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[energetic rock music]

- Manchester United, number one in England.

- [Narrator] Manchester United,

arguably one of the biggest and best clubs

the football world has ever seen.

With such a rich history,

United have changed the way of English football.

- One thing has been coming to the top of another.

It has been wonderful.

[crowd chanting]

- Is anyone bigger than Sir Alex?

I think what he's achieved is basically,

in my opinion, he's created the Premiership.

- Opportunities like thisdon't come around all the time.

And I said I didn't wanna be sitting

in the end of my career thinking I could've

done this and I could've done that.

This was definitely a step in the right direction for me.

- Once I went to United, it was perfect.

It's everything that you wish for as a kid.

- [Narrator] With 20 league titles, 12 FA Cups,

five League Cups and 21 FA Community Shields,

Manchester United have done the unthinkable

and hold the record for the most league titles

in the English sport.

- I think I've achieved,

I'd probably say out-achieved as a young manager.

Coming to Manchester, I did it Aberdeen

and things like that,

so I wasn't gonna let it affect my life.

But even with all that, there is a fulfillment in doing it.

- [Narrator] Witness the story of Manchester United

as we take an in-depth look at the good moments.

- I thought that '99 could not be beaten,

but you have beaten it today.

- [Narrator] The bad.

- Goodbye.

- Respect.

Respect, man.

Respect, respect me.

- [Narrator] And how they became the most iconic team

in the world of football.

This is Manchester United and their Campaign for the Glory.

[mellow guitar music]

In 1878, Manchester was a thriving industrial city

in the heart of England,

the birthplace of railway manufacturing,

which not only employed thousands of workers,

but helped power the city,

and also allowed them to become an economic powerhouse

within the UK.

It was in the railways where Manchester United

were first formed.

[machine humming]

Originally named Newton Heath

due to their factory's location,

their first ever game was against the engineering

and maintenance workers in what was classed

as the very first Manchester Derby.

But at the very beginning, Newton Heath did not play

in their trademark red kits.

Instead, they wore a green and yellow striped shirt

with black lace ties as pictured here

in one of their first ever team photos.

Newton Heath eventually changed their name

to Manchester United in 1902,

after joining the Football Alliance in 1888,

and moved to their newstadium, Old Trafford, in 1910.

United went on to win LeagueOne for the first time in 1908.

And again won it in 1911 under the management

of Ernest Mangnall.

By the end of World War I,

the football industry was the biggest it had ever been.

Thousands of fans attended matches every week

with teams like Manchester City and Newcastle

selling out seats at Wembley Stadium

for the final of the FA Cup.

Manchester Unitedunfortunately failed to achieve

any success post-World War I

and were labeled as the yo-yo team

because of their constant rise and fall

throughout the football leagues.

In 1939, Britain was at war with Germany once again.

Football was still held as a morale booster,

but due to the ongoing war effort,

teams all over Britain were not competing

at the same high standard as before.

In 1941, German bombers destroyed Old Trafford

as they aimed to take out the factories within the city.

Because of this, football stopped at Old Trafford

for another eight years as the focused turned

to the war effort and rebuilding the city.

After the Second World War has ended,

Manchester United were appointed with a new manager.

This manager was a previous player

who had achieved a lot of success

during his career playing for Liverpool,

the Scottish national side, and United's rivals,

Manchester City, but this manager would go on

to be the best United had ever had.

That manager was Matt Busby.

- He was the most famous manager for many years.

Possibly the most important manager in their history.

He was the one who took them from a decent club

to being the best in the country.

He could well have been theLiverpool manager at one stage.

He was a Liverpool player.

There was a few Liverpool fans out there and I think,

that would have made a big difference, wouldn't it?

You know, he was the person who drove a lot

of what Manchester United became.

So, for example, in particular with European competitions,

he was the one who said I want our team to play in Europe.

When, at that time, that wasn't a good thing.

The FA, I think the Football League as well,

at the same time, didn't reallywant English clubs to play

in the competition and he was the one who

forced that through, and look at the legacy of it now.

The Champions League and obviously English clubs

doing well in it as well.

So that's just one legacy,

and then you got the playing side of it as well,

where, obviously, he had a situation whereby

he wanted to bring the best young players,

and he wanted them to play football, the right way.

And that's continued ever since.

- [Narrator] Going into the 1950s,

Matt Busby introduced a new team lineup

filled with new youth players.

This team would go on to be a huge success once again,

and the team were labeled as The Busby Babes.

- Busby, when he came in, he had a philosophy of

he liked young players.

He liked them to go out there and play with no fear

so that they were exciting, they attacked more,

and that was the way that Manchester United,

he liked them to play, he wanted them to play.

It wasn't necessarily too different

from other teams at the time,

but it was with the younger players coming through.

And then he had that great, the Busby Babes,

which he had a group,

a lot of them coming through at the same time,

and that's where he kind ofdeveloped a reputation worldwide

because I remember when I was growing up.

My dad wasn't a Manchester United fan, but he said to me

I watch Manchester United play and I watch the Busby Babes.

So even someone who wasn't a Manchester United fan

and not necessarily a football fan,

he was proud of the fact that he had seen that team play,

which says everything about what was being created.

The fact that it wasn't just for football fans,

just for Manchester United fans.

It's for all people out there that enjoyed what he brought.

- [Narrator] Manchester United became England's

first representatives in the European Cup.

Busby was delighted by this,

despite being hit with controversies by the FA.

