The Busby Babes
In the post-World War II era, Matt Busby was appointed as Manchester United manager, and he became synonymous with the club's success. In 1952, the team won its first title since 1911, and only the third one in the club's history. During that decade, Busby's Manchester United would go on to achieve many other great triumphs.
Busby had great faith in young players, so his team was nicknamed the Busby Babes, and they won two more titles in 1956 and 1957.
The 1957-58 season was also going according to plan as they sat at the top of the league table and eliminated Irish side Shamrock Rovers in the first round of the European Cup. They then beat Dukla Praha from Czechoslovakia in the second round and in the quarter-finals they faced Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) Belgrade from Yugoslavia.
In the first match at Old Trafford, United turned the score from 0-1 at half-time to 2-1, and they flew to Belgrade to defend their victory. There, thanks to a brilliant first half, they were leading 3-0; Bobby Charlton netted twice, and Dennis Viollet scored one goal. Thanks to goals from their two biggest stars, the Busby Babes were already looking towards the semi-finals. A
Although Crvena Zvezda managed to make it 3-3 during the second half, United won on aggregate, and with an average age of 22, the Busby Babes had been touted to dominate European football for years to come. But the return trip from Yugoslavia turned into a tragedy.
Munich disaster
On February 6, 1958, the day after the match in Belgrade, a British European Airways plane with Manchester United players and management team, as well as several journalists and fans on board, had to land in Munich to refuel. The journey from Belgrade to Manchester is long, and the stopover was planned.
However, the February weather brought a lot of snow to the airport. The snow turned into slush, which made it difficult to manoeuvre the plane along the runway.
The landing was successful and after refueling, the pilots tried to take off with the plane, but they had to abort it. They tried a second time, and it didn't work out again. Because they were pressed by the flight schedule and they didn't want to be behind, partly because of the famous football players, they decided to make a third attempt for departure.
However, the slush on the runway did not allow the plane to gain the necessary speed for takeoff. The plane hit a snow barrier and, when it broke through the airport fence, the left wing was torn off. The fuselage of the plane came to a stop only after hitting a nearby house.
Fearing that the plane might explode, pilot James Thain - who escaped the accident without serious injury - began to help the passengers out. Goalkeeper Harry Gregg also immediately helped with the evacuation, although he fell unconscious for a moment. Shocked, with a bleeding head and a motionless hand, the goalkeeper saved many passengers, including teammates Bobby Charlton (20 years old that time) and Dennis Viollet.
After a while, the plane really caught fire, as did the house it hit. Fortunately nobody of the six-member family to which the house belonged was home at that moment. In contrast, there were many victims in the wreckage of the plane. Twenty passengers died at the scene, with three more succumbing to their injuries later. Among the 23 victims were eight players and three members of the Manchester United team stuff.
21 passengers survived the accident, but many of them carried the consequences of their injuries for the rest of their lives; players Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower were never able to play again.
Fortunately, seven other players, including goalkeeper Harry Gregg - a hero who saved many lives - were able to continue their football careers.
Recovery and success
Manager Matt Busby was also recovering from serious injuries. He recovered physically but struggled mentally. He blamed himself. He wanted to tell the pilots not to take off and wait for better conditions, but in the end he remained silent and did not dare to interfere in their business.
The health of the injured was also a major burden on Busby. He was going to visit them in the hospital and sometimes he had to lie and tell them that their other teammates were okay, even though they were dead.
Busby was considering leaving the Manchester United job but he was eventually convinced to stay by his wife, who told him he had to continue in honour of the players and colleagues who lost their lives in Munich.
Exactly 10 years after the Munich disaster Manchester United, still under the leadership of manager Matt Busby, won the European Cup. In the final, they defeated Benfica (with the famous Eusebio) after extra time. The result after 90 minutes was 1-1 thanks to a goal by Bobby Charlton, and he also scored in extra time.
For Charlton and for Busby, the match was very emotional. The triumph brought them as well as the whole Manchester United community immense satisfaction.