worth of material released when the show was held at the Brighton Dome in England on 6 April 1974, the song won and catapulted them into British consciousness for the first time—and to the top of the charts all over Europe.[24] Winning the Eurovision Song Contest gave ABBA the chance to tour Europe and perform on major TV shows; thus the band saw the “Waterloo” single climb the charts in many European countries. “Waterloo” was ABBA’s first number 1 single in big markets such as the UK, Germany and Australia. In the US, it reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, paving the way for their first album there that was their second album, Waterloo —although it only peaked at #145 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

ABBA’s follow-up single, “Honey, Honey”, reached #27 in the US, and was a number 2 hit in Germany. However, in the UK, a cover version of the song by the act Sweet Dreams made #10 because ABBA’s British record company, Epic, decided to re-release a remixed version of “Ring Ring” instead. It failed to reach the Top 30, increasing growing speculation that the group were simply Eurovision one-hit wonders.

[edit] 1974 Tour

In November 1974, ABBA embarked on their first European tour, playing dates in Denmark, West Germany, and Austria. It was not as successful as the band had hoped, since most of the venues did not sell out. Due to a lack of demand, they were even forced to cancel a few shows, including a show scheduled in Switzerland. The second leg of the tour which took them through Scandinavia in January 1975, was entirely different. They played to full houses and finally got the reception they hoped for. For three weeks in the summer of 1975, ABBA compensated for the planned 1974 Swedish tour they were forced to cancel after their Eurovision triumph. They played sixteen open-air dates in Sweden and Finland, attracting huge crowds. Their Stockholm show at the Gröna Lund amusement park was seen by an estimated audience of 19,200.[25] Although further British success was elusive at this time, ABBA continued their huge popularity in other big markets with the next single releases: The rocky up tempo hymn “So Long” peaked at number 11 in Germany and the follow up saxophone midtempo song “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” even topped the charts in Australia and South Africa as well as becoming another Top 10 hit on the loyal German market.

[edit] Reception in Australia

The release of their third album, ABBA, known to fans as “The Limo Album”, and their single “SOS” brought back their presence in the UK, where the single hit #6 and the album reached #13. S.O.S. also became ABBA’s second number 1 single in both, Germany and Australia. Huge success was further solidified with “Mamma Mia” reaching the #1 spot in all three big markets, the UK, Germany and Australia at the end of January 1976. In the US, “SOS” reached #10 on the Record World Top 100 singles chart and #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, picking up the BMI Award along the way as one of the most played songs on American radio in 1975.

Yet the success of the group in the United States remained patchy. While they managed to break into the US singles market where, by early 1976, they already had four Top 30 singles, the album market proved to be tough to crack. The eponymous ABBA album generated no fewer than three real American hits, but it only peaked at #165 on the Cashbox album chart and #174 on the Billboard 200 chart. Opinions were voiced, by Creem in particular, that in the US ABBA had endured “a very sloppy promotional campaign”.

In Australia, the airing of the videos for “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” and “Mamma Mia” on nationwide TV in August 1975 started an immense interest for ABBA, resulting in #1 positions on both the single and album charts for months.

[edit] Superstardom (1976–1981)

In March 1976, the band released the compilation Greatest Hits, despite having had only six Top 40 hits in the UK and the US. Nevertheless, it became their first UK #1 album, and also took ABBA into the Top 50 on the US album charts for the first time, eventually selling more than a million copies there. At the same time, Germany released a compilation named “The Very Best of ABBA”, also becoming a number 1 album there whereas the “Greatest hits” LP followed few months later to number 2 on the german charts, despite all similarities with “The Very Best” album. Also included on Greatest Hits was a new single, “Fernando”. This song had first been written by Ulvaeus and Andersson in Swedish for Lyngstad’s Nr 1 1975 solo album Frida ensam (Frida alone). After Lyngstad’s major success with the song in Scandinavia, the group decided to record an English version. With “Fernando” hitting #1 in twelve countries worldwide (including the UK and Germany), it occupied the top position in Australia for 14 weeks, tying The Beatles for longest number one for “Hey Jude”, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time in that country. That same year, the group received its first international prize, with “Fernando” being chosen as the “Best Studio Recording of 1975″. In the US, “Fernando” reached the Top 10 of the Cashbox Top 100 singles chart and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, ABBA’s first American number one single of any kind.

The group’s next album, Arrival, a number 1 bestseller all over Europe and Australia, represented a new level of accomplishment in both songwriting and studio work, prompting rave reviews from more rock-orientated UK music weeklies such as Melody Maker and New Musical Express, and mostly appreciative notices from American critics. In fact, hit after hit flowed from Arrival: “Money, Money, Money”, another number 1 in Germany and Australia, and “Knowing Me, Knowing You”, ABBAs sixth consecutive German number 1 as well as another UK #1. The real sensation of all was “Dancing Queen”, not only topping the charts in the loyal markets UK, Germany and Australia, but also reaching number 1 in the United States. In 1977, Arrival was nominated for the inaugural BRIT Award in the category “Best International Album of the Year”. By this time ABBA were very popular in the UK, most of Western Europe and Australia. In Frida the dvd, Lyngstad explains how she and Fältskog developed as singers, as Abba´s recordings got more and more complex over the years.

Their popularity in the US would remain on a comparatively smaller scale, and “Dancing Queen” became the only Billboard Hot 100 #1 single ABBA ever had there (they did, however, get three more singles to the #1 position on other Billboard charts, including Billboard Adult Contemporary and Hot Dance Club Play). Nevertheless, Arrival finally became a true breakthrough release for ABBA on the US album market where it peaked at #20 on the Billboard 200 album chart, while reaching platinum sales there as well.

[edit] European and Australian tour
Agnetha Fältskog at the opening concert in Oslo, 28 January 1977.

In January 1977, ABBA hit the road. The group’s status had changed dramatically and they were clearly regarded as superstars. They opened their much anticipated tour in Oslo, Norway, on 28 January, and mounted a lavishly produced spectacle that included a few scenes from their self-penned mini-operetta “The Girl With The Golden Hair.” The concert attracted immense media attention from across Europe and Australia. They continued the tour through Western Europe visiting Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Essen, Hanover, Hamburg, and ended it with shows in the UK in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and two sold-out concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Tickets for these two shows were available only by mail application and it was later revealed that the box-office received 3.5 million requests for tickets, enough to fill the venue 580 times. There were, however, complaints about the group’s performance lacking the same intriguing qualities on stage as what was presented in the studio, as an article in The Times accused the show of being boring.[26] One of the Royal Albert Hall concerts was filmed as a reference for the filming of the Australian tour for what became ABBA: The Movie, though it is not known exactly how much of the concert was filmed.

After the European leg of the tour, in March 1977, ABBA played eleven dates in Australia before a total of 160,000 people. The opening concert in Sydney at the Sydney Showground on 3 March before over 20,000 was marred by torrential rain and Frida slipped on the wet stage during the concert. However, all four members would later recall this concert to be the most memorable of their career. Upon their arrival in Melbourne, a civic reception was held at the Town Hall and ABBA appeared on the balcony to greet an enthusiastic crowd of 6,000 people. In Melbourne, ABBA played three concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl with 14,500 at each including the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and his family. At the first Melbourne concert, an additional 16,000 people gathered outside the fenced-off area to listen to the concert. In Adelaide, the group performed one concert at West Lakes Football Stadium before 20,000 people with another 10,000 listening outside. During the first of five concerts in Perth, there was a bomb scare with everyone having to evacuate the Entertainment Centre. The trip was accompanied by mass hysteria and unprecedented media attention, and is vividly captured on film in ABBA: The Movie, directed by Lasse Hallström.

The Australian tour and its subsequent ABBA: The Movie produced some ABBA lore, as well. Agnetha Fältskog’s blonde good looks had long made her the band’s ‘pin-up girl’, a role she disdained. During the Australian tour, she performed in a skin-tight white jumpsuit, causing one Australian newspaper to use the headline “Agnetha’s bottom tops dull show”. When asked about this at a news conference, she replied: “Don’t they have bottoms in Australia?”[27]

In December 1977, ABBA followed up Arrival with the more musically and lyrically ambitious fifth album The Album, which was released to coincide with ABBA: The Movie. Although the album was less well-received by the critics in the UK, it did spawn more worldwide hits: “The Name of the Game” and “Take a Chance on Me”, both of which topped the UK charts, and reached #12 and #3, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US. Although “Take a Chance on Me” did not top the American charts, it has actually proved to be ABBA’s biggest hit single in the United States, selling more copies than “Dancing Queen”.[28] The Album also included the ABBA signature tune, “Thank You for the Music”, released as a single in the UK in 1983, and had been the B-side of “Eagle” in countries where the latter had been released.

[edit] Polar Music Studio formation

By 1978, ABBA was a megagroup. They converted a vacant theatre into the Polar Music Studio, a state-of-the-art studio in Stockholm. The studio was used by several other bands; notably, Genesis’ Duke and Led Zeppelin’s In Through the Out Door were recorded there. During May, the group went to the US for a huge promotional campaign, and performed on Olivia Newton-John’s TV show. However, a lot of effort was put into the new recording studio in Stockholm. The recording sessions for “Summer Night City” were an uphill struggle, but upon release the song became another significant hit for the group. The track would also set the stage for ABBA’s foray into disco with their upcoming album.[29]

Several years ago, the original Polar Music Studios (by that time renamed Polar Studios) were closed because the landlord of the building had increased the rent required. The site is now a Fitness First gymnasium, and there is a display in its foyer acknowledging its history as Polar (Music) Studios.

On 9 January 1979, the group performed “Chiquitita” at the Music for UNICEF Concert held at the United Nations General Assembly to celebrate UNICEF’s Year of the Child. ABBA donated the copyright of this worldwide hit to the UNICEF; see Music for UNICEF Concert.[30] The single was released the following week, and reached #1 in ten countries.

[edit] Fallout of success

In mid-January 1979, Ulvaeus and Fältskog announced they were getting divorced. The news caused a massive interest from the media, and led to speculation about the band’s future. ABBA assured the press and their fanbase they were continuing their work as a group, and that the divorce would not affect them.[31] Nonetheless, the media continued to confront them with this in interviews.

The group’s sixth album, Voulez-Vous, was released in April 1979, the title track of which was recorded at the famous Criteria Studios in Miami, U.S. with the assistance, among others, of recording engineer Tom Dowd. The album topped the charts across Europe and in Japan and Mexico, hit the Top 10 in Canada and Australia and the Top 20 in the US. None of the singles from the album reached #1 on the UK charts, but “Chiquitita”, “Does Your Mother Know”, “Angeleyes”, the Double A-side in UK for the single “Voulez-Vous”, and “I Have a Dream” all charted no lower than #4. In Canada, “I Have a Dream” became ABBA’s second #1 on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart, after “Fernando” hit the top previously. Later that year, the group released their second compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 2, which featured a brand new track: “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”, another number 3 hit in both, the UK and Germany. In Russia during the late 1970s, they were paid in oil commodities because of an embargo on the ruble.[32]

On 13 September 1979, ABBA began their first (and only) North American Tour at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada, with a full house of 14,000. During the next four weeks, they played a total of seventeen sold-out dates, thirteen in the U.S. and four in Canada. The last scheduled ABBA concert on U.S. soil, in Washington, DC, was canceled due to Agnetha Fältskog’s emotional distress suffered during the flight from New York to Boston, when the private plane the group was on was subjected to extreme weather conditions and was unable to land for an extended period. The tour ended with a show in Toronto, Canada at Maple Leaf Gardens before a capacity crowd of 18,000. The shows also generated the same type of complaints that were expressed during the group’s 1977 tour: many fans regarded ABBA as more of a studio group than a live band. On 19 October 1979, the tour resumed in Western Europe where the band played 23 sold-out gigs, including an unprecedented six sold-out nights at London’s Wembley Arena.

[edit] Progression

In March 1980, ABBA traveled to Japan where upon their arrival at Narita International Airport, they were besieged by thousands of fans. The group played eleven concerts to full houses, including six shows at Tokyo’s Budokan. This tour was the last “on the road” adventure of their career. The same year saw the release of ABBA’s seventh album Super Trouper, which reflected a certain change in ABBA’s style with more prominent use of synthesisers and increasingly more personal lyrics. It set a record for the most pre-orders ever received for a UK album after one million copies were ordered before release. Anticipation for the album had been built up by “The Winner Takes It All”, the group’s eighth UK chart topper (and their first since 1978). In the US, the single reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became ABBA’s second Billboard Adult Contemporary #1. The song was allegedly written about Ulvaeus and Fältskog’s marital tribulations. The next single from the album, “Super Trouper”, also hit #1 in the UK as well as in Germany, becoming the group’s ninth and final UK chart-topper. Another track from Super Trouper, “Lay All Your Love on Me”, released in 1981 as a 12-inch single only in selected territories, managed to top the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and peaked at #7 on the UK singles chart becoming at the time the highest ever charting 12-inch release in UK chart history.

Also in 1980, ABBA recorded a compilation of Spanish-language versions of their hits called Gracias Por La Música. It was released in Spanish-speaking countries as well as Japan and Australia. The album became a major success, and along with the Spanish version of “Chiquitita”, this signaled the group’s breakthrough in Latin America.

[edit] The final album and performances (1981–1982)

In January 1981, Ulvaeus married Lena Källersjö, and manager Stig Anderson celebrated his 50th birthday with a huge party. For this occasion, ABBA recorded the track ‘Hovas Vittne’ (a pun on the Swedish word for Jehovah’s Witness) as a tribute to him, and released it only on 200 red vinyl copies, to be distributed to the guests attending the party. This single has become a most sought-after collectible. In mid-February, Andersson and Lyngstad announced they were filing for divorce. Information surfaced that their marriage had been an uphill struggle for years, and Benny had already met another woman, Mona Nörklit, whom he married in November the same year.

Andersson and Ulvaeus had songwriting sessions during the first months of 1981, and recording sessions began in mid-March. At the end of April, the group recorded a TV special, Dick Cavett meets ABBA with the US talk show host Dick Cavett. The Visitors, ABBA’s eighth and final studio album, showed a songwriting maturity and depth of feeling distinctly lacking from their earlier recordings but still placing the band squarely in the pop genre, with catchy tunes and harmonies. Although not revealed at the time of its release, the album’s title track, according to Ulvaeus, refers to the secret meetings held against the approval of totalitarian governments in Soviet-dominated states, while other tracks address topics like failed relationships, the threat of war, aging, loss of innocence, and a parent watching a child grow up. This change of content lead to the release of the album “The Visitors” including the UK #3 single “One of Us”, also the last of ABBA’s nine number 1 singles in Germany in December 1981.

Although it topped the album charts across most of Europe, including the UK and Germany, The Visitors was not as commercially successful as its predecessors, showing at a commercial decline in previous loyal markets such as France, Australia or Japan. A track from The Visitors, “When All Is Said and Done”, was released as a single in North America, Australia and New Zealand, and fittingly became ABBA’s final Top 40 hit in the US, while reaching #4 on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart in Canada. The song’s lyrics, as with “The Winner Takes It All” and “One of Us”, dealt with the painful experience of splitting up from a long-term partner, though it looked at it more optimistically. With the now publicized story of Andersson and Lyngstad’s divorce, speculation increased of tension within the band. Also released in the US was the title track of The Visitors, which hit the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

[edit] Last recording sessions
The cover of The Singles: The First Ten Years.

In the spring of 1982, songwriting sessions had started and the group came together for more recordings. Plans were not completely clear, but a new album was discussed and the prospect of a small tour suggested. The recording sessions in May and June were a struggle, and only three songs were eventually recorded: “You Owe Me One”, “I Am the City”, and “Just Like That”. Andersson and Ulvaeus were not satisfied with the outcome, so the tapes were shelved and the group took a break for the summer.[33]

Back in the studio again in early August, the group had changed plans for the rest of the year: they settled for a Christmas release of a double album compilation of all their past single releases to be named The Singles: The First Ten Years. New songwriting and recording sessions took place,[34] and during October and November, they released the singles “The Day Before You Came”/”Cassandra” and “Under Attack”/”You Owe Me One”, the A-sides of which were included on the compilation album. Neither single made the top 20 in the UK, though “The Day Before You Came” became a Top 5 hit in many European countries such as Germany, The Netherlands or Belgium. The album went to #1 in the UK and Belgium, Top 5 in the Netherlands and West Germany and Top 20 in many other countries.

“I Am the City” and “Just Like That” were left unreleased on The Singles: The First Ten Years for possible inclusion on the next projected studio album from ABBA, though this never came to fruition. “I Am the City” was eventually released as a bonus track on the compilation album More ABBA Gold in 1993, while “Just Like That” has been recycled in new songs with other artists produced by Andersson and Ulvaeus. A reworked version of the verses ended up in the musical Chess.[35] The chorus section of “Just Like That” was eventually released on a retrospective boxset in 1994. Despite numerous requests from fans, Ulvaeus and Andersson are still refusing to release ABBA’s version of “Just Like That” in its entirety, even though the complete version surfaced on bootlegs.

The group travelled to London to promote The Singles: The First Ten Years in the first week of November 1982, appearing on Saturday Superstore and The Late, Late Breakfast Show, and also to West Germany in the second week, to perform on Show Express. On 19 November 1982, ABBA appeared for the last time in Sweden on the TV programme Nöjesmaskinen, and on 11 December 1982, they made their last performance ever, transmitted to the UK on Noel Edmonds’ The Late, Late Breakfast Show, via a live link from a TV studio in Stockholm.