Busby ignored the criticisms

and was determined to bring the European Cup home

and to make them champions of Europe.

United lost out, losing to Real Madrid in the semifinal

of the European Cup in 1957,

which devastated the United squad,

but a year later, things looked to be going

in United's favor when it came to winning the title.

- Well, they became league champions.

So to have a team when you have so many young players who

were representing your club, being successful at club,

and also being international as well,

that says how good a side they were.

A good analogy is if you think about The Beatles.

It was a case of I saw The Beatles at The Cavern.

I saw Matt Busby's babes in that time.

It was an I was there moment.

Unfortunately, it didn't last too long

for a very sad reason.

[serious music]

- [Narrator] Whilst in Yugoslavia, United went on

to beat Red Star Belgrade 5-4 in aggregate,

allowing them to reach the semifinals

for the second year in succession.

Their title hopes were looking promising.

But on their way from Yugoslavia,

whilst refueling at Munich,

the United squad would face a tragedy

that devastated English football and the world.

[gentle music]

- This is Old Trafford and, today,

it's the heart of a mourning city.

Everybody in Manchester, everybody in Britain nearly,

is looking to this ground

and inside the staff are busy answering inquiries,

keeping relatives informed of the lengthy process

of the people who were injured in the crash.

And the one question that's in everybody's mind is

how is Matt Busby getting along?

This is the first thing that the taxi driver asked me

when I got out of the train at the station just now.

- Manchester United were playing in the European Cup

and it was frowned upon by the authorities.

They didn't really want English clubs playing there

so Matt Busby and the club said no we want to play in it.

We want to go out there and we want to represent England,

and we want to do well out there.

And they were playing in this match

and there was a lot of pressure on them to get back

'cause there was a fixture at the weekend,

and they had to get back in time,

and flights are not the same as they are now.

You can't have two, three, five, six, seven a day.

At that time, it was you get the one a day.

They played the match and they had to get the flight home.

Now, the conditions were awful, dreadful.

Now, I don't know whether pressure was put on the pilot

to say let's get this flight off the ground,

but it probably, in hindsight,

which very few people have us have,

in hindsight, obviously, it couldn't have taken off.

But if it hadn't have taken offand they'd have stayed there

they would have been in massive trouble

with the authorities that they wouldn't have been able

to fulfill their fixture.

And that might have been the end

of European football for English clubs

because there might have been clubs

might have said that's it.

We probably don't wanna do this then

if we're gonna get into troublefor these types of things.

It took off.

Unfortunately, it crashed.

It was a horrific moment for the club, the players.

There was a lotta young players who died.

There was staff who died.

My uncle, he was a Manchester United fan,

and I remember my dad telling me that

he didn't talk for two or three days.

And that's the kind of impact it had in that

you had such an exciting, such a young team, denied.

Denied the opportunity to go on even just that season.

Denied the opportunity to go on

and possibly win the European Cup.

Denied the opportunity to play for five, 10 years.

And it was devastating.

- [Narrator] Football plans all over England

were shocked by the news and sent their thoughts

to all the relatives of the ones who had passed away

in the disaster.

- [Journalist] How do you feel about this tragedy?

- [Man] Well, too poor for words, really.

I feel like that we lost a great sportsman

and terribly upset.

- The fact that you're not a Manchester Man

makes no difference? - Makes no difference.

They're a fine team and I'm very sorry.

- What's your main thought at the moment?

- Well, I hope they all soon get better and I hope.

Well, I just hope that.

No words I can express that.

I just hope they pull together

and try and forget all of that.

- We must, of course, send a message to the bereaved

to say how upset we are and distressed for them,

and send our best wishes to the survivors

and hope that they get along

and come back to us in Manchester very soon.

- [Narrator] Matt Busby spent months recovering in hospital.

Doctors initially said his chances of survival

were no better than 50-50.

But the whole of England was behind his recovery.

And after two months, Busby was back home.

- They were his...

They weren't called babes for the wrong reason.

They were his kids almost.

He developed them and they were like a family to him.

So for him to lose that and then have to come back

to, let's be honest, it's just football,

must have been tough.

- [Narrator] In 2006, Sir Bobby Charlton,

who survived the disaster, spoke out on his experience

during and after the crash in an interview

that was extremely personal and rare.

- Well, I just put my head down.

I think I put my head down and the next thing I remembered

was waking up away from the airplane,

and I was sitting strapped into a seat.

I woke up the following morningand a German read them out.

So I'd been asleep for,

I don't know how long they knocked me out for.

And that's how I found out who was alive and who was dead.

I never come to grips with it.

I see quite a few of the relatives from time to time

and I do feel a little bit guilty.

It's our national game.

It's our national game and we were not only

representing Manchester when we went,

we were representing the country.

And I think that it's worth remembering all.

I wouldn't say remembering too much,

but never forgetting, that's true.

[solemn music]

[upbeat rock music]

- [Narrator] The early '60s was tough for United

as they didn't seem to get any form of success

despite bringing in some big names, such as Dennis Law.

The Busby Babes name was also dropped

as it was seen as inappropriate for the time.

The nickname for the team was changed

to the Red Devils as that name was seen

as intimidating when going against other teams.

Despite coming 19th in the 1962-1963 season,

United did manage to come back to beat Leicester City 3-1

to win the FA Cup the same year.

That following season, United brought in a new player

to the starting 11.

This player was only 17 when he made his first team debut

and would go on to be one of United's star players.

