With trophies from domestic and European competitions filling their trophy cabinet, and even more honours amassed over their more than 140-year history, Manchester United is one of the most prestigious teams to have graced
English football, and is one of the most successful teams in the world.
Whether you know everything there is to know about football, or nothing at all, one thing is for certain, you’ve heard about Manchester United, and know that they are one of the most dominant clubs in the world.
While the Red Devils have shattered hundreds of records and created some of their very own, there are plenty of interesting facts you might not know about them, here are just five that you might never have heard of.
Solskjaer is the club’s third non-British manager
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In a league dominated by foreign players and managers, United has managed to maintain a relatively strong, British-led, coaching pedigree – that is, managers from England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. With Louis van Gaal the first non-British coach to take the reins at the club after he replaced David Moyes.
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Following a rough start to his United career, Van Gaal was replaced by Portuguese manager, and the self-proclaimed “Special One”, Jose Mourinho. Mourinho achieved a good amount of success with the club, but was still quite a way off the three Premier League titles he secured while leading Chelsea.
After a lot of pressure from the media, fans and some players, Mourinho was eventually replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who seemed to turn United around in his first few games as the caretaker of the club. Solskjaer became just the third non-British manager of the club.
City’s stadium was their home ground for a while
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The bitter rivalry between Manchester United and Manchester City is one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries between two clubs in world football. Despite the intense hatred between the clubs, United played their ‘home’ matches at City’s stadium for four seasons during World War II.
Manchester’s Ship Canal was a big target for the Germans during the war, and because of its proximity to the Canal, Old Trafford (then Trafford Park) was hammered during the Blitz. The pitch was scorched and the dressing rooms, main stand and offices were all left in ruins, leaving United with nowhere to play.
City came to the rescue of their rivals and allowed them to play on their grounds while Trafford Park was reconstructed. The Red Devils were charged £5,000 per year for four seasons before City issued them with a notice to move out.
First in, first to win
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In 1956, United were the first English team to take part in the European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League), this despite the English Football Association calling the competition a distraction for the teams.
The Red Devils went on a dream run in their debut season which included a 10-0 thrashing of Anderlecht and a 6-5 aggregate win over Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals. They would go on to lose to eventual winners, Real Madrid, in the semi-finals.
They would eventually lift the Cup in 1968, becoming the first English club to do so.
The first to a landmark
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The Red Devils love playing at home, Old Trafford isn’t called the Theatre of Dreams for nothing. Time and again we have been treated to a resurgent comeback from a United side that is down late in the second half.
In the 2015/16 season of the Premier League, United scored their 1,000
th goal in front of their home fans. The goal came courtesy of a cross from Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Anthony Martial’s boot, it may not have been the greatest goal that’s ever been scored at the ground, but that doesn’t matter when you’re the first team in the league to find the back of the net 1,000 times at home.
Leading the way
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When you look at the statistics, it’s no wonder why United have won the Premier League more times than any other team in the competition.
The Red Devils have won the most number of games (649), have scored the most number of goals (1,994), and have secured the most number of clean sheets (445) of all other teams in the Premier League.
Numbers correct at time of writing
The men from Old Trafford may have been having a tough time of it in the league lately, but there is no doubt that they are still one of the best and most feared teams in the league at the moment. There has never been a better time than to bet on Manchester United than right now, starting with the
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace fixture taking place this weekend.
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