Manchester United- my dream, my passion!!!

I write this post on the eve that Manchester United reached the UEFA Champions League Final, by beating Barcelona in the semi-finals. To begin with, Manchester United is a football club, based in Greater Manchester, England and play their matches at their stadium, Old Trafford, often referred to as the THEATER OF DREAMS, from which came the name of my blog.

I remember the first time I saw them play was around 11 years ago, on a dull evening and fell in love with them from that moment on. And the years spent following them have been filled with joy, sorrow and heart-break. The number of nights spent up till 2-3, the number of fights with people hell bent on cursing the club, the number of jerseys that I have bought of my favorite players, has been a joyous experience.

Manchester United as a club was formed on 26th April, 1902. And till date they have won the English Premiership 16 times, the FA Cup 11 times and the European Cup 2 times.

The history of Manchester United begins with the Munich Air Disaster on 6th February 1958. The team having beaten Crvena Zvezda ( Red Star Belgrade ) in Belgrade were flying back on a chartered plane, which stopped over in Munich for fuel. The plane subsequently crashed whilst taking-off killing 23 of the 44 passengers on-board, including 8 players of the club. The coach, Sir Matt Busby was seriously injured, and stayed in hospital for 2 months after the crash. The 8 who died, were barely in their early 20’s and were projected to take the world by storm and become superstars.

The only positive from this incident was that Sir Matt Busby, rebuilt the team again which went on to win the European Cup, in 1968. And achieving success through adversity has endeared this club to millions of fans. Manchester United is one of the most supported clubs in this world, with a fan base of nearly 330 million and ranked as the richest football club in the world by Forbes.

But from all the events off-the field, it is their on-field exploits that garner them the popularity that they have today. Manchester United attracts the best players in the game, and coupled with the best of local talent, have gone on to become a dominant force in English Football.

But where there is adherence, there are critics also. Yes, many would harp about Manchester United being one of the most hated clubs in the world, but I guess that stems from the success. Many would point out that they don’t play attractive football, but playing good football along with being ruthless is what separates the club from other teams. It shall never occur to these critics that success is what counts, at the end of the day, as it does in our life.

But my point of writing this piece isn’t to glorify Manchester United and their players, history has a way of repeating itself. As all eyes turn to the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow for the final match between Manchester United and Chelsea, the two bitter rivals, it isn’t easy to discount that fate may be on Manchester United’s side. It was on the 10th Anniversary of the Munich disaster that Dennis Law, George Best and Bobby Charlton lifted the European Cup for the first time in 1968, and as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the incident, our hearts go out to those who lost their lives in the crash, yet it can not be discounted that Manchester United, may lift the trophy for the 3rd time. The club led by Sir Alex Ferguson, is a lot in the same mould as Sir Matt Busby moulded his team. The emphasis on youth, talent still flows in the veins of the club. Though people are trying to discount this theory, maybe there is something called karma, there is some one watching overhead.

Will history repeat itself, it can only be found out on the 21st May, as all roads lead to Moscow, and as the teams line out on the field, shall class and style prevail over the brutual, hard playing style of the opponent. So over to the field our focus turns!!!!