This player was George Best,

and together with Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law,

became one of the best attacking forces

United had ever seen.

Things only got better for United

as they went on to beat Benfica

in the European Cup final, 4-1,

helping United to become the first English team

to win the European Cup.

- The team which Matt Busby built

had three of the best players in the world up front.

If you had one of them, you were lucky.

He had a Northern Ireland international.

He had an England international.

He had a Scottish international.

And all three of those teams were blessed

with the fact that they had George Best,

Dennis Law, and Bobby Charlton.

But to have all three of those on the same team

meant that they had a team, which was capable of

beating the best in the world

and they showed it on that night when they beat Benfica

in extra time in the European Cup final.

All of them came to the fore.

All of them played well, got important goals.

And that was just a fantastic strike force

and a fantastic team.

- [Announcer] Bobby Charlton made it 4-1.

Manchester United had well and truly done it.

They were supreme soccer champions of Europe.

At last, Matt Busby, the maestro of Manchester United,

had groomed a team great enough to beat Europe's best.

- [Journalist] It's been a wonderful climax

to a wonderful season for you.

- It certainly has.

It seems as though one thing has been going

to the top of another.

It has been wonderful.

- [Journalist] What was your reaction

when you heard this news?

- There was a feeling of,

naturally, I was delighted and very proud.

I felt that this has been brought about

by people, both by a lot of people around me

who are probably due more credit than I am.

There's my wife and family, my mother.

All the football people, the teams, and the players.

And really they've contributed to the position

more than probably I have done.

- As your career has reached each new pinnacle,

the rumors have come that you're going to retire.

Will you retire this time?

- Yeah, well, I keep hearing this.

I don't feel as though I'm ready for that just yet.

When my directors and the club itself

have had enough of me, I'd probably start considering it.

- [Narrator] After the 1968-69 season,

Busby did go on to retire.

It was the end of an era for the United squad,

and fans praised Busby for the work he had done with United,

achieving five First Division trophies, two FA Cups,

five FA Charity shields, and one European Cup,

making 13 incredible career trophies.

However, after a miserable season in 1970-71,

McGuinness, who had taken over the managerial role,

quit due to the fans' and board's

lack of faith in his system.

Busby was convinced to come back

and put the team back in order.

Unfortunately, at this period of time

United's relationship withtheir star player, George Best,

was getting extremely heated,

and it looked like Best's interest was on other things

away from United.

- [Journalist] Earlier, Sir Matt had watched the United

players train at their practice ground.

Best should have been among them,

but once again he failed to turn up or send a message.

Sir Matt returned to his office at Old Trafford,

found his directors, and called a press conference.

- [Journalist] Sir Matt, there's some talk

about George being ill and this having a bearing

on the present squad.

Have you heard anything to this effect?

- My dear fellow, I haven't heard a thing since Friday.

Since Thursday.

Friday morning, haven't heard a thing.

Saturday, Sunday, and this morning.

- [Journalist] In fact, you have no idea

where he is, Sir Matt?

- I couldn't tell you whether he's in Manchester,

or whether he's in England or London.

I couldn't tell you.

I have no contact, he's made no contact.

Now as I said to you, all you lads this morning,

he knows where to find me.

The door is there waiting for him.

I am not going looking for George Best.

- George Best was probably a first

for the football industry, certainly this country,

in the sense of he wasn't just a footballer.

He was a superstar, on and off the pitch.

And unfortunately the trappings of being a superstar

caught up with him.

- [Man] This morning United's manager, Frank O'Farrell,

in his confrontation with George Best

had to decide both how much punishment

to hand out to his star player

and how indispensable Best was to the team.

United's shock was an indication of the way the fans

regard Best, the biggest crowd puller in British football.

He has the lion's share of the souvenir market.

- You look at the highlight's reel that,

the goals that he scores, the chicks that he has,

and the pitches that they played

in those days as well, you can imagine him

playing on the pitches these days.

He'd be a Lionel Messi.

And he'd have the same kind of things

that Lionel Messi has now to protect him.

Some of the things that,

he didn't have quite so much protection in those days.

So George Best, the best playerin the world at that time,

but just probably the wrong era.

- [Man] The club says that his problems are not new

and don't involve either his girlfriends or his wages.

It's thought he decided to play truant

after a loss of form and depressing inability to regain it.

Club officials feel his football concentration

and therefore his chances of getting back into top gear

are diverted by hisconsiderable business interests,

leadership of Manchester's discotheque world

and life continually in the public eye.

The club feel an accumulation of these problems

caused their most famous playerto give into the pressures

and the strain.

- [Narrator] After some lackluster performances

from Best at the start of the 1970s,

and the lack of any real respect for training sessions,

Best eventually left the squad in 1974

along with Bobby Charlton, who left just a year before.

After Busby's short return,

United went through a rollercoaster of seasons,

finding themselves going through manager after manager.

Tommy Docherty took over after Busby

and saw United get relegatedfor the first time in 36 years.

Dave Sexton quickly took over from Docherty,

but again, failed to achieve any form of success.

- Whenever the top person leavesany kind of an organization

perhaps certainly within a football club,

there's always that periodwhereby it's gonna be different

and when you have someone who is so, so successful,

it's very rare that the next person who comes in

can match that success.

In recent years, you might have had that

at Barcelona or Real Madrid, Bayern Munich,

Manchester City possibly as well.

But in those days it was very rare.

Liverpool, they did it.

But other clubs didn't at the time.

So replacing Matt Busby, it was the job you didn't want.