[edit] Last performances

Andersson and Ulvaeus began collaborating with Tim Rice in early 1983 on writing songs for the musical project Chess, while Fältskog and Lyngstad both concentrated on international solo careers. While Andersson and Ulvaeus were working on the musical, a further cooperation between three of them came with the musical Abbacadabra that was produced in France for television. It was a children’s musical utilising 14 ABBA songs. Alain and Daniel Boublil, who wrote Les Miserables, had been in touch with Stig Anderson about the project, and the TV musical was aired over Christmas 1983 on the British channel ITV.

Lyngstad, who had recently moved to Paris, participated in the French version, and recorded a single, “Belle”, a duet with French singer Daniel Balavoine. The song was a cover of ABBA’s instrumental 1976 track “Arrival”. As the single “Belle” sold well in France, Cameron Mackintosh wanted to stage an English language version of the show in London, with the French lyrics translated by David Wood and Don Black; Andersson and Ulvaeus got involved in the project, and contributed with one new song, “The Seeker”. “Abbacadabra” premièred 8 December 1983 at The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London, to mixed reviews and full houses for eight weeks, closing on 21 January 1984. Lyngstad was involved in this production as well, recording ‘Belle’ in English as “Time”; a duet with actor and singer B. A. Robertson: the single sold well, this time produced and recorded by Andersson and Ulvaeus.

All four members made their last public appearance, as four friends more than as ABBA, in January 1986, when they recorded a video of themselves performing an acoustic version of “Tivedshambo”, which was the first song written by their manager, Stig Anderson, for a Swedish TV show honouring Anderson on his 55th birthday. The four had not seen each other for more than two years. That same year they also performed privately at another friend’s 40th birthday: their old tour manager, Claes af Geijerstam. They sang a self-composed song titled “Der Kleine Franz” that later was to surface in Chess. The same year ABBA Live was released, featuring selections of live performances from the group’s 1977 and 1979 tours. Their last appearance as a group was filmed privately by Anders Glenmark. They were guests on the 50th birthday of Görel Hanser in 1999. Hanser was a long-time friend of all four, and also former secretary of Stig Anderson. Honouring Görel, ABBA performed a Swedish birthday song “Med En Enkel Tulipan” a cappella.[36]

Benny Andersson has on several occasions performed old ABBA songs. In June 1992, he and Björn Ulvaeus appeared with U2 at a Stockholm concert, singing the chorus of “Dancing Queen”, and a few years later during the final performance of the B & B in Concert in Stockholm, Andersson joined the cast for an encore at the piano. Andersson frequently adds an ABBA song to the playlist when he performs with his BAO band. He also played the piano during new recordings of the ABBA songs “Like an Angel Passing Through My Room” with opera singer Anne Sofie von Otter, and “When All Is Said And Done” with Swede Viktoria Tolstoy. Andersson and Ulvaeus both did an a capella rendition of the first verse of “Fernando” as they accepted their Ivor Novello award in London in 2002. Frida Lyngstad performed and recorded an a cappella version of “Dancing Queen” with the Swedish group The Real Group in 1993, and has also re-recorded “I Have a Dream” with Swiss singer Dan Daniell in 2003.

[edit] Breaking up

ABBA has never officially announced the end of the group, but the group has long been considered dissolved. Their last public performance together as ABBA was on the British TV programme The Late, Late Breakfast Show (live from Stockholm) December 11, 1982. In January 1983, Agnetha started recording sessions for a solo album, as Frida had released her Something’s Going On a year earlier to great success. Björn and Benny started songwriting sessions for the musical Chess—and ABBA was shelved in the meantime. In interviews, Björn and Benny denied the split of ABBA (“Who are we without our ladies? Initials of Brigitte Bardot?” ) and Frida and Agnetha kept claiming in interviews that ABBA would come together for a new album repeatedly during 1983 and 1984. Internal strife between the group and their manager escalated and the group sold their shares in Polar Music during 1983. With this, the foursome did not come together publicly until all four members were reunited at the Swedish premiere of Mamma Mia! on 4 July 2008. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, following the premiere, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, confirmed that there was nothing that could entice them back on stage again. “We will never appear on stage again”, Ulvaeus said. “There is simply no motivation to re-group. Money is not a factor and we would like people to remember us as we were. Young, exuberant, full of energy and ambition. I remember Robert Plant saying Led Zeppelin were a cover band now because they cover all their own stuff. I think that hit the nail on the head.”[37]

[edit] After ABBA

[edit] Andersson and Ulvaeus

Main articles: Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson

Björn Ulvaeus at Gothenburg Book Fair 2007.

In October 1984, Ulvaeus and Andersson together with lyricist Tim Rice released the musical concept double album Chess, The singles “One Night in Bangkok” (with vocals by Murray Head) and “I Know Him So Well” (a duet with Barbra Dickson and Elaine Paige -later also recorded by both Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston) were both huge successes. In May 1986, the musical premièred in the West End of London, and ran for almost three years. On Broadway it opened in April 1988, but closed within two months due to very bad reviews. The musical has been staged regularly on small scale to great success, and even the concert version is popular. In Stockholm, the composers staged Chess På Svenska (‘Chess in Swedish’) in 2003, with even some new material.

What is considered to be Andersson and Ulvaeus’ masterpiece, however, is Kristina från Duvemåla, a Swedish epic musical, which the composers premiered in Malmö in southern Sweden in October 1995, directed for the stage by Lars Rudolfsson and based on the The Emigrants tetralogy by Swedish novelist Vilhelm Moberg. The musical ran for five years in Stockholm, and an English version has been in the works for a long time, and it had been reported that the Broadway pre-production is in its earliest stage.[38]
Benny Andersson during a performance in Minnesota 2006.

Since 1983, besides Chess and Kristina Från Duvemåla, Benny Andersson has continued writing songs with Björn Ulvaeus. The pair produced two English language pop albums with Swedish duo Gemini in 1985 and 1987. In 1987, Andersson also released his first solo album on his Mono Music, called Klinga Mina Klockor, all new material inspired by Swedish folk music – -and followed it with his 2nd album titled November 1989. In the 1990s, Benny wrote music for the popular Swedish cabaret quartet Ainbusk Singers, giving them two massive hits: “Lassie)” and “Älska Mig”, and later produced Shapes -an English language album by the group’s Josefin Nilsson;with all-new material by Andersson and Ulvaeus. Andersson has regularly written music for films (most notably to Roy Andersson’s Songs from the Second Floor). In 2001, Benny Andersson put together his own band, BAO!, which has released three successful albums in 2001, 2004 and 2007. Benny Andersson has the record of staying in the longest ever run in the Swedish Svensktoppen charts as of April 2007 (the song “Du Är Min Man”, sung by Helen Sjöholm is still there, presently at #2 in its 228th week as of November 16th, 2008 [39] Andersson has released his 3rd album BAO 3 October 2007 with new material with his band BAO! and vocalists Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg -as well as playing to full houses at two of Sweden’s largest concert venues in October and November 2007 with an audience of 14,000.

Björn Ulvaeus has not appeared on stage performing music since ABBA, but had a reunion with his co-members of The Hootenanny Singers on 16 July 2005 at a music festival in his hometown of Västervik, singing their 1966 hit “Marianne”.

Andersson and Ulvaeus are highly involved in the world wide productions of the musical Mamma Mia!, alongside Lyngstad attending premieres. They were also involved in the production of the film version of the musical, which opened in July 2008; Benny Andersson produced the Soundtrack using the musicians ABBA used on their albums and tours. Benny Andersson appears in a cameo role as a ‘fisherman’ piano player in the ‘Dancing Queen’ scene in the movie version of “Mamma Mia”, while Björn Ulvaeus is seen as a Greek god playing harp during the closing credits according to www.imdb.com.

Andersson and Ulvaeus are continuosly composing new material; most recently the two wrote a song for Swedish singer Sissela Kyle for her Stockholm stage show “Your Days Are Numbered”, titled “Jag Vill Bli Gammal” (“I Wanna Grow Old”); last year they wrote “Han Som Har Vunnit Allt” (‘He Who’s Won It All’) for actor/singer Anders Ekborg and “I Walk With You Mama” and “After the Rain” for opera singer Anne Sofie Von Otter -for her Andersson tribute album “I Let The Music Speak”.

[edit] Fältskog and Lyngstad

Main articles: Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Both female members of ABBA pursued solo careers on the international scene following the break-up of the band. In 1982, Lyngstad chose Genesis drummer and singer Phil Collins to produce the album Something’s Going On and unveiled the hit single and video “I Know There’s Something Going On” in autumn of that year. The single became a #1 hit in France, where it spent five weeks at the top, Belgium, Switzerland and Costa Rica. The track reached #3 in Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Poland, and was also a Top 10 hit in Germany, Italy, South Africa and Finland. In the United States, the single reached #13. In all, “I Know There’s Something Going On” sold 3.5 million copies worldwide and is the biggest selling single any of the four members have had outside ABBA. Lyngstad’s album sold 1.5 million copies internationally.[40] Swedish Television, SVT, documented this historical event, by filming the whole recording process. The result became a one hour TV-documentary, including interviews with Frida & Phil, Björn & Benny as well as all the musicians. This documentary is included in Frida the dvd.

Frida’s second solo album after ABBA was the experimental Shine, produced by Steve Lillywhite, released in 1984. “Shine” reached the Top 10 on the album charts in Sweden, Norway and Belgium and the Top 20 in the Netherlands. The promotion videos and clips from this album are included in Frida the dvd. “Shine” was Frida’s final studio album release for twelve years.

Agnetha Fältskog followed in 1983 with the album Wrap Your Arms Around Me. This included the hit single “The Heat Is On”, which was a hit in Europe and Scandinavia. In the US, Fältskog scored a Billboard Top 30 hit with “Can’t Shake Loose”. In Europe, the single “Wrap Your Arms Around Me” was another successful hit, topping the charts in Belgium and Denmark, reaching the Top 5 in Sweden and the Netherlands and the Top 20 in Germany and France. Her album sold 1.2 million copies worldwide.[41]

Fältskog’s second post-ABBA solo album was Eyes of a Woman, released in March 1985, which reached #2 in Sweden and performed reasonably well in Europe. The first single from the album was “I Won’t Let You Go”. In November 1987, Fältskog released her third post-ABBA solo album, the Peter Cetera-produced I Stand Alone, (which also included the Billboard hit “I Wasn’t The One (Who Said Goodbye)”. The album sold very well in Sweden, where it spent eight weeks at #1. Later that year, however, Fältskog withdrew from public life and halted her music career for a while. In 1996, she released her autobiography, As I Am, and a compilation album featuring her solo hits alongside some ABBA classics. In 2004, she made a successful comeback, releasing the critically acclaimed album My Colouring Book, which debuted at #1 in Sweden (achieving triple-platinum status), #6 in Germany, and #12 in the UK, winning a silver award, and achieving gold status in Finland. The single “If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind” became Fältskog’s biggest solo hit in the UK, reaching the #11 position. The single saw the #2 spot in Sweden and was a hit throughout Scandinavia and Europe. In January 2007, she sang a live duet on stage with Swedish singer Tommy Körberg at the after party for the final showing of the musical, Mamma Mia!, in Stockholm, at which Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus were also present.

In 1992 Frida was asked and chosen to be the chairperson for the environmental organisation “Artister för miljön” (Artists for the Environment) in Sweden. Frida accepted and became chairwoman for this organisation from 1992 to 1995. To mark her interests for the environment, she recorded the Julian Lennon song Saltwater and performed it live in Stockholm. She arranged and financed summer camps for poor children in Sweden, focussing on environmental and ecological issues. Her environmental work for this organisation led up to the decision to record again. Djupa andetag (Deep Breaths) was released towards the end of 1996 and became a huge success in Sweden, where it reached #1 and Scandinavia. The lyrics for the single from this album, “Även en blomma” (Even a Flower), deal with environmental issues. In 2004, Lyngstad recorded a song called “The Sun Will Shine Again”, written especially for her and released with former Deep Purple member Jon Lord. The couple made several TV performances with this song in Germany. The following year, she released a career retrospective DVD, “Frida the DVD” and also a boxset, The “Frida Box Set”. Lyngstad lives a low-profile life but occasionally appears at a party or charity function. On 26 August 1992, she married Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen, of the German Reuss family. Von Plauen died of lymphoma at the age of 49. In addition to losing her husband, Lyngstad had also lost her daughter in a car crash a year earlier.

[edit] Revival

The same year ABBA went separate ways, the French production of a ‘tribute’ show; a children’s TV musical named Abbacadabra, using 14 of ABBA’s songs, spawned new interest in the group’s music. The London staging of the musical had stars like Elaine Paige, and Finola Hughes singing new lyrics to the old hits.

After receiving little attention during the mid 1980s, ABBA experienced a major resurgence in 1988 when the Australian Band Björn Again was formed. UK synth-pop duo Erasure’s then released an EP featuring cover versions of ABBA’s songs, which topped the charts in the spring of 1992. As U2 arrived in Stockholm for a concert in June of that year, the band paid homage to ABBA by inviting Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson to join them on stage for a rendition of “Dancing Queen”, playing guitar and keyboards. The September 1992 release of ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, a new compilation album, ended up selling massively worldwide and setting chart longevity records. The album became the most popular ABBA release ever, selling more than twenty-six million copies to date.

The enormous interest in the Gold compilation saw the release of More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits in 1993. This collection also contained the bonus track “I Am the City”, one of the unreleased songs from the 1982 recording sessions.

In 1994 two Australian movies caught the attention of the world’s media, both focussing on admiration for ABBA: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel’s Wedding. The same year, Thank You for the Music, a four-disc box set comprising all the group’s hits and stand-out album tracks, was released with the involvement of all four members. For this release, several demo versions and odd tracks were discovered in the Polar vaults.

ABBA were soon recognised and embraced by other acts: Evan Dando of The Lemonheads recorded a cover version of “Knowing Me, Knowing You”,[42] Sinéad O’Connor and Boyzone’s Stephen Gately have recorded “Chiquitita”, Tanita Tikaram, and Blancmange paid tribute to “The Day Before You Came”, Cliff Richard covered “Lay All Your Love On Me”, while Dionne Warwick and Peter Cetera recorded their versions of “SOS”. U.S. alternative-rock musician Marshall Crenshaw has also been known to play a version of “Knowing Me, Knowing You” in concert appearances. Swedish metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen covered “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” with slightly altered lyrics. Tribute albums were released both in Sweden and the UK.

In Sweden, the growing recognition of the legacy of Andersson and Ulvaeus resulted in the 1998 B & B Concerts: a tribute concert (with Swedish singers who had worked with the composers through the years) showcasing not only their ABBA years, but even hits from the 1960s and after ABBA. The concert was a huge success, released on CD, and later toured Scandinavia and even went to Beijing in the People’s Republic of China for two concerts. In 1999, Sweden saw the birth of ABBA Teens, later re-named A*Teens, recording techno-pop versions of ABBA songs to huge success worldwide: not only the English original versions, but ABBA’s Spanish versions also.

In April 1999, the Mamma Mia! musical opened in London, and soon premièred in cities worldwide to huge success.

In 2000 ABBA were reported to have turned down an offer of approximately US$1,000,000,000 to do a reunion tour consisting of 100 concerts.[43]

For the 2004 semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, staged in Istanbul thirty years after ABBA had won the contest in Brighton, all four members of ABBA appeared briefly in a special comedy video made for the interval act, entitled “Our Last Video Ever”. Each of the four members of the group made a brief cameo role, as did others such as Cher and Rik Mayall. The video was not included in the official DVD release of the Eurovision Contest, but was issued as a separate DVD release, retitled “The Last Video” at the request of the former ABBA members. It was billed as the first time the four had worked together since the group split. In fact, they each filmed their appearances separately.

In 2005 all four members of ABBA appeared at the Stockholm premiere of the musical Mamma Mia [44].

With Mamma Mia!’s huge success worldwide, and the 2008 film starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, there is a huge interest in ABBA’s music. However, in a November 2004 interview with the German magazine Bunte, Ulvaeus said a reunion would not satisfy ABBA’s many fans, even though there are legions of them around the world often clamouring for one.

In 2008 all four ABBA members were reunited at the Swedish premiere of the film Mamma Mia! on 4 July. It was the second time all of them had appeared together in public since 1986.[45] During the appearance, they re-emphasized that they intended never to officially reunite, citing the opinion of Robert Plant that the re-formed Led Zeppelin was more like a cover band of itself than the original band. Ulvaeus stated that he wanted the band to be remembered as they were during the peak years of their success. [46]

The compilation album ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, originally released in 1992, returned to number one in the UK album charts for the fifth time on 3 August 2008.[47]. On 14 August 2008, the Mamma Mia! The Movie film soundtrack went to Number 1 on the USA Billboard Charts. While ABBA were together, the highest album chart position they ever achieved in America was No. 14. 2008 was the first time an “ABBA” album went to the top of the American Record Charts.

