Manutd History & Rivalries!

Founded in 1878, the club was originally named Newton Heath L&YR F.C. as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. In 1892, they entered the Football League and changed their name, becoming Newton Heath F.C. However, in 1902, the club was near bankruptcy with more than £2500 in debts: it was saved by J.H Davies, who was the managing director of Manchester Breweries, becoming club chairman. The new staff first decided to rename the team, in order to start fresh: Manchester Central and Manchester Celtics were among the names suggested before Louis Rocca mentioned Manchester United. On April 26, 1902, Manchester United was born. New name implied new club's colors: they abandoned the green and gold halves in favor of red and white. Ernest Mangnall was appointed as head coach to get the club in the First Division. That year, Manchester finished 5th in Division 2, a good result for a first attempt. The next season, thanks to new players such as Charlie Roberts, who cost the club a then-record £750, Manchester finished 3rd, only 1 point short from the promotion in First Division. Finally, in 1906, they were promoted to First Division, finishing 8th in their first season in the top-flight.The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes", along with a number of supporters and journalists. Twenty of the 44 people on board the aircraft died in the crash. The injured, some of whom had been knocked unconscious, were taken to the Rechts der Isar Hospital in Munich where three more died, resulting in a total of 23 fatalities with 21 survivors.

Club Rivalries

Manchester United has 3 'traditional' rivals: Liverpool, Manchester City, Leeds United. Although, most fans see Liverpool as the number 1 rival, due to the success of both clubs as well as their proximity to each other.

Liverpool
The rivalry with Liverpool began during the 1960s, when both clubs were the best in England. Here is an interesting fact: the fixture is usually played at midday to discourage fans from drinking before the game! Ryan Giggs even said that "it is the most famous fixture in English football". Liverpool has a total of 40 trophies and Manchester United of 32, and both clubs claim the title of 'the Greatest English Football Club'. Unfortunately for Liverpool, only one team has it right.

Manchester City
The Manchester City rivalry dates back to the Newton Heath era of the 1890s. The game between the 2 teams is called the Manchester derby. United fans point out that City have gone awhile without winning a major trophy, whereas City fans claim United do not actually come from Manchester. The 2 teams have met 149 times, United have won 59 and City 41.

Leeds United
The Rivalry with Leeds began during the late 60s, reaching its apex when Leeds won the league title in 1992, Manchester United finishing 2nd. One of the rivalry's nicknames is the Roses rivalry, a historical reference to the Wars of the Roses. Moreover, when British Football Hooliganism was at its height, the fights between Leeds' Service Crew and Manchester United's Red Army became known as the most violent clashes in British football. Nowadays, there is a high level of security when the clubs face each other.

source: wikipedia.org