You kind of like wanted to be the person after the person.

But unfortunately they, from their point of view,

they never quite got it back.

Well, not for many years did they get it back.

And went through a huge slump

where they actually dropped out of the top division,

which, for a club the size of Manchester United, is,

should have been unheard of.

- [Narrator] United finally settled on Ron Atkinson

in 1981, who had proven himselfwith West Bromwich Albion

the past couple of seasons.

Atkinson brought life back to the United team.

They were playing attractive football again,

and their new signings such as Bryan Robson,

who went on to become thelongest serving United captain,

became club legends.

In Atkinson's second season with the club,

United went on to win the FA Cup,

the first trophy the club had won in six years.

He then went on to win it the next season,

allowing Atkinson to win the respect of the United fans.

But this was sadly short-lived as Atkinson

found himself sacked in 1986

after almost getting United relegated

due to an appalling couple of seasons.

After Atkinson's dismissal, United were looking

for an experienced manager to help United

get back to the top of the league.

It didn't take long for them to turn their attention

to the extremely successfulScottish manager, Alex Ferguson.

- Alex Ferguson, when he came to Manchester United,

was a winner.

In Scotland, since 1960s, only two clubs had ever

won the Premier Division in Scotland

apart from Celtic and Rangers.

Dundee United did it once,

Aberdeen did it three times, all under Ferguson.

They won the cup their four times.

They won a European Cup Winners' Cup.

So to have a manager who'd come into a club,

which wasn't one of the big two, and dominate,

for a good few years, six, seven, eight years,

to dominate that division, that's a winner.

But it was also successful in Europe as well,

which for Scottish teams, Celtic did it, Rangers did it,

but for Aberdeen to go intothe European Cup Winners' final

and beat Real Madrid, Aberdeen.

That says that's a guy who can do it on a domestic stage

and on a world stage,

and that's what Manchester United needed.

- [Narrator] Despite Alex Ferguson's legacy with United,

his first couple of seasons were not positive

in the slightest.

Ferguson stated after he almost lost his job in 1989,

that it was the darkest day in his life,

but with the backing of the board going into the 1990s,

Ferguson was to change the team completely.

And in the season of 1992-93,

went on to win the first ever Premier League title.

The first league trophy in over 26 years.

- The happiest day of my life, happiest day of my life.

- I've been waiting 26 years to watch United win the title.

To be able to celebrate it at home, it's fantastic.

Feel absolutely superb.

- It's going to be one hell of a party!

[crowd chanting]

- There were lots of momentswere things could have changed,

it could have been different, and some of those moments,

one of them occurred in the last season

before the Premier League where Manchester United

were going for the league with Leeds,

and probably could and should have won it.

They were the better team throughout that season,

but Leeds just about held them off.

There was a game against Liverpool,

which Man United fans will remember,

where they lost 2-0 and Liverpool fans

were singing You Will Never Win The League.

I think they regretted that.

- [Narrator] United amazingly followed this up

by winning the league again.

The first time they had won a second consecutive title

since 1957.

They also went on to win the FA Cup that same year,

making it the club's first ever double

in the club's history.

Ferguson was branded as a club legend

just five years after he had been branded as a failure.

But fans were also attributing this win

to one of their most recent bargain signings

from league winners, Leeds United.

That player would be known by fans as King Eric Cantona.

- At the start of the first season of the Premier League,

Leeds United were the championswith Harold Wilkinson,

and he rang up Ferguson,

was interested in signing Denis Irwin,

fullback for Manchester United,

and during that conversation, Ferguson said,

"What about Eric Cantona, is he available?"

And that was the first contact between the two clubs

and eventually he signed and a bargain price.

Got him, I think it was less than 1 million pounds.

But it wasn't Manchester United who initiated that.

It was actually the Leeds manager

who was the one who made the first phone call.

So pivotal moments.

What would have happened if Wilkinson hadn't have

rang them up?

Could have been a completely different story.

- [Narrator] Sadly, in 1995, Cantona got into a vast array

of league troubles after he

assaulted a Crystal Palace supporter

after getting sent off during their game.

- [Announcer] Oh, what's going on here?

Cantona is getting involved with some supporters.

Ah, this is outrageous.

- He's been doubted by Manchester United.

He's lost money, he's lost the captaincy of the French team,

and he suffered a fine which is double the maximum amount,

which he could face in the court case.

- Cantona was a massiveinfluence on that dressing room.

In particular, through those first four or five years

where they had not won it.

They had a person who had won it with Leeds,

so you had a winner already in his squad.

I think towards the end of his career,

it got to the stage whereby you had players

in that dressing room who were winners now.

So his influence wasn't quite so important,

so therefore it wasn't quite so much of a loss

that he left.

If he'd have left earlier on,

then I think it would have been a massive lost,

but because you had the Bruces, the Pallisters,

those types of characters, whereby, you know, winners.

They wouldn't let it happen to their football club,

the fact that just one player left.

And, of course, you had Ferguson who was a winner

in Scotland and now a winner in England.

And the way that he dealt with all players,

all scenarios, he made sure that he was the one in charge.

- [Narrator] Despite the setback,

United went on to win the league once again,

even with their top scorer out of the squad.

By the mid 90s, a lot of United fans were noticing

that with their recent incredible seasons,

Ferguson was matching the style of Matt Busby

by bringing in some iconic youth players.

These youth players would go on to form one

of the strongest squads the football world has ever seen.