In 2008 the Swedish band The Airwaves recorded an ABBA tribute song “Hey You, Ring Me Tonight”. The song is written by Clive Jones who is a member of an English band Black Widow. Most recently all 8 studio albums together with a 9th of rare tracks has been released as ABBA The Albums. Amazingly it has hit several charts, peaking at no4 in Sweden and top 10 in several other European territories. Uk release is Monday 24th November.
Posing together with the actors from the motion picture Mamma Mia! The Movie on July 4, 2008 are the original ABBA members. Far left, Benny Andersson. Fifth from left, Agnetha Fältskog (“Anna”), with her hand on Anni-Frid Lyngstad’s (“Frida”) shoulder. Second from right, Björn Ulvaeus.

[edit] Fashion, videos, and advertising campaigns

ABBA were widely noted for the colourful and trend-setting costumes its members wore. The videos that accompanied some of their biggest hits are often cited as being among the earliest examples of the genre. Most of ABBA’s videos (and ABBA: The Movie) were directed by Lasse Hallström who would later direct the films My Life as a Dog, The Cider House Rules and Chocolat.

ABBA made videos because their songs were hits in so many different countries and personal appearances weren’t always possible. This was also in an effort to minimize traveling, particularly to countries that would have required extremely long flights. Fältskog and Ulvaeus had two young children, and Fältskog, who was also afraid of flying, was very reluctant to leave her children for such a long time. ABBA’s manager, Stig Anderson, realized the potential of showing a simple video clip on television to publicize a single or album, thereby allowing easier and quicker exposure than a concert tour. Some of these videos became classics because of the 1970s era costumes and early video effects, such as the grouping of the band members in different combinations of pairs, overlapping one singer’s profile with the other’s full face, and the contrasting of one member against another. The director somehow managed to produce the videos with acts that seem to be integrated with the music.

In 1976, ABBA participated in a high-profile advertising campaign by the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., which was designed to promote the brand “National”. This campaign was designed initially for Australia, where “National” was still the primary brand used by Matsushita, who had not introduced the “Panasonic” brand to Australia yet, despite its widespread use in other parts of the world such as the U.S. However, the campaign was also aired in Japan. Five commercials, each approximately one minute long, were produced, each using the “National Song” sung by ABBA, which used the melody and instrumental arrangement of Fernando, adapted with new lyrics promoting National, and working in several slogans used by National in their advertising.[48]

In 2008, United States Senator John McCain wanted to use the group’s music in his 2008 presidential campaign, but opted against it, citing licensing and other concerns.[49]

[edit] Discography

Main article: ABBA discography

[edit] Awards and recognition

Main article: List of ABBA awards and recognition

[edit] Bibliography

* Potiez, Jean-Marie (2000). ABBA – The Book ISBN 1-85410-928-6
* Palm, Carl Magnus (2002). Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA ISBN 0-7119-9194-4
* Palm, Carl Magnus (2004). From “ABBA” to “Mamma Mia!” ISBN 1-85227-864-1

[edit] See also
This section contains information which may be of unclear or questionable importance or relevance to the article’s subject matter.
Please help improve this article by clarifying or removing superfluous information.

[edit] ABBA-related

* ABBA unreleased songs
* A*Teens
* Björn Again – World-famous ABBA tribute band
* Ace of Base
* Mamma Mia! – Musical show based on the songs of ABBA

[edit] Lists

* List of number-one hits (United States)
* List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
* List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
* List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
* List of Number 1 singles (UK)
* UK Best selling singles artists of all time
* List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
* List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
* List of Swedes in music
* Best selling music artists – World’s top selling music artists chart.
* The Complete Studio Recordings (ABBA album)

[edit] Other

* Music of Sweden
* Swedish pop music

[edit] Notes

1. ^ a b “ABBA’s biography, page 2″. www.abbasite.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.. At one time, Benny was married to Anni-Frid, and Björn was married to Agnetha, but both couple divorced. ABBA was considered as one of the greatest musical groups which entertained the world in the 20th century.
2. ^ Former ABBA drummer found dead in garden Amol Rajan; msnbc; accessed 18 July 2008; claims 400 million
3. ^ ABBA, The Book Potiez, Jean-Marie; 15 August 2005; accessed December 2006; claims more then 350 million records sold as of 2000
4. ^ It’s ABBA on the phone making a lot more money, money, money Sherwin, Adam; The Times; 19 April 2006; accessed December 2006; claims over 370 million
5. ^ “ABBA drummer found dead in pool of blood”. The Local (2008-03-17). Retrieved on 2008-03-30. “Despite having broken up a quarter of a century ago, the group still sells between two and four million albums a year.”
6. ^ [1] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 527
7. ^ “ABBA museum put on hold”. www.meeja.com.au (2008-09-13). Retrieved on 2008-09-13.
8. ^ [2] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 86-87
9. ^ [3] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 110
10. ^ [4] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 162
11. ^ [5] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 112-129 and 135-6
12. ^ [6] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 41-58
13. ^ [7] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 163-170
14. ^ [8] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 150
15. ^ [9] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 173
16. ^ [10] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 174
17. ^ Cover art for Björn and Benny single “En Carousel”/”Lycka”
18. ^ [11] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 182
19. ^ [12] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 185
20. ^ Interview with Songwriter magazine, 6, 1981, pp.23-25.
21. ^ [13] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 191-211
22. ^ [14] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 210
23. ^ [15] ABBA Logo 25th Anniversary
24. ^ [16] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 218-248
25. ^ [17] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 268
26. ^ Williams, Richard (15 February 1977). “Performance: ABBA – Albert Hall.” The Sunday Times (London); p. 9)
27. ^ DVD documentaries: The Winner Takes It All (2002) and Super Troupers (2004)
28. ^ [18] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 382
29. ^ [19] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 383-386
30. ^ “Bee Gees, Olivia were a hit with the VIPs” (11 January 1979). Courier Mail (Brisbane); p. 30
31. ^ “ABBA divorce – Agnetha moves out” (17 January 1979). The Sun (Sydney); p. 1)
32. ^ Rodgers, Peter (16 March 1980). “Pop goes ABBA’s $2m oil gamble: ABBA may lose enormous amount of money following venture into oil market.” The Sunday Times; Business News, p 53)
33. ^ [20] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 455-56
34. ^ [21] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 456-57
35. ^ [22] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 490
36. ^ [23] ABBA’s last known appearance (1999)
37. ^ [24] Hastings, Chris, Sunday Telegraph, 5 July 2008
38. ^ icethesite | Kristina från Duvemåla – The Musical
39. ^ [25]
40. ^ [26] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 452
41. ^ [27] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 470
42. ^ [28] Palm, Carl Magnus, page 504
43. ^ [29] Basham, David. “ABBA Nixes Billion-Dollar Offer To Reunite.” MTV News.
44. ^ “Abba reunite for musical premiere”. BBC News (2005-02-14). Retrieved on 2008-07-16.
45. ^ “Abba quartet at Mamma Mia showing”. BBC News (2008-07-05). Retrieved on 2008-07-16.
46. ^ “Abba will ‘never’ perform again”. BBC News (2008-07-06). Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
47. ^ “Abba are No. 1″. BBC 6 Music (2008-08-04). Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
48. ^ ABBA: The National Commercial
49. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1820870620080219

[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
ABBA

* ABBA – The Site – Official site. This site is owned and maintained by Universal Music AB in Sweden.
* ABBA at Discogs
* ABBA at Last.fm
* ABBA The Tour at Wenig-LaMonica Associates
* ABBA at RollingStone.com
* ABBA – for the record – Collector site and discography.
* Ingyen Angol ABBA Dancing Queen Lyrics (also in Hungarian)
* ABBA at WorldMusicDatabase
* ABBA videos
* icethesite – Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus news site

Born May 22, 1946, in Belfast, Northern Ireland; died of multiple organ failure, November 25, 2005, in London, England. Professional soccer player. George Best was England’s top soccer star in the late 1960s and early ’70s, famous for his talent on the pitch but equally legendary for a rather decadent lifestyle enthusiastically chronicled by the press. Enormously popular to the point where he was sometimes referred to as the fifth member of the Beatles—Britain’s most famous young men of the era—Best is considered the sport’s first genuine celebrity. British prime minister Tony Blair even weighed in upon hearing the news of Best’s death, calling him “probably the most naturally gifted footballer of his generation and one of the best footballers our country has produced,” reported CNN.

Born in 1946, Best grew up in the Cregagh public-housing project in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His father, who worked in a shipyard, had been an amateur soccer player in his younger days, and Best’s mother was also a talented athlete in field hockey. So devoted to soccer from his earliest years was Best that every Christmas he received the exact same gift: a new soccer ball, pair of cleats, and “kit,” or outfit. He slept with the ball as a child, and during the daylight hours practiced for hours kicking a tennis ball into a doorknob in order to perfect his aim.

Best was also a good student, and earned a place at an academically rigorous high school in Belfast. The city’s sectarian violence between Roman Catholics and Protestants made his walk to school in the uniform of a Protestant high school a torturous one, however, and he eventually dropped out at the age of 15. He hoped to pursue a career in soccer, but was told that he would never make it into the professional leagues because of his relatively short stature at five feet, five inches tall. Just before he was about to embark on an apprenticeship to become a printer, Best was spotted by a scout for England’s Manchester United soccer club, who sent word to the team manager that he had discovered a genius.

Best began playing for the junior team of Man U, as the legendary club was commonly known, in 1961, and made his professional debut two years later at the age of 17. A right wing player, Best was known for his speed and emerged as a national celebrity when he helped the team win a First Division title in 1965. It took a second one two years later, and in 1968 became the first English team ever to win the European Cup when it beat a top Portuguese club. Best’s performance that year earned him the European Footballer of the Year award.

During his 12 years with Man U, Best became British soccer’s most celebrated player. He compiled an impressive record, playing in 464 games for Manchester and scoring 178 goals. On the pitch, he was a flamboyant, crowd-rousing figure known for taunting opponents and inciting the occasional scuffle. Off the field, he enjoyed rock-star-worthy attention, and his good looks and fashionably shaggy hair made him one of the sport’s first pin-up stars. He lived in lavish style, with a retinue of bodyguards and an office staff that included three people whose sole duty was to answer his fan mail. “In the staid and tradition-bound world of English soccer during the 1960s, Best quickly came to personify the rebelliousness of that decade,” asserted New York Times writer Jack Bell. “Best was to soccer what the Beatles were to music and pop culture: a reminder that the world was about to change, for better or worse. He was an entertainer on the field long before sportsmen became celebrities. He was a working-class hero in the most working-class British sport.”

Best’s wild ride slowed in the mid-1970s, after he quit Manchester, gained some weight, and entered in a string of notable business-venture flops, such as fashion boutiques and a chain of hair salons. Over the next few years he returned several times to the sport, even playing with the North American Soccer League for five years, but his talent faded as the wild lifestyle continued, and he was occasionally fired, temporarily banned, or fined for his antics and absences. Finally admitting to a problem with alcohol, Best spent time in jail on a drunk driving charge before filing for bankruptcy and retiring from the sport in 1983. When asked once where his earnings as one of the sport’s best-paid players had gone, Best famously replied, “I spent a lot of money on booze, [women], and fast cars. The rest I just squandered,” according to BBC News.

In his later years, Best suffered from host of premature medical problems triggered by his penchant for alcohol. In 2002, he received a new liver in a somewhat controversial transplant surgery. Hospitalized in October of 2005 with a lung infection, he died of multiple organ failure on November 25, 2005, in London at the age of 59. Survivors include his 87-year-old father, Dickie, five siblings, his son, Calum; and two ex-wives. His death prompted a slew of tributes and newspaper retrospectives on his life and gifted early career, and the top-tier teams of the English league all observed a moment of silence before the start of each game the following weekend. Outlived even by the Manchester team manager who signed the 15-year-old to the club back in 1961, Best was remembered by that coach, Matt Busby, in his obituary notices. “We had our problems with the wee fellow,” Busby commented, according to the Los Angeles Times, “but I prefer to remember his genius.”

from: www.notablebiographies.com

Introduction

Bobby Charlton was perhaps the most famous Englishman of his age. He survived the Munich Air Disaster of 1958 to become the most recognizable face of legendary Manchester United and England squads, including the England team that won the World Cup in 1966. Now knighted, Sir Bobby Charlton remains known today as a technically superb player and a true gentleman.

Biography

Robert Charlton was born in Ashington, Northumberland in 1937. His four uncles Stan, Jack, George and Jimmy, his mother’s cousin, Jackie Milburn, and his brother Jack were all professional football players, so it was little surprise that Bobby became a footballer himself. He was scouted and played for England schoolboys and Manchester United’s youth team at the age of 15, and played his first match for the senior team in 1956, after spells training as an engineer and doing National Service in nearby Shrewsbury.

Charlton joined a rolling squad known as the Busby Babes, on account of their being an unusually youthful and prodigiously talented squad under legendary manager Matt Busby. However, in 1958, after two seasons securing his position in the team, Charlton’s life was to be dramatically affected by the events succeeding a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade. On February 6, the team was due to fly back from Munich in order to reach England in time to fulfill their league games. The weather was horrendous and the plane had difficulty taking off, but after a number of checks were carried out, the team got back on board. The plane had barely taken off when the wing and tail caught fire after hitting some obstacles on the ascent, and it crash-landed. 23 of the 44 footballers, journalists and crew members on board were killed, including Tommy Taylor and David Pegg, with whom Charlton and his team mate Dennis Viollet had swapped seats.

Charlton suffered cuts to his head and severe shock. He was the first to leave hospital and became, at the age of 20, something of a veteran of United’s decimated team. Unsurprisingly, United failed to do very well that season, but Busby built up another team with new players including George Best, with Charlton a stalwart. The psychological repercussions were harder to gauge and repair, and the crash remains one of the defining events of Charlton’s life according to the man himself.

However, his career continued to flourish and Bobby would eventually join his brother Jack in England’s squad for the 1966 World Cup, reaching and competing in the final against West Germany. Although neither Charlton scored, England won 4-2 in the tense, uneven match, and Bobby had taken part in English football’s greatest triumph to date.

The culmination of his club career came in 1968, when Charlton and United went on to win the European Cup that had destroyed the Busby Babes. In 1969 he was awarded the OBE and in 1970, after earning his 100th cap for England, he was selected for the World Cup squad, where he played his last game for the national side. Sadly, Charlton’s later years at club level were marred by long-running feuds with his United teammates. Finally, he retired in 1973.

Charlton met his wife Norma at a dry cleaners in Manchester and they married in 1961. They have two daughters, Suzanne and Andrea. He has avoided the controversial love life that dogged many footballers of his generation, but tabloids speculated instead on cracks in his relationship with his brother Jack. Bobby has admitted that their relationship is strained, citing the conflict between his loyalties to his wife and his mother as key.

Retirement

Like many footballers, Charlton has become something of a polymath in his retirement. Initially taking semi-retirement as a player-manager at Preston, he went on to manage Wigan Athletic. However, today’s football fans recognize him largely as a sometime BBC pundit and as a member of Manchester United’s board of directors. He has also made money from advertising, from international footballing schools and DVDs and other enterprises.

Bobby Charlton was awarded the CBE in 1973 and was knighted in 1994. He continues to be an active member of the footballing community on a number of boards, helping promote sport at home and abroad, and as a commentator figure in the media.

Statistics

• England Caps:106
• Goals Scored for England: 49

• Appearances for Manchester United: 754 (239 goals)
• Appearances for Preston North End: 38 (12 goals)

Clubs

• Manchester United (Youth) – 1953 – 1954
• Manchester United – 1954 – 1973
• Preston North End – 1973 – 1974
• Waterford United – 1975

• England – 1958 – 1970

As a manager

• Preston North End – 1973-74 (player manager)
• Wigan Athletic – 1976

They said

‘His story is the best in English football’ – John Giles, former team-mate

‘The greatest thing for a manager is to trust the talent. Bobby Charlton never betrayed that trust. It was a privilege to have him play for you.’ – Sir Matt Busby, former manager

‘Bobby Charlton’s career was miraculous’ – Sir Alex Ferguson

He said

‘Some people tell me that we professional players are soccer slaves. Well, if this is slavery, give me a life sentence.’

‘It would be possible to list a thousand good things that have happened to me before I deal with the moment I regained consciousness and faced that scene at the airfield. But I know I couldn’t begin to define my life before going back there.’

‘Now, when I look back on my life and remember all that I wanted from it as a young boy in the North East, I see more clearly than ever it is a miracle. I see one privilege heaped upon another. I wonder all over again how so much could come to one man simply because he was able to do something which for him was so natural and easy, and which he knew from the start he loved to do more than anything else.’

Individual Awards and Honours

• 1966 European Player of the Year
• 1966 Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year
• 1974 Professional Footballers’ Association Merit Award
• 1974 Awarded CBE
• 1984 Appointed director, Manchester United
• 1994 Awarded knighthood

Watch online

Watch Bobby Charlton on Youtube.

from: www.talkfootball.co.uk

Manchester United F.C.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manchester United F.C.