- One of the most important things

for Manchester United over the years

has been developing young players.

They did it with the Busby babes.

They did it to a lesser degree in the '70s.

In the 1980s, they had Norman Whiteside

who came through at the age of 17.

He played in two World Cups by the age of 22.

So you had players who were always coming through,

and something which Ferguson was well wanting to do.

He was fortunate in the sense

that he got all of them at the same time.

He had Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Giggs, the Neville brothers.

It may never happen again that you have

that many top quality players, top quality young players,

coming through at the same time.

But they needed to be looked after

because it could have gone wrong.

Giggs was the first one.

Giggs was the first one

and Ferguson was very, very clever with him.

He'd seen what had happened with George Best

and he wanted to make sure, we're gonna look after you,

and became arguably one of their greatest ever players.

The other ones that you had.

You had Paul Scholes who was the complete opposite

of David Beckham in the sense

of didn't want any media spotlight whatsoever,

but loved playing football.

Was incredibly feisty.

Tack at midfielder but quality as well on the ball,

and he used him very cleverly.

Sometimes he could play upfront,

sometimes he could play at midfield.

Sometimes he could be the enforcer.

Then you had the Neville brothers.

Gary Neville after about 20 oddgames with Manchester United

was in the England team.

So that's how good not only did Manchester United

think he was, but also the England team.

And actually his brother, pretty quickly,

a lot of people thought he would be better than Gary.

It didn't quite work out like that,

but he had a fantastic career as well with Manchester,

and to a lesser degree with Everton.

And Nicky Butt as well

who was probably the lesser one of all of them,

probably because he had Roy Keane ahead of him.

But Nicky Butt was vital

in that European Champions League final

because neither Scholes or Keane were available

so Butt had to be in there,

and he had to be the one who did that midfield,

he sought it out midfield.

So he played a huge role in their success.

- [Narrator] After returningfrom Preston North End in 1996,

David Beckham went on to be one of the best youth players

as well as becoming a club

and all-around footballing legend.

But with his incredible skill came the endless media

attention and fame that once plagued George Best

back in the late 1960s.

[hip music]

- David Beckham, as a player for Manchester United,

was probably the best crosser of the ball

in European football, possibly in world, football,

and he was vital to that Man United team.

He worked hard, he scored goals, he set up goals.

He had a great relationship with Gary Neville

down at the right hand side,

both for United and also for England.

So you had one of the bestplayers in Europe in that team.

And you've got the likes of Scholes.

You've got upfront Cole, York,

and he would provide the goals for them.

It's no coincidence that when it all went

pear-shaped a little bit with Manchester United

and then he left, the team thatbought him was Real Madrid.

Now Real Madrid might well have bought him half

for his media personality and what he could bring

as far as selling shirts.

But when he actually got in that team,

who took the free kicks?

David Beckham took the free kicks.

When you have a team which has got Roberto Carlos,

Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham is still

taking the free kicks.

Even Real Madrid knew he was a pretty good player.

- [Narrator] United continued to win titles during the '90s.

In 1996, they became the first English club

to win the double for the second time.

By 1997, they had also won the league four times

under the management of Ferguson.

[players cheering]

But going into the 1998-99 season,

United's youthful squad were hungry for more,

and it was clear to see after the first few games

that this was going to be a season to remember for United.

- There was one crucial moment in that whole season,

which might well be overlooked

just on the basis of what's happened since,

but Ferguson brought in a coach

roundabout Christmas, New Year period

by the name of Steve McLaren, and, you know, decent coach.

He came from Derby.

From that moment on, ManchesterUnited didn't lose a game

for the rest of the season.

So it's no coincidence.

Ferguson liked doing the coaching,

but he also liked to freshen things up

and getting different people coming in.

Get different ideas and that worked that season.

He got someone in, fresh ideas,

and momentum built from then.

Through the FA Cup, early rounds,

staying in the Premier League title.

It was them and Arsenal for the Premier League,

all the way through.

And it was touch and go, it was very, very tight.

Same with them in the FA Cup.

Arsenal was still in the FA Cup.

Champions League...

Same top quality size they're going in that as well.

So there was a three-pronged attack,

trying to win three trophies,

which no one had ever done it previously.

Liverpool had done it with the League Cup,

but not with the FA Cup so you had something,

which had never been done before.

And there were some matcheswithin that were turning points.

One, the FA Cup semifinal.

Two minutes to go, the scores 1-1.

FA Cup semifinal replay, 1-1, a few minutes to go.

Already down to 10 men.

Manchester United with Keane sent off.

Penalty, almost likely, goal goes in, end of match.

Arsenal through to the FA Cup final,

probably win the FA cup,

and that might well have affected what happened

with Manchester United in the league.

Schmeichel saves the penalty, into extra time,

and Giggs scores the goal of the century.

And shows off his hairy chest.

- [Announcer] Comes back at him.

It's a wonderful run for Giggs!

Sensational goal for Ryan Giggs

in the second period of extra time.

He's cut Arsenal to ribbons and the team with 10 men

go back in front 2-1.

- That night, Manchester United knew, right,

realistically we're probably going to win that one.

Let's concentrate on the other two.

But they had to keep on itbecause it was Saturday-Tuesday,

Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Wednesday, like that,

throughout the entire, pretty much from Christmas onwards.

So they needed a squad and suspensions came in,

for all the competitions.

So players' injuries, were missing from matches,

somehow they did it.

- [Narrator] United won the league once again,

and also went on to win the FA Cup against Newcastle United.

But Ferguson didn't want to stop there

as the only achievement he hadn't got yet

was winning the Champions League.

With this title, Ferguson wouldhave matched Busby's record

and would go on to become United's most successful manager.

But in the 1999 final, they had to face up

against the almost undefeated Bayern Munich

in what would be the clash of the titans.

- The Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

The first time Manchester United

had been in the European final for many, many years.

And young squad.

Missing two important players in Scholes and Keane.

One who downed very early on.

Schmeichel had been a fantastic player

throughout the entire season,

possible error there, free quick.

Went one way, the ball went where he was stood.

And then, as the game went on,

Bayern Munich were absolutely fantastic.

Hit the post, hit the bar, created chances.

And as it's going on you're just thinking

was it still only 1-0?

And they must have thought that as well,

"Is it still only 1-0?"

So if we can get that goal it's into extra time.

And they did with one minute to go.

- [Announcer] They've got that one away, have they, as well.

Giggs plans it back in and Sheringham

has a cause for Manchester United!

Can you believe this?

- 50 seconds later, it's not 1-1, it's 2-1,

and Manchester United suddenly have

won the Champions League trophy.

The Champions League trophy they picked up

had Bayern Munich's ribbons on it

because they didn't have enough time

to take the ribbons off to put Manchester United's on there.

That's how crazy it was.

- [Narrator] Despite United having an extremely young

and inexperienced side, thanks to a last minute goal

by Ole Gunnar Solskjfr,

Manchester United had made history

and became the first club in English history

to win the Premier League, the FA Cup,

and the Champions League all in a single season.

- [Announcer] Beckham to swing this one in again.

Sheringham wings it, Solskjfr with the goal

for Manchester United!

[crowd cheering]

- Ferguson's United had done the unthinkable.

He had also become the mostsuccessful manager in the sport.

- [Journalist] Well, Alex, many congratulations.

Has it sunk in yet?

- It has now.

I was fine after the game 'causeI just couldn't believe it

and when I got back to the town, saw my family,

and I was able to enjoy it.

- [Journalist] Now what does this success

mean to you personally?

- I think I've achieved.

I mean, I'd probably say I did achieve as a young manager,

coming to Manchester.

I did Aberdeen and things like that.

So I wasn't gonna let that affect my life.

But he would have saw that there

is a fulfillment in doing it.

[crowd cheering]

[hip hop music]

- [Narrator] Moving into the 2000s,

United were on top of the world

thanks to the motivation of winning the first ever

triple in English football.

They went on to win the Premier League

in 2000, 2001, and 2003.

But, unfortunately, around this time,

the relationship between Beckham and United

was breaking down, and on the first of July, 2003,

Beckham was sold to Real Madrid

for a fee of 33.7 million pounds.

- I have joined a club that is a massive club.

If I was gonna leave Manchester United

at any time in my career,

then to join a massive club like Real Madrid is a dream.

I think that I'll miss the fans

and the players that I've grown up with

because I've regarded the players

at Manchester United as my family,

and I've got a lot of very special friends there,

lots of special people.

Everyone's been very kind to me in Manchester

and looked after me for 13 years.

Obviously I'm sad to leave them,

but I'm joining Real Madrid and that, for me,

is as exciting as it gets to be honest.

- [Narrator] With Beckham's departure,

Ferguson was in need of a new number seven.

In a preseason friendly betweenUnited and Sporting Lisbon,

his prayers were answered as he went on to sign

what would be one of football'sgreatest players ever,

Cristiano Ronaldo.

- The story goes that at halftime

the Manchester United players had been

given the run around about by this kid

that they know almost nothing about,

so much so that they are walking in the dressing room

at halftime and saying to the Manchester United manager,

Alex Ferguson, you have to sign this boy.

John O'Shea, experienced Manchester United defender,

was twisted inside out in the first 45 minutes by Ronaldo,

an extraordinary performance.

And the story goes that Alex Ferguson

got on to the United kit man, told him to find Peter Kenyon,

the chief executive of the club,

and to immediately been negotiations with Sporting

during the second half to make sure that Manchester United

can sign this kid before anybody else did.

Actually, Ronaldo had already touted himself a little bit

towards Liverpool.

He'd said what a thrill, what an honor it would be

to be involved in such a club with such tradition.

Arsenal had met with his agent.

But Alex Ferguson, on the say so of his players,

made sure that in the second 45 minutes

of this exhibition match that they pretty much had Ronaldo

by the time the final whistle went.

- So Alex Ferguson said,

"Cristiano, I want that you come to Manchester United.

"You're gonna play 50% of the games."

Make me feel comfortable and I said wow.

18 years old to play 50% of the games.

For me, it's unbelievable.

This is why I, you know.

I take that decision because of course George help me

to take that decision.

And, of course, the last word of Sir Alex Ferguson

was the key to sign for Manchester United.

- [Narrator] Ronaldo quicklydeveloped in his time at United

and became the top scorer season after season.

2005 saw United under a lot of backlash

as the club were to be bought out

by US tycoon and NFL owner, Malcolm Glazer.

This deal meant that Glazer owned 75% of the club,

taking away all of the fans say in the club's management.

This deal sparked a vast array of outrage

by fans who wanted Glazer out immediately.

[fans chanting]

- Not for sale!

- [Together] We're not for sale!

We're not for sale, we're not for sale!

- There was a change in ownership at Manchester United

and change in philosophy because it was deemed

that the club then, any money that was being made,

was just gonna go to shareholders

as opposed to going back into the club.