Full name	Manchester United Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Red Devils[1]
Founded	1878, as Newton Heath L&YR F.C.
Ground	Old Trafford Trafford Greater Manchester England (Capacity: 76,212[2])
Owner	Malcolm Glazer
Co-chairmen	Joel & Avram Glazer
Manager	Alex Ferguson
League	Premier League
2007–08	Premier League, 1st
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is one of the most popular football clubs in the world,^[3] with over 330 million supporters worldwide^[4][5] – almost 5% of the world’s population.^[6] The club was a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, and has played in the top division of English football since 1938, with the exception of the 1974–75 season. Average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964–65.^[7]

The club is the second most successful in the history of English football and by far the most successful of recent times, having won 20 major honours since the start of Alex Ferguson’s reign as manager in November 1986.^[8] They are the Premier League’s reigning champions, and have won England’s top division 17 times, one short of Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1. They won a second European Cup as part of an unprecedented Treble in 1999, before winning their third in 2008, 40 years almost to the day after their first. The club also holds the record for the most FA Cup titles with 11.^[9]

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world with the highest revenue of any football club,^[10] and is currently ranked as the richest and most valuable club in any sport, with a value of £897 million (€1,333 million / $1.8 billion) as of September 2008.^[11] Manchester United was a founding member of the now defunct G-14 group of Europe’s leading football clubs and its replacement, the European Club Association.

Alex Ferguson has been manager of the club since 6 November 1986. The current club captain is Gary Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005.^[12]

//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>

History

Early years (1878–1945)

Main article: History of Manchester United F.C. (1878–1945)

The Manchester United team at the start of the 1905–06 season in which they were runners-up in the Second Division and promoted

Chart showing the progress of Manchester United F.C. through the English Football League system since joining as Newton Heath in 1892-1893 to 2007-08

The club was formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The club’s shirts were green and gold halves. They played on a small, dilapidated field on North Road, near the future site of the Manchester Piccadilly railway station for fifteen years, before moving to Bank Street in the nearby town of Clayton in 1893. The club had entered The Football League the previous year and began to sever its links with the rail depot, becoming an independent company, appointing a club secretary and dropping the “L&YR” from their name to become simply Newton Heath F.C.. Not long afterwards, in 1902, the club neared bankruptcy, with debts of over £2,500. At one point, their Bank Street ground was even closed by the bailiffs.^[13]

Just before having to be shut down for good, the club received a sizeable investment from J. H. Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries.^[14] Legend goes that Harry Stafford, the club captain, was showing off his prized St. Bernard dog at a club fund-raiser, when Davies approached him to buy the dog. Stafford declined, but was able to persuade Davies to invest in the club and become club chairman.^[15] It was decided at one of the early board meetings that the club required a change of name to reflect the fresh start they had been afforded. Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were among the names suggested, before Louis Rocca, a young immigrant from Italy, said “Gentlemen, why don’t we call ourselves Manchester United?”^[16] The name stuck, and Manchester United officially came into existence on 26 April 1902. Davies also decided it would be appropriate to change the club’s colours, abandoning the green and gold halves of Newton Heath, and picking red and white to be the colours of Manchester United.

Ernest Mangnall was appointed as club secretary after James West had resigned as manager on 28 September 1902. Mangnall was charged with trying to get the club into the First Division, and fell just short of that target at the first attempt, finishing in 5th in Division Two. Mangnall decided that it was necessary to bring in some fresh faces to the club, and signed players such as Harry Moger in goal, Dick Duckworth at half-back and John Picken up front, but it was another new half-back by the name of Charlie Roberts who made the biggest impact. He cost the club a then-record £750 from Grimsby Town in April 1904, and helped them to a third place finish in the 1903–04 season, just a point short of the second promotion place.

It was not long, however, before the club was at last promoted to the First Division for the first time under their new name, finishing in second place in the 1905–06 Second Division. A season of consolidation followed, with the club finishing in 8th, before they finally won their first league title in 1908. Manchester City had recently been under investigation for paying some of their players a salary over the amount allowed by FA regulations. They were fined £250 and eighteen of their players were banned from playing for them ever again. United were quick to pounce on the situation, picking up Billy Meredith (the Welsh Wizard) and Sandy Turnbull, amongst others. The new boys from across town were ineligible to play until New Year’s Day 1907, due to their suspension, so it was left until the 1907–08 season for them to make a proper impact on United’s bid for the title. And that they did, getting the campaign off to a storming start, with a 2–1 victory over Sheffield United, beginning a run of ten consecutive victories. Despite a shaky end to the season, United managed to hang on and finished the season nine points ahead of their closest rivals, Aston Villa.

The following season began with United picking up another piece of silverware, the first ever Charity Shield,^[17] and ended with another, the club’s first FA Cup title, sowing the seeds for what has become a record number of FA Cup titles. Just as they were in the club’s first title-winning campaign, Turnbull and Meredith were instrumental in this season, Turnbull scoring the winner in the FA Cup Final. The club had to wait another two years before winning any more silverware, winning the First Division for the second time in the 1910–11 season. In the meantime, United moved to their new ground at Old Trafford. They played their first game there on 19 February 1910 against Liverpool, but lost 4–3 having thrown away a 3–0 lead. They then went trophyless again in the 1911–12 season, which not only proved to be the last with Mangnall in charge (he moved to Manchester City after ten years with United), but also the last time the club won the First Division for 41 years, the longest they have gone without winning the league in their history.

For the next ten years, the club went into a state of gradual decline before being relegated back down to Division Two in 1922. They were promoted again in 1925, but struggled to get into the top half of the table, and were relegated again in 1931. In the eight years leading up to the Second World War, the club became somewhat of a yo-yo club, reaching their all-time lowest position of 20th in Division Two in 1934. They were promoted and relegated once again before being promoted in the penultimate season before the Second World War. They guaranteed their place in the top flight for after the war by finishing in 14th in the 1938–39 season.

The Busby years (1945–1969)

Main article: History of Manchester United F.C. (1945–1969)

1945 saw the appointment of Matt Busby to the manager’s post at Old Trafford. He took an uncommon approach to his job, insisting that he be allowed to pick his own team, choose which players to sign and direct the team’s training sessions himself. He had already missed out on the manager’s job at his former club, Liverpool, because the club saw those tasks as jobs for the directors, but United decided to take a chance on Busby’s innovative ideas. Busby’s first signing was not a player, but a new assistant manager by the name of Jimmy Murphy. The risk the club had taken in appointing Busby paid immediate dividends, with the club finishing second in the league in 1947, 1948 and 1949 and winning the FA Cup in 1948, thanks in part to the locally born trio of Stan Pearson, Jack Rowley and Charlie Mitten (Rowley and Pearson both scored in the 1948 Cup Final), as well as the centre-half from the North-East, Allenby Chilton.

Charlie Mitten had fled to Colombia in search of a better salary, but the remainder of United’s old heads managed to win the First Division title back in 1952. Busby knew, however, that football teams required more than just experience in the side, and so he adopted a policy of bringing in players from the youth team whenever possible. At first, the young players such as Roger Byrne, Bill Foulkes, Mark Jones and Dennis Viollet, took time to bed themselves into the side, sliding to a low of 8th place in 1953, but the team won the league again in 1956 with an average age of only 22, scoring 103 goals in the process. The youth policy set in motion by Busby has now become a hallmark of the most successful periods in the club’s history (the mid-1950s, mid-to-late-1960s and 1990s). Busby’s original “crop” of youth players was referred to as the Busby Babes, the jewel in the crown of which was a wing-half named Duncan Edwards. The boy from Dudley in the West Midlands made his United début at the age of just 16 back in 1953. It was said that Edwards could play at any position on the field, and many who saw him play said that he was the greatest player ever. The following season, 1956–57, they won the league again and reached the FA Cup final, losing to Aston Villa. They also became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, at the behest of the FA, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season, and reached the semi-final, only to be knocked out by Real Madrid. En route to the semi-final, United also recorded a win that still stands as their biggest win in all competitions, beating Belgian champions Anderlecht 10–0 at Maine Road.

A plaque at Old Trafford in honour of the players who died in the Munich air disaster.

Tragedy struck the following season, when the plane carrying the team home from a European Cup match crashed on take-off at a refuelling stop in Munich, Germany. The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed the lives of eight players – Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam “Billy” Whelan – and another fifteen passengers, including United staff members Walter Crickmer, Bert Whalley and Tom Curry.^[18] There had already been two attempted take-offs before the fatal third, which was caused by a build-up of slush at the end of the runway slowing the plane down to a speed insufficient for take-off. The plane skidded off the end of the runway, through a fence and into an unoccupied house. United goalkeeper Harry Gregg managed to maintain consciousness after the crash, and through fear of the plane exploding at any second, he grabbed both Bobby Charlton – who had made his United début less than 18 months earlier – and Dennis Viollet by their waistbands and dragged them to safety. Seven United players died at the scene, while Duncan Edwards died a fortnight later in hospital. Right-winger Johnny Berry also survived the accident, but injuries sustained in the accident brought his football career to a premature end. Matt Busby was not given much hope of survival by the Munich doctors, and was even given the Last Rites at one point, but recovered miraculously and was finally let out of hospital after having spent over two months there.

There were rumours of the club folding and withdrawing from all competitions, but with Jimmy Murphy taking over as manager while Busby recovered from his injuries, the club continued playing with a makeshift side. Despite the accident, they reached the FA Cup final again, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. At the end of the season, UEFA offered the FA the opportunity to submit both United and the eventual champions, Wolverhampton Wanderers, for the 1958–59 European Cup as a tribute to the victims, but the FA declined. United managed to push Wolves right to the wire the following season, finishing in a creditable 2nd place; not bad for a team that had lost nine first-team players to the Munich air disaster.

Busby rebuilt the team throughout the early 1960s, signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand, all the while nurturing his new generation of youngsters. Perhaps the most famous of this new batch was a young man from Belfast named George Best. Best had a natural athleticism rarely seen, but his most valuable asset was his close control of a football. His quick feet allowed him to pass through almost any gap in the opposition defence, no matter how small. The team won the FA Cup in 1963, albeit finishing in 19th place in the First Division. The FA Cup triumph seemed to reinvigorate the players, who helped the club to 2nd place in 1964, and then went one better by winning the league in 1965 and 1967. United won the European Cup in 1968, beating Eusébio’s SL Benfica 4–1 in the final, becoming the first English club to win the competition. This United team was notable for containing three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best. Matt Busby resigned as manager in 1969 and was replaced by the reserve-team coach and former United player, Wilf McGuinness.

1969–1986

Main article: History of Manchester United F.C. (1969–1986)

Manchester United badge in the 1960s and early 1970s

The coat of arms of Manchester City Council, upon which the crest of Manchester United was based. The arms are used by the club for prestigious occasions

United struggled to replace Busby, and the team struggled under Wilf McGuinness in the 1969–70 season, finishing a disappointing 8th, and following a poor start to the 1970–71 season, McGuinness was demoted back to the position of reserve team coach. Busby was coaxed back to the club, albeit only for six months. Results got better with Busby’s guidance, but he finally left the club for the last time in the summer of 1971. In the meantime, United had lost a number of high-profile players such as Nobby Stiles and Pat Crerand.

Despite approaching Celtic’s European Cup-winning manager, Jock Stein, for the manager’s job – Stein had agreed a verbal contract to join United, but pulled out at the last minute – Frank O’Farrell was appointed as Busby’s successor. However, like McGuinness, O’Farrell only lasted less than 18 months, the only difference between the two being that O’Farrell reacted to the team’s poor form by bringing in some fresh talent, most specifically Martin Buchan from Aberdeen for £125,000. Tommy Docherty became manager at the end of 1972. Docherty, or “the Doc”, saved United from relegation that season but United were relegated in 1974, by which time the golden trio of Best, Law and Charlton had left the club. Denis Law had moved to Manchester City in the summer of 1973, and ended up scoring the goal that many people say relegated United, and politely refused to celebrate the goal with his team mates. Players like Lou Macari, Stewart Houston and Brian Greenhoff were brought in to replace Best, Law and Charlton, but none could live up to the stature of the three that came before.

The team won promotion at the first attempt, with a young Steve Coppell making his début towards the end of that season, having joined from Tranmere Rovers, and reached the FA Cup final in 1976, but were beaten by Southampton. They reached the final again in 1977, beating Liverpool 2–1. In spite of this success and his popularity with the supporters, Docherty was sacked soon after the final when he was found to have had an affair with the physiotherapist’s wife.

Dave Sexton replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977, and made the team play in a more defensive formation. This style was unpopular with supporters, who were used to the attacking football preferred by Docherty and Busby. Major signings under Sexton included Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Gary Bailey and Ray Wilkins, but Sexton’s defensive United failed to break out of mid-table obscurity, only once finishing in the top two, and only reached the FA Cup final once, losing to Arsenal. Because of this lack of trophies, Sexton was sacked in 1981, even though he won his last seven games in charge.

He was replaced by the flamboyant Ron Atkinson, whose extrovert attitude was reflected in the clubs he managed. He immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from his old club, West Brom. Robson would come to be touted in the future as United’s best midfield player since Duncan Edwards. Atkinson’s team featured new signings such as Jesper Olsen, Paul McGrath and Gordon Strachan playing alongside former youth-team players Norman Whiteside and Mark Hughes. United won the FA Cup twice in three years, in 1983 and 1985, and were overwhelming favourites to win the league in the 1985–86 season after winning their first ten league games, opening a ten-point gap over their rivals as early as October. The team’s form collapsed, however, and United finished the season in fourth place. The poor form continued into the following season, and with United on the edge of the First Division’s relegation zone by the beginning of November 1986, Atkinson was sacked.

Alex Ferguson era, pre-Treble (1986–1998)

Main article: History of Manchester United F.C. (1986–1998)

Alex Ferguson has been manager of Manchester United since November 1986.

Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen to replace Atkinson on the very day that Atkinson was sacked, bringing with him his assistant manager, Archie Knox. Although his first match in charge, against Oxford United on 8 November 1986, resulted in a 2–0 defeat, Ferguson guided the club to an 11th place finish in the league. A second place finish in 1987–88, with Brian McClair becoming the first United player since George Best to score twenty league goals in a season, may have given fans a tiny glimpse of the future, but they soon returned to mediocrity with another 11th-place finish in 1989.

Many of Ferguson’s signings did not reach the expectations of the fans, and the manager was reportedly on the verge of being sacked at the beginning of 1990, with many believing that defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup Third Round would seal his fate. A 56th-minute goal from Mark Robins won the match for United and started them on a cup run that would take them all the way to the final at Wembley, where they beat Crystal Palace 1–0 in a replay after a 3–3 draw in the original match. The following year, United reached the final of the League Cup, but lost 1–0 to former manager Ron Atkinson’s Sheffield Wednesday team. However, the season was capped by the club’s first Cup Winners’ Cup title, beating Barcelona 2–1 in the final in Rotterdam. The Cup Winners’ Cup triumph allowed the team to play in the 1991 UEFA Super Cup, in which they beat European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 at Old Trafford. The match should have been played over two legs, but, due to political unrest in Yugoslavia at the time, UEFA decided that only the Old Trafford leg would be played. A second consecutive League Cup final appearance followed in 1992, with United this time beating Nottingham Forest 1–0 at Wembley.

Meanwhile, events were taking place off the pitch around the turn of the decade, as chairman Martin Edwards attempted to offload the club to property tycoon Michael Knighton in 1989. The £20 million deal was all but confirmed, with Knighton even taking to the Old Trafford pitch in full Manchester United kit and performing a few keepie uppies before belting the ball into the goal at the Stretford End. Knighton was given access to the club’s financial records, but, before the deal could be finalised, his financial backers pulled out and the deal was cancelled. However, since Knighton now had insider knowledge of the club, he was given a place on the club’s board in exchange for his silence about the matter. In 1991, requiring some extra financial support in the wake of the Taylor Report, the club floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £47 million,^[19] bringing its finances into the public eye. Martin Edwards retained his position as chairman, but the club was now publicly owned.

The summer of 1991 also saw the arrival of Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, whose 17 league clean sheets gave United the best defensive record in the First Division in 1991–92, helping them to a second-place finish behind Leeds United, within whose ranks was a certain French maverick named Eric Cantona. Alex Ferguson recognised United’s need for a striker as a foil for Mark Hughes and Brian McClair, and had tried – and failed – a number of times to sign Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst, but when Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson rang Martin Edwards in November 1992 to enquire about the availability of Denis Irwin, the conversation quickly turned to Cantona. To Edwards’ and Ferguson’s surprise, the two clubs were able to agree upon a fee of £1.2 million for the enigmatic Frenchman. Cantona’s arrival provided the crucial spark for United, helping the team to their first league title since 1967. After the signing of Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest in July 1993, United won a second consecutive title for the first time since 1957 the following year, before winning the FA Cup to complete the first “Double” in the club’s history. That same year, however, the club went into mourning following the death of former manager and club director Matt Busby, who died on 20 January 1994.

The 1994–95 season was to be the club’s first trophyless season since 1988–89, although they managed to take the title race down to the final week of the season and reached the final of the FA Cup, where they lost to Everton. Andy Cole was signed from Newcastle United for a British record fee of £6 million plus Keith Gillespie. However, the game after Cole’s United debut, Eric Cantona received an eight month suspension for jumping into the crowd and assaulting Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons, who had given Cantona racial abuse as he left the field, in United’s game at Selhurst Park. Cantona’s suspension has been cited by some as the reason why United were unable to complete a hat-trick of league titles that season. The season’s relative failure prompted Ferguson into some major restructuring of the team, selling Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis and Mark Hughes and replacing them with players from the club’s youth team, including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes. After the club’s 3–1 defeat to Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995–96 season, television pundit Alan Hansen famously declared “you’ll never win anything with kids.”^[20] The new players, several of whom quickly became regular internationals for England, responded well and, buoyed by Cantona’s return in October 1995, United became the first English club had won the double twice, a feat that would be nicknamed the “Double Double”.^[21]

Captain Steve Bruce left for Birmingham City in July 1996, and Alex Ferguson named Eric Cantona as the new club captain. He led the team to a fourth league title in five years in 1996–97, before retiring from football at the age of 30 at the end of the season. Teddy Sheringham was brought in to replace him, and his iconic number 7 shirt was handed to David Beckham. They started the 1997–98 season well, but they lost five matches after Christmas and finished in second place, one point behind double-winners Arsenal. After a period without a regular challenger for the league title, this marked Arsenal’s arrival as genuine title contenders for the next few years.

The Treble (1998–99)

Main article: Manchester United F.C. season 1998-99

The 1998–99 season for Manchester United was the most successful season in English club football history as they became the only English team to win The Treble – winning the Premiership, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in the same season.^[22] 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.^[23] Winning the Premiership was the first part of the Treble in place, the one part that manager Alex Ferguson described as the hardest.^[23] In the FA Cup Final United faced Newcastle United and won 2–0 with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes.^[24] In the final match of that season, the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final they defeated Bayern Munich in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed, going into injury time a goal behind and then scoring twice to win 2–1.^[22] Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football.^[25] Rounding out that record breaking year, Manchester United also won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1–0 in Tokyo.^[26]

After the Treble (1999–present)

Main article: History of Manchester United F.C. (1999–present)

United won the league in 2000 and 2001 but the press saw these seasons as failures as they failed to regain the European Cup. In 2000, Manchester United became one of 14 founder members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.^[27] The club also declined to take part in the 1999–2000 FA Cup, instead competing in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil, citing pressure from the FA, UEFA and the England 2006 World Cup bid committee. Ferguson adopted more defensive tactics to make United harder to beat in Europe but it was not a success and United finished the 2001–02 Premiership season in third place. They regained the league the following season (2002–03) and started the following season well, but their form dropped significantly when Rio Ferdinand received a controversial eight month suspension for missing a drugs test. They did win the 2004 FA Cup, however, knocking out Arsenal (that season’s eventual league champions) on their way to the final in which they beat Millwall.

The 2004–05 season was characterised by a failure to score goals, mainly due to the injury of striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and United finished the season trophyless and in third place in the league. This time, even the FA Cup eluded them as Arsenal beat United on penalties after a goalless draw after 120 minutes. Off the pitch, the main story was the possibility of the club being taken over and on 12 May 2005, American businessman Malcolm Glazer acquired a controlling interest in the club through his investment vehicle Red Football Ltd. in a takeover valuing the club at approximately £800 million (then approx. $1.5 billion).^[28][29] On 16 May, he increased his share to the 75% necessary to de-list the club from the Stock Exchange, making it private again, and announced his intention to do so within 20 days.^[29] On 8 June he appointed his sons to the Manchester United board as non-executive directors.^[30]

United made a poor start to the 2005–06 season, with midfielder Roy Keane leaving the club to join Celtic after publicly criticising several of his team-mates, and the club failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade after losing to Portuguese team Benfica. Their season was also dealt cruel blows with injuries to key players such as Gabriel Heinze, Alan Smith, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. However, they were prevented from being left empty-handed in successive seasons – a disappointment not endured in the last 17 years – by winning the 2006 League Cup, beating newly promoted neighbours Wigan Athletic in the final 4–0. United also ensured a second-place finish and automatic Champions League qualification on the final day of the season by defeating Charlton Athletic 4–0. At the end of the 2005–06 season, one of United’s key strikers, Ruud van Nistelrooy, left the club to join Real Madrid, due to a row with Alex Ferguson.^[31]

In July 2006, the club announced a refinancing package. The total amount will be £660 million, on which interest payments will be £62 million a year.^[32] This result of this new financing plan will be a 30% reduction of annual payments.^[33] On the pitch, the 2006–07 season saw United return to the attacking style of football that was the cornerstone of their years of success in the late 1990s, scoring almost 20 more goals in 32 matches than second placed side Chelsea. In January 2007, United signed Henrik Larsson on a two-month loan from Swedish side Helsingborgs, and the striker played an important role in advancing United to the semi-finals of the Champions League,^[34] with hopes for a second Treble; however, upon reaching the semi-finals, United lost to Milan 3–5 on aggregate.^[35] Four years after their last title, United claimed back the Premier League title on 6 May 2007, after Chelsea drew away with Arsenal, leaving the Blues seven points behind with two games to go, following United’s 1–0 victory in the Manchester derby the previous day, making it their ninth Premiership title in the 15 seasons of its existence. However, an unprecedented fourth Double was not to be, as Chelsea beat United 1–0 in extra time in the first FA Cup Final to be held at the new Wembley Stadium; the first to be held in England since the old stadium was demolished seven years earlier.

2007–08 saw United successfully complete the European double despite a poor start to the season, finding themselves in 17th place in the Premier League after three matches. However, on 11 May 2008, United retained the Premier League title with a win over Wigan Athletic. With title rivals Chelsea only able to draw with Bolton Wanderers, United finished the season two points clear. The club also reached the European Cup final for the third time in their history, having knocked out such clubs as Barcelona and Roma en-route to the final. They beat Chelsea 6–5 on penalties in the final in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, after a 1–1 draw in normal time on 21 May 2008. With this win, they earned their third European Cup title and kept up their record of never having lost a major European final. Coincidentally, this season marked the 100th year since Manchester United won their first League title, 50 years after the Munich air disaster and 40 years after Manchester United became the first ever English side to win the European Cup. The European Cup final also saw Ryan Giggs make his 759th appearance for the club, overtaking Bobby Charlton as the club’s record appearance maker.

Club crest and colours

Manchester United badge up to the most recent revision in 1998

During its days as Newton Heath, the club played in a number of different colours, the most recognisable being the yellow and green halved shirts worn from 1878 to 1892, and then again between 1894 and 1896; this strip was revived as an away kit in the early 1990s. Other kits worn by Newton Heath included a red and white quartered shirt (1892–1894) and a plain white shirt (1896–1902), both worn with blue shorts.^[36] In 1902, in conjunction with the name change to Manchester United, the club changed their colours to red jerseys, white shorts and black socks, which has become the standard for most Man Utd home kits ever since. The most notable exception to this is the shirt that the team wore in the 1909 FA Cup Final against Bristol City, which was white with a red “V” sash.^[37] This design was resurrected in the 1920s before United reverted back to the all-red shirts.

Away strips are usually white jerseys with black shorts and white socks, but other colours have been used, including a blue and white striped shirt used on-and-off from 1903 to 1916, an all-black kit in 1994 and 2003 and a navy blue shirt with silver horizontal pinstripes in 2000. One of the most famous, yet short-lived, United away kits, though, was the all grey kit from 1995–96. This kit was dropped after Manchester United failed to win a single game while wearing it. At half-time during a game against Southampton, when United were already 3–0 down, they switched to their blue and white third kit, but eventually lost 3–1. According to the players, the grey kit was not visible enough which led to the poor results.^[38][39] Another famous Man Utd away kit included a reversible shirt that was white with black sleeves and gold trim on one side, and gold with black trim on the other side. This shirt was released as the last kit created by Umbro for the club before the change to Nike, and commemorated 100 years since the club had changed its name from Newton Heath to Manchester United.

The United third kit is traditionally all-blue in homage to the kit that the 1968 European Cup was won in. Exceptions to this rule have included a bright yellow kit worn in the early 1970s, the aforementioned blue and white striped shirt from 1996, which proved to be a firm favourite with the fans, and a white shirt with black and red horizontal pinstripes from 2004. United have also used what were originally used as training shirts as their third kit in the past, having adopted an all-black kit in the 1998–99 season and a dark blue shirt with maroon sides in 2001 for games against Southampton and PSV Eindhoven.

Currently, Manchester United’s home jerseys are red with a vertical, white broken stripe with black trim on the reverse. The stripe is adorned with the letters MUFC at the top of the bottom portion, and a silhouette of the devil from the club badge at the top of the top portion. The AIG and Nike logos are also white. A patch with the words “The Red Devils” written in white, over an image of the club badge’s devil, is attached to the bottom-left of the shirt. The club crest sits on a red shield of the same shape on the left breast. The away kit is white with blue piping around the side and back of the neck and down the sides of the body. The trim on the front of the neck is red. The letters “MUFC” are on the back of the collar and the club badge is located on a white shield over the left breast. The third shirt is royal blue, with sponsors’ logos in white. Around the club badge, which sits on a blue shield, the words “May 29th 1968 40th Anniversary” are embroidered. Like the away shirt, the letters “MUFC” are on the back of the collar, while the inside of the collar is adorned with the coat of arms of the City of Manchester, in a design inspired by the tickets used for the 1968 European Cup Final.^[40] The away and third shirts are worn with blue shorts.

The Manchester United crest has been altered on a few occasions, but the basic form remains similar. The badge is derived from the crest of the city of Manchester. The devil on the club badge stems from the club’s nickname “The Red Devils”, which was adopted in the early 1960s after Matt Busby heard it in reference to the red-shirted Salford rugby league side.^[41] By the end of the 1960s, the devil had started to be included on club programmes and scarves, before it was finally incorporated into the club badge in 1970, holding its unmistakable trident. In 1998, the badge was once again redesigned, this time removing the words “Football Club”.^[42] This move was met with opposition from some supporters, who viewed it as a move away from the club’s footballing roots and more into the business side of the game.

Players

First-team squad

As of 22 September 2008, according to combined sources on the official website.^[43][44]

No. Position Player 1 GK Edwin van der Sar 2 DF Gary Neville (captain) 3 DF Patrice Evra 4 MF Owen Hargreaves 5 DF Rio Ferdinand 6 DF Wes Brown 7 MF Cristiano Ronaldo 8 MF Anderson 9 FW Dimitar Berbatov 10 FW Wayne Rooney 11 MF Ryan Giggs (vice-captain) 12 GK Ben Foster 13 MF Park Ji-Sung 15 DF Nemanja Vidić 16 MF Michael Carrick 17 MF Nani 18 MF Paul Scholes 19 FW Danny Welbeck

No. Position Player 20 DF Fábio 21 DF Rafael 22 DF John O’Shea 23 DF Jonny Evans 24 MF Darren Fletcher 26 FW Manucho 28 MF Darron Gibson 29 GK Tomasz Kuszczak 32 FW Carlos Tévez 33 MF Sam Hewson 34 MF Rodrigo Possebon 35 MF Tom Cleverley 36 MF David Gray 38 GK Ron-Robert Zieler 39 DF James Chester 40 GK Ben Amos 41 FW Federico Macheda 42 DF Richard Eckersley

On loan

No. Position Player 25 DF Danny Simpson (at Blackburn Rovers until 30 June 2009) 30 MF Lee Martin (at Nottingham Forest until 31 December 2008) 31 FW Fraizer Campbell (at Tottenham Hotspur until 30 June 2009) 37 DF Craig Cathcart (at Plymouth Argyle until 8 February 2009) 45 FW Febian Brandy (at Swansea City until 31 December 2008) – GK Tom Heaton (at Cardiff City until 30 June 2009)

Reserves and academy

For the reserve and academy squads, see Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy.

Former players

For details on former players, see List of Manchester United F.C. players and Category:Manchester United F.C. players.

Club captains

Dates	Name	Notes
1878–1882	Unknown
1882	E. Thomas	First known club captain
1882–1883	Unknown
c.1883–1887	Sam Black
c.1887–1890	Jack Powell
1890–1892	Unknown
1892–1893	Joe Cassidy
1893–1984	Unknown
c.1894	James McNaught
1894–1896	Unknown
c.1896–1903	Harry Stafford	First captain of Manchester United
1903–1904	Unknown
c.1904–1905	Jack Peddie
c.1905–1912	Charlie Roberts
1912–1913	George Stacey
1913	Dick Duckworth
1914	George Hunter
1914–1915	Patrick O’Connell
1915–1919	None	No football was played during the First World War
1919–1922	Unknown
c.1922–1928	Frank Barson
c.1928–1931	Jack Wilson
1931–1932	George McLachlan
1932	Louis Page
1932–1935	Unknown
c.1935–1939	Jimmy Brown
1939–1945	None	No football was played during the Second World War
1945–1953	Johnny Carey	First post-war captain, and first from outside the United Kingdom
1953–1954	Stan Pearson
1954–1955	Allenby Chilton	Made captain for only one season, after Johnny Carey retired
1955–1958	Roger Byrne	Died in the 1958 Munich air disaster
1958–1959	Bill Foulkes
1959–1960	Dennis Viollet
1960–1962	Maurice Setters
1962–1964	Noel Cantwell
1964–1967	Denis Law
1967–1973	Bobby Charlton
1973	George Graham
1973–1975	Willie Morgan
1975–1982	Martin Buchan
1982	Ray Wilkins
1982–1994	Bryan Robson	Longest-serving captain in United’s history
1994–1996	Steve Bruce
1996–1997	Eric Cantona	First United captain from outside the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland
1997–2005	Roy Keane	Won more trophies than any other United captain
2005–present	Gary Neville	First club captain to be born in Greater Manchester since Roger Byrne

Player records

Main article: Manchester United F.C. records and statistics

As of match played 15 November 2008 and according to the official statistics website.^[45] Players in bold are still currently playing for Manchester United.

Most appearances

#	Name	Career	Appearances	Goals
1	Ryan Giggs	1991 – present	771	146
2	Bobby Charlton	1956 – 1973	758	249
3	Bill Foulkes	1952 – 1970	688	9
4	Paul Scholes	1994 – present	578	139
5	Gary Neville	1992 – present	552	7
6	Alex Stepney	1966 – 1978	539	2
7	Tony Dunne	1960 – 1973	535	2
8	Denis Irwin	1990 – 2002	529	33
9	Joe Spence	1919 – 1933	510	168
10	Arthur Albiston	1974 – 1988	485	7

Most goals

#	Name	Career	Appearances	Goals	Goals/Game Ratio
1	Bobby Charlton	1956 – 1973	758	249	0.328
2	Denis Law	1962 – 1973	404	237	0.587
3	Jack Rowley	1937 – 1955	424	211	0.498
4=	Dennis Viollet	1953 – 1962	293	179	0.611
4=	George Best	1963 – 1974	470	179	0.381
6	Joe Spence	1919 – 1933	510	168	0.329
7	Mark Hughes	1983 – 1986 1988 – 1995	467	163	0.349
8	Ruud van Nistelrooy	2001 – 2006	219	150	0.685
9	Stan Pearson	1937 – 1954	343	148	0.431
10	Ryan Giggs	1991 – present	771	146	0.189

Ballon d’Or

The following players have won the Ballon d’Or whilst playing for Manchester United:

• Denis Law – 1964
• Bobby Charlton – 1966
• George Best – 1968

European Golden Shoe

The following players have won the European Golden Shoe whilst playing for Manchester United:

• Cristiano Ronaldo (31 goals) – 2008

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year

The following players have won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award whilst playing for Manchester United:

• David Beckham – 1999
• Cristiano Ronaldo – 2008

Ladies team

Manchester United Ladies FC was founded in 1977, and officially became a part of Manchester United FC at the start of the 2001–02 season. They played in the Northern Combination league (the third tier of women’s football in England) until they were controversially disbanded before the start of the 2004–05 season for financial reasons. The decision was met with considerable criticism given the huge profits made by Manchester United and also due to the fact that the teams were withdrawn from all their leagues before the players were even informed of the decision.^[46]

Club officials

• Owner: Malcolm Glazer
• Honorary president: Martin Edwards

Manchester United Limited

• Co-chairmen: Joel Glazer & Avram Glazer
• Chief executive: David Gill
• Chief operating officer: Michael Bolingbroke
• Commercial director: Richard Arnold
• Executive director: Ed Woodward
• Non-executive directors: Bryan Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Edward Glazer & Darcie Glazer

Manchester United football club

• Directors: David Gill, Michael Edelson, Sir Bobby Charlton, Maurice Watkins
• Club secretary: Ken Ramsden
• Assistant club secretary: Ken Merrett
• Global ambassador: Bryan Robson

Coaching and Medical Staff

• Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
• Assistant manager: Mike Phelan
• First team coach: René Meulensteen
• Goalkeeping coach: Eric Steele
• Fitness coach: Tony Strudwick
• Strength & conditioning coach: Mick Clegg
• Head of human performance: Dr. Richard Hawkins^[47]
• Reserve team manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjær
• Reserve team coach: Warren Joyce
• Chief scout: Jim Lawlor
• Chief European scout: Martin Ferguson
• Director of youth academy: Brian McClair
• Director of youth football: Jimmy Ryan
• Club doctor: Dr. Steve McNally
• Assistant club doctor: Dr. Tony Gill
• First team physiotherapist: Rob Swire

Managerial history

Main article: List of Manchester United F.C. managers

Dates	Name	Notes
1878–1892	Unknown
1892–1900	A. H. Albut
1900–1903	James West
1903–1912	Ernest Mangnall
1912–1914	John Bentley
1914–1922	Jack Robson
1922–1926	John Chapman
1926–1927	Lal Hilditch
1927–1931	Herbert Bamlett
1931–1932	Walter Crickmer
1932–1937	Scott Duncan	First manager from outside of England
1937–1945	Walter Crickmer
1945–1969	Matt Busby	First post-Second World War manager and longest serving manager in United’s history
1969–1970	Wilf McGuinness
1970–1971	Matt Busby
1971–1972	Frank O’Farrell	First manager from outside the United Kingdom
1972–1977	Tommy Docherty
1977–1981	Dave Sexton
1981–1986	Ron Atkinson
1986–present	Alex Ferguson	Most successful manager in terms of trophies

Support

Before the Second World War, few English football supporters travelled to away games because of time, cost, and logistical constraints such as the scarcity of cars amongst the population. As City and United played home matches on alternate Saturdays, many Mancunians would watch United one week and City the next, but after the war, a stronger rivalry developed and it became more common for a supporter to choose to follow one team exclusively.