There was a lot of backlash against Manchester United,

and it's never stopped, to be fair.

But the irony on it was it actually

made Ferguson's life a little easier

'cause he didn't have to deal with quite so many people.

He literally would just deal with a couple of the family.

And they carried on winning the leagues.

The first three years after the takeover,

they won the league one, two, three years on the trot.

So it was very, very difficult for United fans

to have a real good go, I mean it did,

when your team's beingsuccessful on the field of play.

And Ferguson was still there.

If Ferguson had left, that would have

been a different matter because then they could have

blamed the Glazers for Ferguson leaving.

But, he didn't, he stayed and they carried on doing

what Manchester United do,

and that's winning trophies and being,

not only that, the best team in Europe as well.

- [Narrator] Despite the ongoing protests

regarding the ownership of the club,

United continued to sign some pretty big names,

and in 2006, went on to sign the young striker

and Everton wonder boy, Wayne Rooney.

[hip music]

- Wayne Rooney's strengths were he could score goals,

he was skillful, he was hard.

He could do a tackle or two.

Very strong, particularly for his age.

He picked up a few injuries, but generally speaking

he was injury-free for a lot of that time.

You feel for him from an England point of view

because all the burden was put on him

to try and save which was a pretty ordinary England time

post-Gerrard and Lampard,

he was the one who was supposed to take England on.

But for Manchester United, he fitted in perfectly

because he wasn't the be-all, end-all to Manchester United.

There were lots of good players around him.

But he was the kind of, him and Ronaldo were...

If you'd put two men on Ronaldo, Rooney would score

and vice versa, so he was perfect,

the pair of them together.

- [Narrator] United went on to win the league once again

in both 2007 and 2008.

But Ferguson didn't want tostop there and wanted the glory

of winning the Champions League once again.

But to achieve this, they had to beat their English rivals

and biggest competitors, Avram Grant's Chelsea.

- At that time, Manchester United were

overhauling Liverpool's record of domestic titles

in the Premier League,

and of course then the great rivalry between the two clubs

demanded that they win the European Cup

and try and close the gap between Manchester United

and Liverpool in terms of European Cup

and Champions League victories.

So this becomes a real focus for Alex Ferguson.

They hadn't won the Champions League since 1999.

And, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo is very, very aware

that you are never going to be seen

as being one of the world's great players

if you don't have a Champions League win.

So the game itself, two sides who know each other so well.

Ronaldo perhaps inevitably breaks the deadlock,

puts Manchester United in front,

but Chelsea is strong and Frank Lampard equalizes,

and there's really almost nothing to choose

between the two sides.

And it goes deep into the night into a penalty shootout

where Manchester United finally come out on top.

Ronaldo can celebrate being a Champions League winner,

but Ronaldo is the only Manchester United player

to miss from the penalty spot in the final,

which probably dampens his evening to a certain extent.

- [Announcer] He saved it!

Some things are just meant to be.

The man who has been unable to stop scoring all season

stopped half way through his run up

and Petr Cech kicked him out.

- But he finally has thatChampions League Winners' medal

and Manchester United have the trophy

for the first time in almost a decade.

- In my opinion, I play good in the game

and I scored a goal, and I missed a penalty.

I feel, well, the bad day of my life.

The worst day of my life. - The worst day of your life.

- Oh my God.

But the lads did a proper job.

- [Journalist] Is this your best team?

- I think it's gonna be their best team, yeah.

I mean, it's the achievement, fantastic achievement.

A great team, great team.

- And what about another European Cup for Manchester United?

- Fantastic, oh, we deserve it.

- [Narrator] United had done it again

and won their fifth double under Ferguson.

Unfortunately, once again, Ronaldo was one

of the biggest talking points regarding Manchester United.

Ferguson was showing his irritation within

press conferences because of this constant media talk.

- Can someone bring us in a violin case over please?

- Huh? - I'm not discussing that.

Okay, the matter's closed now.

He's a Manchester United player, it's finished.

- [Man] So then would you like to

say anything about the-- - It's finished.

- The situation of Cristian. - Yeah, it's finished.

He's here.

He's gonna be a player here next season, believe me.

- [Narrator] But on the first of July, 2009,

Cristiano Ronaldo followed in David Beckham's footsteps

and joined Real Madrid for a fee of 84.6 million pounds,

becoming the most expensive player in the sport.

This recent loss of Ronaldo didn't stop United

from achieving success.

- Thanks to their loyal players,

such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville,

and Rio Ferdinand, they went on to

win the league again in 2011,

helping them to surpassLiverpool's domestic title wins

record and becoming the top team in England

with 19 Premier League trophies.

Ferguson also became the most decorated manager

in their history with 12 Premier League titles,

two Champions League wins, and four FA Cups.

It was the height of their success,

and it felt like nothing could go wrong for United.

- The rivalry betweenManchester United and Liverpool

has been there for many years.

When I was growing up, it was called the Clash of the Titans

or the Clash of the Giants and that was when Liverpool

were by far the best side,

and Manchester United for long periods

weren't even the second best side,

but that was always the game that you wanted to watch.

It was the one which meant the most, even above the Derbies.

You know, Manchester against Man City

or Liverpool against Everton.

Still that Manchester United-Liverpool game

was still the big one.

Then there was comments made by Kenny Dalglish

and other people to Fergusonand when they were saying those

Man United had 10, 12 less titles.

So you could get away with saying it.