When United won the league in 1956, they had the highest average home attendance in the league, a record that had been held by Newcastle United for the previous few years. Following the Munich air disaster in 1958, more people began to support United and many started to go to matches.^{[citation needed]} This caused United’s support to swell and is one reason why United have had the highest league attendances in English football for almost every season since then, even as a Second Division side in 1974–75.^[7] More poignantly, for two of the seasons that United did not have the league’s largest attendance, Old Trafford was undergoing major building work (1971–72 and 1992–93).

A 2002 report, entitled Do You Come From Manchester?, showed that a higher proportion of Manchester City season ticket holders live in the Manchester postal districts, whilst United had the higher absolute number of season ticket holders living in the same area.^[48]

In the late 1990s and early part of the 2000s, an increasing source of concern for many United supporters was the possibility of the club being taken over. The supporters’ group IMUSA (Independent Manchester United Supporters’ Association) was extremely active in opposing a proposed takeover by Rupert Murdoch in 1998.^[49] Another pressure group, Shareholders United Against Murdoch (which became Shareholders United and is now the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust) was formed at around this time to encourage supporters to buy shares in the club, partly to enable supporters to have a greater say in the issues that concern them, such as ticket prices and allocation, and partly to reduce the risk of an unwanted party buying enough shares to take over the club. However, this scheme failed to prevent Malcolm Glazer from becoming the majority share holder. Many supporters were outraged, and some formed a splinter club called F.C. United of Manchester. Despite the anger of some supporters towards the new owners, attendances have continued to increase.

The atmosphere produced by the fans has, however, been criticised at times. In 2000, comments made about sections of the Old Trafford crowd by the then-club captain Roy Keane, claiming some fans could not “spell football, never mind understand it” led to them being dubbed the “prawn sandwich brigade”.^[50] Alex Ferguson has also made several comments about the crowd, even going as far as claiming the atmosphere on 1 January 2008 was like a “funeral”.^[51] Afterwards, he commented “I think there have been days like this in the past. It happened some years ago, when we were dominant”.^[51] After a famous 1–0 win over Barcelona at Old Trafford, which sent United to the final of the Champions League in Moscow, Ferguson said that United fans “were absolutely brilliant” and that they “got us over the line”.^[52][53]

Stadium

Main article: Old Trafford

Old Trafford

Theatre of Dreams
UEFA
Location	Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England
Broke ground	1909
Opened	1910
Owner	Manchester United
Operator	Manchester United
Construction cost	£90,000 (1909)
Architect	Archibald Leitch (1909)
Capacity	76,212 seated[2]
Tenants
Manchester United (Premier League) (1910–present)

When the club was first founded, Newton Heath played their home games on a small field on North Road in Newton Heath, near to where Manchester Piccadilly Station is currently located. However, visiting teams often complained about the state of the pitch, which was “a bog at one end and rocky as a quarry at the other”.^[13] The changing rooms were also nothing to be proud of, being located ten minutes walk away at the Three Crowns pub on Oldham Road. They were later moved to the Shears Hotel, another pub on Oldham Road, but a change was needed if the club was to continue in the Football League.

The Heathens remained at their North Road ground for fifteen years from 1878 to 1893, a year after entering the Football League, before moving to a new home at Bank Street in nearby Clayton. The new ground was not much better, only a few tufts of grass sticking up through the sandy surface, and clouds of smoke coming down from the factory next door. On one occasion, the Walsall Town Swifts even refused to play, the conditions were so bad. A layer of sand was put down by the groundsman and the visitors were finally persuaded to play, eventually losing 14–0. They protested against the result, citing the poor conditions as the reason for their loss and the match was replayed. The conditions were not much better the second time around, and the Walsall team lost again, although this time they only lost 9–0.^[13]

In 1902, the club went close to bankruptcy and the Bank Street ground was closed by bailiffs due to its insolvency. The club was saved at the last minute by captain Harry Stafford, who managed to scrape together enough money to pay for the club’s next away game at Bristol City and found a temporary ground at neighbouring Harpurhey for the next home game against Blackpool.^[54]

Following investment to get the club back on an even keel, they renamed as Manchester United, though still with a desire for a passable ground. Six weeks before United’s first FA Cup title in April 1909, Old Trafford was named as the home of Manchester United, following the purchase of the necessary land for around £60,000. Architect Archibald Leitch was hired by United chairman John Henry Davies, and given a budget of £30,000 for construction. Original plans indicated that the stadium would hold around 100,000, though this was scaled back to 77,000. Despite this, a record attendance of 76,962 was recorded, which is more than even the current stadium officially supports. Construction was carried out by Messrs Brameld and Smith of Manchester. At the opening of the stadium, standing tickets cost sixpence, while the most expensive seats in the grandstand would have set you back five shillings. The inaugural game was played on 19 February 1910 against Liverpool F.C., and resulted in a 4–3 win for the visitors. As it happened, the change of ground could not have come soon enough. Only a few days after the club played their last game at Bank Street, the main stand was blown down in a storm.^[55]

Bombing during the Second World War, on 11 March 1941, destroyed much of the stadium, notably the main stand. The central tunnel in the South Stand was all that remained of that quarter of the ground. Though the ground was rebuilt in 1949, it meant that a game had not been played at Old Trafford for nearly 10 years as the team played all their “home” games in that period at Manchester City’s ground, Maine Road. Man City charged the club £5000 per year for the use of their stadium, plus a nominal percentage of the gate receipts. United filed a report with the War Damage Commission and received compensation to the value of £22,278 for the reconstruction of the ground.^[56]

Subsequent improvements occurred, beginning with the addition of a roof first to the Stretford End and then to the North and East Stands. However, the old-fashioned roof supports obscured the view of many fans, resulting in the upgrading of the roofs to incorporate the cantilevering still seen on the stadium today. The Stretford End was the last stand to receive the upgrade to the cantilevered roof, the work being completed in time for the start of the 1993–94 season.^[57]

Floodlights were first installed at the ground in the mid-1950s. Four 180-foot (55 m)-tall pylons were erected, each housing 54 individual floodlights. The whole lighting system cost the club £40,000, and was first used for a match on 25 March 1957. However, the old style floodlights were dismantled in 1987, to be replaced by a new lighting system embedded in the roof of each of the stands, which has survived to this day.

In 1990, following the Hillsborough Disaster, a report was issued which demanded all stadia be converted to all-seaters, leading to subsequent renovation, which dropped capacity to around 44,000. However, the club’s popularity ensured that further development would occur. In 1995, the North Stand was redeveloped into three tiers, bringing the capacity up to approximately 55,000. This was followed by expansions of first the East and then West Stands to reach a total capacity of 68,000. The most recent expansion was completed in 2006, when the North-East and North-West Quadrants were opened, allowing the current record of 76,098, only 104 short of the stadium’s maximum capacity.^[57]

It has been estimated that for any further development to be attempted on the stadium, specifically the South Stand which is still only one tier high, development costs would almost equal the £114 million already spent on the stadium in the last fourteen years. This is due to the fact that up to fifty houses would have to be bought out by the club, which would cause a lot of disruption to local residents, and any extension would have to be built over the top of the railway line that runs adjacent to the stadium. Ideally, the expansion would include bringing the South Stand up to at least two tiers and filling in the South-West and South-East quadrants to restore the “bowl” effect of the stadium. Present estimates put the projected capacity of the completed stadium at approximately 96,000, more than the new Wembley Stadium.^[57]

Sponsorship

On 6 April 2006, chief executive David Gill announced AIG as the new shirt sponsors of Manchester United in a British record shirt sponsorship deal of £56.5 million to be paid over four years (£14.1 million a year).^[58] Manchester United now has the most valuable sponsorship deal in the world, due to the renegotiation of the £15 million-a-year deal Juventus had with oil firm Tamoil.^[59] The four-year agreement has also been heralded, by extension, as the largest sponsorship deal in British history, eclipsing Chelsea’s deal with Samsung.

Companies that Manchester United currently have sponsorship deals with include:^[60]

• AIG – Principal Sponsor
• Nike – Official Sportswear Partner
• Budweiser – Official Beer
• Betfred – Official Betting Partner
• Hublot – Official Timekeeper^[61]
• Key 103 – Official Radio Station^[62]

The club has only ever had three main shirt sponsors. The first and longest-running was Sharp Electronics, who sponsored the club from 1982 to 2000, which was one of the lengthiest and most lucrative sponsorship deals in English football.^[63][64] Sharp’s logo was on the front of United’s shirts during these 17 years, during which the team won seven Premier League titles, five FA Cups, one Football League Cup, one European Cup Winners’ Cup and one European Cup. As this period was something of a golden era for the club, with a (coincidental) decline in fortunes happening once Vodafone became the new shirt sponsors in 2000, some fans now term this period – particularly 1993–2000 – as The Sharp Years. Vodafone took over in an initial four-year £30 million deal.^[65][66] The sponsorship was extended an extra two years and totalled £36 million. On 23 November 2005, Vodafone announced that they would part ways after their deal expired.

Similarly, the club has only had four independent kit manufacturers, the first being local sportswear company Umbro. Admiral took over in 1975, and became the first company to place their logo on a Manchester United shirt in 1976.^[67] Adidas followed in 1980,^[68] before Umbro started a second spell as the club’s kit manufacturers in 1992.^[69] Umbro’s sponsorship lasted for a further ten years, before the club struck a record-breaking £302.9 million deal with Nike. The agreement with Nike will last an initial 13 years, running until at least 2015.^[70]

Rivalries

Main articles: Liverpool F.C. and Manchester United football rivalry, Manchester derby, and Leeds United and Manchester United rivalry

United’s number one rival is difficult to determine. Traditionally, the closest rivals have been Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds,^[71] though Arsenal have come into the frame in recent years.^[72] Currently, most fans see Liverpool as their biggest rivals, due to the success of both clubs as well as their proximity to each other,^[73] while others rate intra-city rivals Manchester City as their biggest rivals. The Liverpool rivalry began during the 1960s when the two clubs were among the strongest in England, and have been competing closely just about every season since. The Manchester City rivalry dates back to the Newton Heath era of the 1890s, and has remained fierce due to both clubs being in the same division for much of their history.

Whilst based in traditional Yorkshire-Lancashire rivalry, the rivalry with Leeds United began during the late 1960s when Leeds emerged as a top side, and continued through the 1970s and 1980s before arguably reaching its apex when Leeds pipped United to the league title in 1992. The rivalry with Arsenal is more recent and based more on battles on the pitch; it has been particularly intense since Arsenal and United have been in direct competition for several trophies since the late-1990s.

Honours

Domestic

League

• Premier League:^[74] 10
  • 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08
• First Division:^[75] 7
  • 1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67
• Second Division:^[76] 2
  • 1935–36, 1974–75

Cups

• FA Cup: 11
  • 1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
• League Cup: 2
  • 1992, 2006
• FA Charity/Community Shield: 17 (13 outright, 4 shared)
  • 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008 (* joint holders)

European

• European Cup/UEFA Champions League: 3
  • 1968, 1999, 2008
• UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1
  • 1991
• UEFA Super Cup: 1
  • 1991

International

• Intercontinental Cup: 1
  • 1999

Doubles and Trebles

• The Double (League and FA Cup): 3
  • 1994, 1996, 1999 (as part of The Treble)
• The European Double (League and European Cup): 2
  • 1999 (as part of The Treble), 2008
• The Treble (League, FA Cup and European Cup): 1
  • 1999

Single match competitions such as the Charity/Community Shield, Intercontinental Cup/World Club Championship or Super Cup are not generally considered to contribute towards a Double or Treble.

The only major honour that Manchester United F.C. has never won is the UEFA Cup.^[77]

Club records

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Manchester United

Wikinews has related news:

2007/08 UEFA Champions League: Manchester United vs. Barcelona

• List of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors
• Richest football clubs

Supporters’ organisations

• IMUSA
• Manchester United Supporters’ Trust

Fanzines

• Red Issue
• United We Stand (fanzine)
• Red News

Chart

• Manchester United F.C. – 50 Greatest Players Of All Time

References

External links

Official

• Official site
• Talking Reds (message board)
• Official stats website

Independent media sites

• Manchester United F.C. on BBC Sport: Club News – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Club stats
• Football365’s Manchester United coverage
• Manchester United – Premierleague.com

Major fan sites

• Official Manchester United Supporters’ Trust
• Independent Manchester United Supporters Association
• Red Issue – The United Fanzine
• RedCafe – the Leading Manchester United Forum

Sekilas Tentang Pendidikan Islam Dian Didaktika
Yayasan Dian Didaktika secara resmi berdiri sejak 22 Februari 1984. pendirian yayasan ini diprakarsai oleh Dra. Nunuk Murdiati Sulastomo, yang sekarang menjabat sebagai Ketua Umum Yayasan. Yayasan ini mengawali kegiatannya dengan menyelenggarakan seminar/simposium, kemudian pada tahun 1985 diikuti dengan penyelenggaraan pendidikan formal.

Dalam penyelenggaraan pendidikan formal ini, Dra. Murti Sabarini, Dra. Hendriati Adham dan Dra. Yati Maryati adalah pribadi-pribadi yang merintis dan sehari-hari menekuni gerak dan kjalannya Pendidikan Islam Dian Didaktika hingga sekarang.

Dalam rangka mewujudkan tujuan dan program Yayasan di bidang Pendidikan Formal, Yayasan pada tahun 1985 membuka Taman Kanak-Kanak Islam. Taman Kanak-Kanak tersebut pada awalnya menempati garasi rumah keluarga Dr. H. Sulastomo, di Cinere, Depok. Pada awal berdirinya, jumlah murid TK ada 13 anak. TK Islam Dian Didaktika kini dipimpin oleh Dra. Nur Aini Setiawati.

Selanjutnya pada tahun 1986, Yayasan membuka Sekolah Dasar Islam, di Jl. Rajawali, Cinere, Depok. Pada awal berdirinya, jumlah murid SD ada 11 orang anak. Jumlah murid yang terdaftar setiap tahun Alhamdulillah terus bertambah, sehingga pada tahun 2005 jumlah murid SD mencapai 600 orang. SD Islam Dian Didaktika kini dipimpin oleh Kepala Sekolah Dra. Mariyatullaela. Sejak pertama meluluskan muridnya pada tahun 1992, SD Islam Dian Didaktika telah menunjukkan prestasi terbaik di rayonnya. Alhamdulillah, prestasi yang baik terus dapat dipertahankan hingga kini.

Untuk menampung lulusan dari SD Islam Dian Didaktika, pada tahun 1992 Yayasan membuka pendidikan tingkat SMP. Jumlah murid pada awal berdirinya SMP Islam Dian Didaktika sebanyak 13 orang siswa, yang sebagian besar merupakan lulusan dari SD Islam Dian Didaktika. Kini Jumlah siswa SMP Islam Dian Didaktika sebanyak 196 siswa, Jabatan Kepala Sekolah dipegang oleh Drs. Budiyanto, M.Pd. sejak meluluskan siswa-siswinya yang pertama, SMP Islam Dian Didaktika menunjukkan prestasi yang membanggakan, dengan nilai NEM terbaik di rayonnya. Al hamdulillah prestasi itu dapat dipertahankan terus hingga kini. Seperti pada tahun-tahun sebelumnya pada tahun 2005 ini, SMP Islam Dian Didaktika mendapatkan NEM tertinggi dari 123 SMP Negeri dan Swasta di Depok yang ikut ujian Nasional. Namun yang lebih pantas untuk disyukuri adalah disamping prestasi-prestasi tersebut pendidikan Islam Dian Didaktika merupakan lembaga pendidikan yang Alhamdulillah, selalu mengedepankan pembinaan budi pekerti yang luhur terhadap peserta didiknya. Selanjutnya Yayasan Dian Didaktika pada tahun 2005 telah Di buka Kelompok Bermain (KB) untuk tahun ajaran 2005/2006 dengan jumlah murid 45 siswa, saat ini Yayasan Dian Didaktika juga sedang membangun gedung baru untuk SMA yang di perkirakan selesai pembangunannya tahun 2006, dan akan di buka pendaftaran mulai tahun ajaran 2007.

Manchester United F.C. (biasa disingkat Man Utd, Man United atau hanya MU ) adalah sebuah klub sepak bola Inggris yang berbasis di Old Trafford, Manchester.

Dibentuk sebagai Newton Heath LYR F.C. pada 1878 sebagai tim sepak bola depot Perusahaan Kereta Api Lancashire dan Yorkshire Railway di Newton Heath, namanya berganti menjadi Manchester United pada 1902.

Meski sejak dulu telah termasuk salah satu tim terkuat di Inggris, barulah sejak 1993 Manchester United meraih dominasi yang besar di kejuaraan domestik di bawah arahan Sir Alex Ferguson – dominasi dengan skala yang tidak terlihat sejak berakhirnya era Liverpool F.C. pada pertengahan 1970-an dan awal 1980-an. Sejak bergulirnya era Premiership di tahun 1992, Manchester United adalah tim yang paling sukses dengan delapan kali merebut tropi juara.

Meskipun sukses di kompetisi domestik, kesuksesan tersebut masih sulit diulangi di kejuaraan Eropa; mereka hanya pernah meraih juara di Liga Champions tiga kali sepanjang sejarahnya (1968, 1999, 2008).

MU menjadi salah satu klub paling sukses di Inggris; sejak musim 86-87, mereka telah meraih 20 trofi besar – jumlah ini merupakan yang terbanyak di antara klub-klub Liga Utama Inggris. Mereka telah memenangi 17 trofi juara Liga Utama Inggris. Pada tahun 1968, mereka menjadi tim Inggris pertama yang berhasil memenangi Liga Champions Eropa, setelah mengalahkan S.L. Benfica 4–1, dan mereka memenangi Liga Champions Eropa untuk kedua kalinya pada tahun 1999 dan sekali lagi pada tahun 2008 setelah mengalahkan Chelsea F.C. di final. Mereka juga memegang rekor memenangi Piala FA sebanyak 11 kali.^[1]

Pada 12 Mei 2005, pengusaha Amerika Serikat Malcolm Glazer menjadi pemilik klub dengan membeli mayoritas saham yang bernilai £800 juta (US$1,47 milyar) seiring dengan banyaknya protes dari para pendukung fanatik.

[sunting] Sejarah

[sunting] Tahun awal (1878–1945)

Tim Manchester United pada awal sesi 1905-06, yang pada saat itu menjadi juara dua di Divisi 2 dan terangkat.

Tim pertama kali dibentuk dengan nama Newton Heath L&YR F.C. pada 1878 sebagai tim karya Lancashire dan Yorkshire stasiun kereta api di Newton Heath. Kaos tim berwarna hijau – emas. Mereka bermain di sebuah lapangan kecil di North Road, dekat stasiun kereta api Piccadilly Manchester selama lima belas tahun, sebelum pindah ke Bank Street di kota dekat Clayton pada 1893. Tim sudah memasuki kompetisi sepak bola tahun sebelumnya dan mulai memutuskan hubungannya dengan stasiun kereta api, menjadi perusahaan mandiri, mengangkat seorang sekretaris perkumpulan dan pengedropan “L&YR” dari nama mereka untuk menjadi Newton Heath F.C saja..

Tak lama kemudian, di tahun 1902, tim nyaris bangkrut, dengan utang lebih dari £2500. Lapangan Bank Street mereka telah ditutup.^[2]

Sebelum tim mereka bubar, mereka menerima investasi dari J. H. Davies, direktur Manchester Breweries. Awalnya, seorang legenda tim, Harry Stafford, yang merupakan kapten tim, memamerkan anjing St. Bernardnya, kemudian Davies memutuskan untuk membeli anjing itu. Stafford menolak, tetapi berhasil mempengaruhi Davies untuk menannamkan modal pada tim dan menjadi chairman tim.^[3] Diadakan rapat untuk mengganti nama perkumpulan. Manchester Central dan Manchester Celtic adalah nama yang diusulkan, sebelum Louis Rocca, seorang imigran muda asal Italia, berkata “Tuan-tuan, mengapa kita tidak menggunakan nama Manchester United?”^[4] Nama ditetapkan dan Manchester United secara resmi eksis mulai 26 April 1902. Davies juga memutuskan untuk mengganti warna tim dan terpilihlah warna merah dan putih sebagai warna tim Manchester United.

Ernest Mangnall ditunjuk menjadi sekretaris klub menggantikan James West yang mengundurkan diri pada tanggal 28 September 1902. Mangnall bekerja keras untuk mengangkat tim ke Divisi Satu dan gagal pada upaya pertamanya, menempati urutan 5 Liga Divisi Dua. Mangnall memutuskan untuk menambah sejumlah pemain ke dalam klub dan merekrut pemain seperti Harry Moger, Dick Duckworth, dan John Picken, ada juga Charlie Roberts yang membuat dampak besar. Dia dibeli £750 dari Grimsby Town pada April 1904, dan membawa tim ke posisi tiga klasmen akhir musim 1903-1904.

Mereka kemudian berpromosi ke Divisi Satu setelah finis diurutan dua Divisi Dua musim 1905–06. Musim pertama mereka di Divisi Satu berakhir kurang baik, mereka menempati urutan 8 klasmen. Akhirnya mereka memenangkan gelar liga pertamanya pada tahun 1908. Manchester City sedang diselidiki karena menggaji pemain diatas regulasi yang ditetapkan FA. Mereka didenda £250 dan delapan belas pemain mereka dihukum tidak boleh bermain untuk mereka lagi. United dengan cepat mengambil kesempatan dari situasi ini, merekrut Billy Meredith dan Sandy Turnbull, dan lainnya. Pemain baru ini tidak boleh bermain dahulu sebelum tahun Baru 1907, akibat dari skors dari FA. Mereka mulai bermain pada musim 1907–08 dan United membidik gelar juara saat itu. Kemenangan 2–1 atas Sheffield United memulai kemenangan beruntun sepuluh kali United. Namun pada akhirnya, mereka tutup musim dengan keunggulan 9 poin dari rival mereka, Aston Villa.

Klub membutuhkan waktu dua tahun untuk membawa trofi lagi, mereka memenangkan trofi Liga Divisi Satu untuk kedua kalinya pada musim 1910–11. United pindah ke lapangan barunya Old Trafford. Mereka memainkan pertandingan pertamanya di Old Trafford pada tanggal 19 Februari 1910 melawan Liverpool, tetapi mereka kalah 4-3. Mereka tidak mendapat trofi lagi pada musim 1911–12, mereka tidak didukung oleh Mangnall lagi karena dia pindah ke Manchester City setelah 10 tahunnya bersama United. Setelah itu, mereka 41 tahun bermain tanpa memenangkan satu trofi pun.

United kembali terdegradasi pada tahun 1922 setelah sepuluh tahun bermain di Divisi Satu. Mereka naik divisi lagi tahun 1925, tetapi kesulitan untuk masuk jajaran papan atas liga Divisi Satu dan mereka turun divisi lagi pada tahun 1931. United meraih mencapaian terendah sepanjang sejarahnya yaitu posisi 20 klasemen Divisi Dua 1934. kekuatan mereka kembali ketika musim 1938–39.

[sunting] Era Busby (1945–1969)

Pada tahun 1945, Matt Busby ditunjuk menjadi manager dari tim yang berbasis di Old Trafford ini. Dia meminta sesuatu yang tidak biasa pada pekerjaannya, seperti menunujuk tim sendiri, memilih pemain yang akan direkrut sendiri dan menentukan jadwal latihan para pemain sendiri. Dia telah kehilangan lowongan manager di klub lain, Liverpool F.C., karena pekerjaan yang diinginkannya itu dirasa petinggi Liverpool adalah pekerjaan seorang direktur, tetapi United memberikan kesempatan untuk ide inovatifnya. Pertama, Busby tidak merekrut pemain, melainkan seorang asisten manager yang bernama Jimmy Murphy. Keputusan menunjuk Busby sebagai manager merupakan keputusan yang sangat tepat, Busby membayar kepercayaan pengurus dengan mengantar United ke posisi kedua liga pada tahun 1947, 1948 and 1949 dan memenangkan Piala FA tahun 1948. Stan Pearson, Jack Rowley, Allenby Chilton, dan Charlie Mitten memiliki andil yang besar dalam pencapaian United ini.

Charlie Mitten pulang ke Colombia untuk mencari bayaran yang lebih baik, tetapi kemampuan pemain senior United tidak menurun dan kembali meraih gelar Divisi Satu pada 1952. Busby tahu, bahwa tim sepak bola tidak hanya membutuhkan pengalaman pemainnya, maka, dia juga berpikir untuk memasukkan beberapa pemain muda. Pertama-tama, pemain muda seperti Roger Byrne, Bill Foulkes, Mark Jones dan Dennis Viollet, membutuhkan waktu untuk menunjukkan permainan terbaik mereka, akibatnya United tergelincir ke posisi 8 pada 1953, tetapi tim kembali memenangkan liga tahun 1956 dengan tim yang usia rata-rata pemainnya hanya 22 tahun, mencetak 103 gol. Kebijakan tentang pemain muda ini mengantarkannya menjadi salah satu manager yang paling sukses menangani Manchester United (pertengahan 1950-an, pertengahan akhir 1960-an dan 1990-an). Busby mempunyai pemain bertalenta tinggi yang bernama Duncan Edwards. Pemuda asal Dudley, West Midlands memainkan debutnya pada umur 16 tahun di 1953. Edwards dikatakan dapat bermain disegala posisi dan banyak yang melihatnya bermain mengatakan bahwa dia adalah pemain terbaik. Musim berikutnya, 1956–57, mereka menang liga kembali dan mencapai final Piala FA, kalah dari Aston Villa. Mereka menjadi tim Inggris pertama yang ikut serta dalam kompetisi Piala Champions Eropa, atas kebijakan FA. Musim lalu, FA membatalkan hak Chelsea untuk tampil di Piala Champions. United dapat mencapai babak semi-final dan kemudian dikandaskan Real Madrid. Dalam perjalanannya ke semi-final, United juga mencatatkan kemenangan yang tetap menunjukkan bahwa mereka adalah tim besar, mengalahkan tim juara Belgia Anderlecht 10–0 di Maine Road.

Sebuah plat kenangan di Old Trafford sebagai penghargaan untuk para pemain yang meninggal pada tragedi Munich Air.

Tragedi terjadi pada musim berikutnya, ketika pesawat membawa tim pulang dari pertandingan Piala Champions Eropa mengalami kecelakaan saat mendarat di Munich, Jerman untuk mengisi bahan bakar. Tragedi Munich air tanggal 6 Februari 1958 merenggut nyawa 8 pemain tim – Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor dan Liam “Billy” Whelan – dan 15 penumpang lainnya, termasuk beberapa staf United, Walter Crickmer, Bert Whalley dan Tom Curry.^[5] Terjadi 2 kali pendaratan sebelum yang ketiga terjadi kesalahan fatal, yang disebabkan tidak stabilnya kecepatan pesawat karena adanya lumpur. Penjaga gawang United Harry Gregg mempertahankan kesadaran saat kecelakaan itu dan dibawah ketakutan pesawat akan meledak, menyelamatkan Bobby Charlton and Dennis Viollet dengan mengencangkan sabuk pengamannya. Tujuh pemain United menginggal dunia di tempat sedangkan Duncan Edwards tewas ketika perjalanan menuju rumah sakit. Sayap kanan Johnny Berry juga selamat dari kecelakaan itu, tetapi cedera membuat karir sepak bolanya berakhir cepat. Dokter Munich mengatakan bahwa Matt Busby tidak memiliki banyak harapan, namun ia pulih dengan ajaibnya dan akhirnya keluar dari rumah sakit setelah dua bulan dirawat di rumah sakit.

Ada rumor bahwa tim akan mengundurkan diri dari kompetisi, namub Jimmy Murphy mengambil alih posisi manager ketika Busby dirawat di rumah sakit, klub melanjutkan kompetisinya. Meskipun kehilangan pemain, mereka mencapai final Piala FA 1958, dimana mereka kalah dari Bolton Wanderers. Akhir musim, UEFA menawarkan FA untuk dapat mengirimkan United dan juara liga Wolverhampton Wanderers untuk berpartisipasi di Piala Champions untuk penghargaan kepada para korban kecelakaan, namun FA menolak. United menekan Wolves pada musim berikutnya dan menyelesaikan liga di posisi kedua klasemen; tidak buruk untuk sebuah tim yang kehilangan sembilan pemain akibat tragedi Munich air.

Busby membangun kembali tim di awal dekade 60-an, membeli pemain seperti Denis Law dan Pat Crerand. Mungkin orang yang paling terkenal dari sejumlah pemain muda ini adalah pemuda Belfast yang bernama George Best. Best memiliki keatletikkan yang sangat langka. Tim memenangkan Piala FA tahun 1963, walaupun hanya finis diurutan 19 Divisi Satu. Keberhasilan di Piala FA membuat pemain menjadi termotivasi dan membuat klub terangkat pada posisi kedua liga tahun 1964, dan memenangkan liga tahun 1965 dan 1967. United memenangkan Piala Champions Eropa 1968, mengalahkan tim asuhan Eusébio SL Benfica 4–1 dipertandingan final, menjadi tim Inggis pertama yang memenagkan kompetisi ini. Tim United saat itu memiliki Pemain Terbaik Eropa, yaitu: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best. Matt Busby mengundurkan diri pada tahun 1969 dan digantikan oleh pelatih tim cadangan, Wilf McGuinness.

[sunting] Masa sulit (1969–1986)

United mengalami masa-masa sulit ketika ditangani Wilf McGuinness, selesai diurutan delapan liga pada musim 1969–70. Kemudian dia mengawali musim 1970–71 dengan buruk, sehingga McGuinness kembali turun jabatan menjadi pelatih tim cadangan. Busby kembali melatih United, walaupun hanya 6 bulan. Dibawah asuhan Busby, United mendapat hasil yang lebih baik, namun pada akhirnya ia meninggalkan klub pada tahun 1971. Dalam waktu itu, United kehilangan beberapa pemain kuncinya seperti Nobby Stiles dan Pat Crerand.

Manager Celtic yang berhasil membawa Piala Champions ke Glasgow, Jock Stein, ditunjuk untuk mengisi posisi manager — Stein telah menyetujui kontrak secara verbal dengan United, tetapi membatalkannya — . Frank O’Farrell ditunjuk sebagai suksesor Busby. Seperti McGuinness, O’Farrell tidak bertahan lebih dari 18 bulan, bedanya hanya O’Farrell bereaksi untuk menanggulangi penampilan buruk dari United dengan membawa muka baru ke dalam klub, yang paling nyata adalah direkrutnya Martin Buchan dari Aberdeen seharga £125,000. Tommy Docherty menjadi manager diakhir 1972. Docherty, atau “Doc”, menyelamatkan United dari degradasi namun United terdegradasi pada 1974, yang saat itu trio Best, Law and Charlton telah meninggalkan klub. Denis Law pindah ke Manchester City pada musim panas tahun 1973. Pemain seperti Lou Macari, Stewart Houston dan Brian Greenhoff direkrut untuk menggantikan Best, Law and Charlton, namun tidak menghasilkan apa-apa.

Tim meraih promosi pada tahun pertamanya di Divisi Dua, dengan peran besar pemain muda berbakat Steve Coppell yang bermain baik pada musim pertamanya bersama United, bergabung dari Tranmere Rovers. United mencapai Final Piala FA tahun 1976, tetapi mereka dikalahkan Southampton. Mereka mencapai final lagi tahun 1977 dan mengalahkan Liverpool 2–1. Didalam kesuksesan ini, Docherty dipecat karena diketahui memiliki hubungan dengan istri fisioterapi.

Dave Sexton menggantikan Docherty di musim panas 1977 dan membuat tim bermain lebih defensif. Gaya bermain ini tidak disukai suporter, mereka lebih menyukai gaya menyerang Docherty dan Busby. Beberapa pemain dibeli Sexton seperti Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Gary Bailey dan Ray Wilkins, namun tidak dapat mengangkat United menembus ke papan atas, hanya sekali finis diurutan kedua, dan hanya sekali lolos ke babak final Piala FA, dikalahkan Arsenal. Karena tidak meraih gelar, Sexton dipecat pada tahun 1981, walaupun ia memenangkan 7 pertandingan terakhirnya.

Dia digantikan manager flamboyan Ron Atkinson. Dia memecahkan rekor transfer di Inggris dengan membeli Bryan Robson dari West Brom. Robson disebut-sebut merupakan pemain tengah terbaik sepeninggal Duncan Edwards. Tim Atkinson memiliki pemain baru seperti Jesper Olsen, Paul McGrath dan Gordon Strachan yang bermain bersama Norman Whiteside dan Mark Hughes. United memenangkan Piala FA 2 kali dalam 3 tahun, pada 1983 dan 1985, dan diunggulkan untuk memenangkan liga musim 1985–86 setelah memenangkan 10 pertandingan liga pertamanya, membuka jarak 10 poin dengan saingan terdekatnya sampai Oktober 1986. Penampilan United kemudian menjadi buruk dan United mengakhiri musim di urutan 4 klasemen. Hasil buruk United terus berlanjut sampai akhir musim dan dengan hasil yang buruk yaitu diujung batas degradasi, pada November 1986, Atkinson dipecat.

[sunting] Era Alex Ferguson (1986–sekarang)

[sunting] Sebelum Treble (1986-1998)

Alex Ferguson

Alex Ferguson datang dari Aberdeen untuk menggantikan Atkinson dan mengantarkan klub meraih posisi 11. Musim berikutnya yaitu musim 1987–88, United menyelesaikan liga di posisi kedua, dengan Brian McClair yang menjadi pencetak 20 gol liga setelah George Best.

United mengalami masa sulit 2 musim berikutnya. Dengan pembelian pemain yang cukup banyak, Ferguson tidak dapat memenuhi harapan suporter. Alex Ferguson telah berada dalam bahaya pemecatan pada awal 1990, tetapi sebuah gol dari Mark Robins membawa United menang 1–0 atas Nottingham Forest dibabak ketiga Piala FA. Ini membuat Ferguson terselamatkan dan pada akhirnya United memenangkan Piala FA, setelah mengalahkan Crystal Palace di partai ulang babak final.

United memenangkan Winners’ Cup Eropa di 1990–91, mengalahkan juara Spanyol musim itu, Barcelona di final, tetapi mengecewakan di musim berikutnya karena di liga mereka kalah dari saingan, Leeds United.

Kedatangan Eric Cantona di November 1992 merupakan sebuah langkah krusial United saat itu. Cantona membaur bersama pemain [[nal Piala FA menjadikan MU menjadi juara dua di liga dan Piala FA. Ferguson membuat suporter kesal karena menjual beberapa pemain Beberapa dari mereka langsung terpilih menjadi anggota Tim Nasional Sepak Bola Inggris. Secara mengejutkan, United kembali meraih double pada musim 1995–96. Ini adalah pertama kalinya klub Inggris meraih double sebanyak dua kali dan akhirnya mereka mendapat sebutan "Double Double".^[6]

Mereka memenangkan liga musim 1996–97 dan Eric Cantona menyatakan pensiun dari persepak bolaan profesional pada usia 30. Mereka mengawali musim 1997–98 dengan baik, tetapi mengakhiri liga pada posisi dua klasemen, dibawah pemenang dua gelar, Arsenal.

[sunting] Treble (1998–1999)

Musim 1998–99 untuk Manchester United adalah musim tersukses karena mereka berhasil menjadi satu-satunya tim Inggris yang pernah meraih Treble(tiga gelar dalam satu musim) — dengan memenangkan Liga Utama Inggris, Piala FA dan Liga Champion UEFA di musim yang sama.^[7] Setelah melewati Liga Utama yang padat, Manchester United berhasil memenangkan liga pada pertandingan terakhir melawan Tottenham Hotspur dengan skor 2–1, ketika Arsenal menang 1–0 atas Aston Villa.^[8] Memenangkan Liga Utama merupakan bagian pertama dari treble United, yang disebut Ferguson bagian tersulit.^[8] Di final Piala FA mereka bertemu Newcastle United dan menang 2–0 melalui gol Teddy Sheringham dan Paul Scholes.^[9] Pada pertandingan terakhir mereka musim itu, pertandingan Final Liga Champions Eropa 1999, mereka mengalahkan Bayern Munich, pertandingan tersebut disebut-sebut sebagai comeback terbaik yang pernah ada, kalah sampai dengan injury time dan mencetak gol dua kali di menit-menit terakhir untuk memastikan kemenangan 2–1.^[7] Manchester United juga memenangkan Piala Interkontinental setelah mengalahkan Palmeiras 1–0 di Tokyo.^[10]

[sunting] Setelah Treble (1999–sekarang)

United memenangkan liga tahun 2000 dan 2001, tetapi mereka gagal meraih kembali trofi kompetisi Eropa. Pada tahun 2000, Manchester United menjadi salah satu dari 14 pendiri kelompok G-14.^[11] Ferguson mengadopsi gaya permainan bertahan dan tetap gagal di kompetisi Eropa dan United menyelesaikan liga pada urutan ketiga klasemen. Mereka meraih kembali gelar liga musim berikutnya dan memulai musim dengan sangat baik, namun penampilan mereka memburuk ketika Rio Ferdinand menerima skorsing 8 bulan karena gagal dalam tes doping. Mereka memenangkan Piala FA 2004, setelah mengalahkan Millwall.

Musim 2004-05, produktivitas gol United berkurang, yang disebabkan oleh cederanya Ruud van Nistelrooy dan United menyelesaikan musim tanpa meraih satu gelar pun. Kali ini, Piala FA dimenangkan oleh Arsenal yang mengalahkan United melalui adu penalti. Di luar lapangan, cerita utamanya adalah kemungkinan klub diambil alih oleh pihak lain dan pada akhir musim, Malcolm Glazer, seorang pengusaha asal Tampa, telah memiliki kepemilikikan United.

United melakukan awal buruk pada musim 2005–06, dengan kepergian Roy Keane yang bergabung dengan Celtic setelah United banyak dikritik publik dan klub gagal melewati babak knock-out Liga Champions untuk pertama kalinya dalam satu dekade setelah kalah dari tim asal Portugal, Benfica. Musim ini adalah musim yang buruk bagi United karena pemain kunci mereka seperti, Gabriel Heinze, Alan Smith, Ryan Giggs dan Paul Scholes cedera. Mereka hanya meraih satu gelar musim itu, Piala Liga, mengalahkan tim promosi Wigan Athletic dengan skor 4–0. United memastikan tempat di urutan kedua klasemen liga dan lolos otomatis ke Liga Champions setelah mengalahkan Charlton Athletic 4–0. Akhir musim 2005–06, satu dari penyerang kunci, Ruud van Nistelrooy, meninggalkan klub dan bergabung dengan Real Madrid, karena hubungannya dengan Alex Ferguson retak.^[12]

Musim 2006-07 memperlihatkan gaya permainan United yang menyerang seperti pada dekade 90-an, mencetak 20 gol lebih di 32 pertandingan. Pada Januari 2007, United mendapatkan Henrik Larsson dengan status pinjaman selama 2 bulan dari Helsingborgs, dan pemain itu memiliki pera penting dalam pencapaian United di Liga Champions,^[13] dengan harapan meraih Treble kedua; namun setelah mencapai babak semi-final, United kalah dari A.C. Milan 3–5(agregat).^[14]

Dalam perayaan ke-50 keikutsertaan Manchester United dalam kompetisi Eropa, dan juga perayaan ke-50 dari Treaty of Rome, Manchester United bertanding melawan Marcello Lippi dan tim Eropa XI di Old Trafford pada 13 Maret 2007. United memenangkan pertandingan 4–3.^[15]

Empat tahun setelah gelar terakhir mereka, United meraih kembali gelar juara liga pada 6 Mei 2007, setelah Chelsea bermain imbang dengan Arsenal, meninggalkan the Blues tujuh poin dibelakang dengan menyisakan 2 pertandingan, diikuti kemenangan United 1–0 dalam derbi Manchester hari sebelumnya, mengantarkan United ke gelar kesembilan Premiership-nya dalam 15 tahun eksistensinya. Namun, mereka tidak dapat mencapai double keempat mereka, karena Chelsea mengalahkan United 1-0 di final Piala FA 2007 yang berlangsung di Stadion Wembley yang baru.

Pada 11 Mei 2008, United kembali meraih gelar liga setelah mengalahkan Wigan 2-0 di pertandingan terakhir untuk memastikan gelar tersebut, disusul gelar Liga Champion pada tanggal 21 Mei 2008 yang diraih dengan mengalahkan Chelsea 6-5 di final melalui adu penalti setelah bermain seri 1-1 di waktu normal 2×45 menit serta perpanjangan waktu 2×15 menit.

[sunting] Lambang dan warna klub

Ketika nama tim masih Newton Heath, seragam tim berwarna hijau-kuning. Pada tahun 1902, sehubungan dengan pergantian nama menjadi Manchester United, klub mengganti warna seragam mereka menjadi merah(kaos), putih(celana), dan hitam(kaos kaki), yang menjadi standar seragam MU sampai saat ini. Pengecualian ketika tim bertanding di Final Piala FA tahun 1909 melawan Bristol City, kaos berwarna putih berkerah merah berbentuk V. Desain seragam ini kembali digunakan saat 1920-an ketika seragam tim berwarna merah-merah.

Kostum tandang biasanya adalah kaos putih, celana hitam, dan kaos kaki putih, tetap warna lain juga pernah digunakan, termasuk kaos biru bergaris putih yang digunakan dari tahun 1903 sampai 1916, hitam seluruhnya pada 1994 dan 2003 dan kaos biru dengan garis horisontal perak pada tahun 2000. Satu yang paling terkenal, hanya dipakai sebentar, kostum tandang United yang berwarna keseluruhan abu-abu dipakai pada musim 1995–96. Kostum ini tidak digunakan lagi saat MU kalah pada pertandingan pertama pemakaian kostum ini. Pada babak pertama, MU kalah 3-0 dari Southhampton, mereka mengganti seragam yang mereka kenakan menjadi seragam ketiga mereka yang berwarna biru-putih, tetapi pada akhirnya kalah 3–1. Seragam abu-abu tidak pernah lagi digunakan akibat hasil buruk yang mereka dapat pada pertandingan pertama dengan seragam abu-abu itu.^[16][17] Seragam tandang MU yang terkenal lainnya adalah kaos putih dengan lengan hitam dan garis emas-hitam. Seragam ini adalah seragam terakhir yang didesain Umbro sebelum MU memilih produsen Nike, dan memperingati 100 tahun pergantian nama dari Newton Heath F.C menjadi Manchester United.

Kostum ketiga United berwarna biru, yang dikenakan pemain saat memenangkan Piala Champions 1968. Pengecualian, kostum kuning terang yang digunakan pada awal 1970-an, seragam biru bergaris putih yang dipakai 1996, dan kaos putih bergaris merah-hitam yang dipakai pada 2004. United juga menggunakan kostum ketiga untuk latihan. United mengadopsi warna kostum hitam keseluruhan pada musim 1998–99 dan kaos biru tua dengan pinggiran marun pada tahun 2001 untuk bertanding melawan Southampton dan PSV Eindhoven.

Lambang Manchester United telah diganti beberapa kali, tetapi perubahan yang dilakukan tidak terlalu signifikan. Setan yang terletak ditengah lambang merupakan akar dari julukan “Setan Merah”(The Red Devils), yang muncul di era 1960-an setelah Matt Busby mendengar itu dari fans tim rugbi Salford.^[18] Pada akhir 60-an, the devil had started to be included on club programmes and scarves, sebelum akhirnya lambang setan itu dimasukkan ke dalam lambang klub, memegang trisula. Di 1998, logo kembali didesain ulang, kali ini menghilangkan tulisan “Football Club”.^[19] Perubahan ini bertentangan dengan pendapat suporter, yang memandang bahwa MU semakin menjauhi akar sepak bola dan perubahan ini hanya untuk kepentingan bisnis semata.

[sunting] Pemain

[sunting] Tim utama

Berikut merupakan tim utama pada tanggal 21 Maret 2008, dikutip dari situs resmi Manchester United.^[20][21]

No. Posisi Nama pemain 1 GK Edwin van der Sar 2 DF Gary Neville (Kapten) 3 DF Patrice Evra 4 MF Owen Hargreaves 5 DF Rio Ferdinand 6 DF Wes Brown 7 MF Cristiano Ronaldo 8 MF Anderson 9 FW Dimiter Berbatov 10 FW Wayne Rooney 11 MF Ryan Giggs (Wakil kapten) 12 GK Ben Foster 13 MF Park Ji-Sung 15 DF Nemanja Vidić

No. Posisi Nama pemain 16 MF Michael Carrick 17 MF Nani 18 MF Paul Scholes 21 FW Dong Fangzhuo 22 DF John O’Shea 24 MF Darren Fletcher 29 GK Tomasz Kuszczak 32 FW Carlos Tévez 33 MF Chris Eagles 38 GK Tom Heaton 47 FW Danny Welbeck

[sunting] Pemain yang dipinjamkan

No. Posisi Nama pemain 23 DF Jonathan Evans (di Sunderland sampai 30 Juni 2008) 25 DF Danny Simpsons (di Ipswich sampai 30 Juni 2008) 38 GK Tom Heaton (di Cardiff sampai 30 Juni 2009) – GK Manucho Goncalves (di Panathinaikos sampai 30 Juni 2008)

[sunting] Kapten klub

Waktu	Nama	Catatan
1878–1896	Tidak diketahui
1896–1903	Harry Stafford	Kapten pertama Manchester United
1903–1904	Tidak diketahui
1904–1907	Jack Peddie
1907–1913	Charlie Roberts
1913–1919	George Stacey
1919–1922	George Hunter
1922–1928	Frank Barson
1928–1932	Jack Wilson
1932–1936	Hugh McLenahan
1936–1939	Jimmy Brown
1939–1946	Tidak ada	Tidak ada sepak bola ketika Perang Dunia Kedua
1946–1953	Johnny Carey	Kapten pertama yang berasal dari luar Inggris Raya
1953–1954	Allenby Chilton	Kapten selama 1 musim setelah Johnny Carey pensiun.
1954–1958	Roger Byrne	Meninggal dunia pada tahun 1958 Tragedi Munich Air
1958–1962	Bill Foulkes
1962-1967	Noel Cantwell
1967–1973	Bobby Charlton
1973–1979	Martin Buchan
1979–1982	Sammy McIlroy
1982–1994	Bryan Robson	Kapten terlama sepanjang sejarah United
1994–1996	Steve Bruce
1996–1997	Eric Cantona
1997–2005	Roy Keane	Memenangkan lebih banyak trofi dibandingkan kapten United lainnya
2005–	Gary Neville	Kapten pertama yang lahir di Manchester Raya sejak Roger Byrne.

[sunting] Pemain terkenal

Untuk pemain terkenal silahkan lihat, Daftar Pemain Manchester United.

[sunting] Pengurus Klub

• Pemilik: Malcolm Glazer
• Presiden Direktur: Martin Edwards

Manchester United Limited

• Chairman: Joel Glazer & Avram Glazer
• Direktur: Bryan Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Edward Glazer & Darcie Glazer
• Pimpinan Eksekutif: David Gill
• Chief Operating Officer: Michael Bolingbroke
• Direktur Komersial: Richard Arnold

Klub sepak bola Manchester United

• Direktur: David Gill, Michael Edelson, Sir Bobby Charlton, Maurice Watkins
• Sekretaris Klub: Ken Ramsden
• Asisten Sekretaris Klub: Ken Merrett

Staf tim senior

• Sekretaris Perusahaan: Patrick Stewart
• Asisten Sekretaris Perusahaan: Ken Ramsden
• Direktur Komunikasi: Phil Townsend
• Direktur Komersial: Ben Hatton
• Direktur Pemasaran: vacant
• Direktur Servis Finansial: Steve Falk
• Direktur Finansial dan TI: Steve Deaville
• Direktur Fasilitas: Clive Snell

Staf kepelatihan dan medis

• Manajer: Sir Alex Ferguson
• Asisten Manajer: Mike Phelan
• Pelatih Tim Utama: René Meulensteen
• Pelatih Kiper: Eric Steele
• Pelatih Kebugaran: Tony Strudwick
• Pelatih Fisik: Mick Clegg
• Manajer Tim Cadangan: Ole Gunnar Solskjær
• Pelatih Tim Cadangan: Warren Joyce
• Pimpinan Pencari Bakat: Jim Lawlor
• Pimpinan Pencari Bakat Eropa: Martin Ferguson
• Direktur Akademi: Brian McClair
• Direktur Sepak Bola Muda: Jimmy Ryan

Staf Kepelatihan Akademi

• Asisten Direktur untuk usia 17–21 tahun: Paul McGuinness
• Asisten Direktur untuk usia 9–16 tahun: Tony Whelan
• Pelatih Kepala U-18: Paul McGuinness
• Pelatih Kepala U-16: Mark Dempsey
• Pelatih Kepala U-12: Tony Whelan
• Pelatih Kepala U-10: Eamon Mulvey
• Pelatih Pengembangan Teknik: René Meulensteen
• Pelatih Kiper: Richard Hartis
• Pelatih Akademi: Eddie Leach, Tommy Martin, Mike Glennie & Andy Welsh

Staf Medis

• Dokter Tim: Dr. Steve McNally
• Asisten Dokter Tim: Dr. Tony Gill
• Ahli fisioterapi Tim Utama: Rob Swire
• Ahli fisioterapi Tim Cadangan: Neil Hough
• Ahli fisioterapi Akademi Senior: Mandy Johnson
• Ahli fisioterapi Akademi: John Davin & Richard Merron
• Pemijat: Gary Armer & Rod Thornley
• Pengatur Makanan Tim: Trevor Lea

[sunting] Sejarah Kepelatihan

Waktu	Nama	Catatan
1878–1892	Tidak Diketahui
1892–1900	A. H. Albut
1900–1903	James West
1903–1912	J. Ernest Mangnall
1912–1914	John Bentley
1914–1922	Jack Robson
1922–1926	John Chapman
1926–1927	Lal Hilditch
1927–1931	Herbert Bamlett
1931–1932	Walter Crickmer
1932–1937	Scott Duncan	Manajer pertama dari luar Inggris
1937–1945	Walter Crickmer
1945–1969	Sir Matt Busby	Manajer pertama setelah Perang Dunia II dan manajer dengan jabatan terpanjang
1969–1970	Wilf McGuinness
1970–1971	Sir Matt Busby
1971–1972	Frank O’Farrell	Manajer pertama dari luar Inggris Raya
1972–1977	Tommy Docherty
1977–1981	Dave Sexton
1981–1986	Ron Atkinson
1986–sekarang	Sir Alex Ferguson	Manajer dengan trofi terbanyak; Manajer terlama yang melatih MU setelah Sir Matt Busby

[sunting] Prestasi

[sunting] Domestik

[sunting] Liga

• Liga Utama Inggris^[22]: 17
  • 1907–08, 1910–11, 1951-52, 1955-56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966-67, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002–03, 2006-07, 2007-08
• Liga Divisi Satu Inggris^[23]: 2
  • 1935–36, 1974–75

[sunting] Piala