That's all right, they'll never catch it up.

Well, they did, pretty quickly.

Yeah, it meant a lot to match them

then go one more than them,

and say we've won more league titles than you.

Liverpool will turn around and say

we've won more European Cups and more trophies altogether,

but ask any Liverpool player what's most important.

Winning the domestic league.

Same with a Manchester United player,

and same with the managers.

- [Narrator] In the season of 2012-2013,

United went on to win their 20th title

thanks to a wave of new signings,

such as Robin van Persie, who helped boost their success.

By the end of the season,

United fans and press were shocked

with the announcement made by Ferguson.

[smooth music]

- Ferguson had announced previously that he was gonna retire

and he'd done it halfway through a season,

and said at the end of next season I will retire.

And when they'd got into that season,

he felt he'd lost his players

because why play for this manager

because he's gonna be gone at the end of the season,

and they did pretty poorly that year.

But he relented, decided, no, I'm gonna stay on.

So second time around, he's gonna make sure, right,

I'm not gonna announce anythinguntil we've won the league.

Now at that time, Manchester City had arrived.

Suddenly they weren't just the noisy neighbors.

They were the team to beat.

Ferguson wanted to make sure that he didn't end

on a season whereby they weren't champions.

So during what turned out to be his last season,

no one really knew at that time, but that was the case,

he made sure that his team won the league that season.

And as soon as it was mathematically certain

then he announced that he would be

leaving at the end of the season.

Was it a bombshell?

Probably not too much of a bombshell

just on the basis that he'd done it previously.

And on the back of winning the league,

it seemed like the perfect time.

But it was a bombshell in the sense

of now we do have to find a replacement.

And that proved very difficult.

- [Narrator] Alex Ferguson had retired from the club.

It was the end of a glorious era

as they said goodbye to their longest serving manager

who had led them to becoming the best team in the world.

Off the back of this departure,

United were looking for their new manager.

Rumors were speculating some big names.

And the media turned the searchinto a big guessing game.

With Pep Guardiola and Mourinho out of the question,

one manager would remain.

That manager would be the former Everton manager,

David Moyes.

- Alex Ferguson didn't make many, if any, mistakes

during his time at Manchester United,

but he made one crucial one right at the end.

And that was not necessarily backing David Moyes

as in backing him with the board,

but in public he didn't back him

when he did his speech for his last match at home.

He stood on the field and he said,

"Just remember, when things weren't going well for me

"on the field of play, we were backed, I was backed.

"You are going to back your new manager."

And that sends out a mentality,message to the fans is that

your new manager is gonna be rubbish.

You're gonna have to back him.

- When bad times here, the club stood by me

all my staff stood by me, the players stood by me.

Your job now is to stand by your new manager.

[cheering]

- I just cannot imagine him doing that if had been Pep.

If it had been Klopp, if it had been Ancelotti,

if it had been Mourinho.

He'd never ever would have said that kind of message

in public, and that's the message we got through.

It's almost a case of giving David Moyes the,

there's my ship, and then just as you send it off

in the distance you just send a quick message

to everyone onboard, by the way, it's gonna sink.

And guess what happens?

Everyone onboard panics.

- [Narrator] Moyes did win an FA Community Shield

in his first official game with United,

beating Wiggan Athletic 2-0.

But within his single season at the club

only managed to get them to seventh in the league.

After 10 months in charge, Moyes was dismissed.

He was the shortest serving manager in United's history

with ex-players like Dennis Law and David Beckham

stating he deserved more time.

- Frustrating season, I think, for everyone.

You know, you win together and you lose togethr.

Like I say, these four remaining games

I want to bring some positivity back.

I want to put smiles on the faces.

We've got three home games at Old Trafford

where our form hasn't been great.

I wanna see goals, I wanna see tackles.

I wanna see players taking players on.

I want to get the crowd up

and I want the passion that should come

with being a Manchester United player.

- [Narrator] Ryan Giggs became the caretaker manager

for the last four games of the season,

but failed to impress the board.

Going into the 2014-15 season,

United looked to sign a highly experienced manager

who could take the club forward in a new direction.

That new manager was Louis van Gaal

who had a great track record of success

with other European clubs.

- [Journalist] I think we expect

to hear that van Gaal's gonna be appointed.

Is he the right man for Old Trafford?

- I mean, you hope so, again, only time will tell.

I thought David Moyes was a good choice.

You felt he should have maybe got a bit more time.

But van Gaal, obviously, vastly experienced manager.

Off the big clubs, Bayern and Barcelona.

He's been involved in national teams before.

Yeah, I think he's class, he'd come and do the business.

- [Journalist] They say that he's quite a disciplinarian.

Is that what the club needs at the moment do you think?

- Possibly so, but different managers

will have different styles and different character traits.

Yeah, I've heard that before.

He's pretty strict in terms of timekeeping

and stuff like that, but listen.

If you can't be on time for work

there's something drastically wrong.

So fingers crossed he'd come in

and United give him all the backing support that he needs.

And hopefully he'll get a lot more time

than David Moyes was given.

- Unfortunately, once again,

this role was unsuccessful and short-lived.

By the end of Van Gaal's career at United,

press conferences were getting heated

as the pressure was weighing up on his job,

leading to Van Gaal walking out on a few of them.

- Has anybody in this room

not a feeling to apologize to me?

Nobody has that feeling?

I wish you a Merry Christmas

and maybe also a Happy New Year when I see you,

and enjoy the wine and immense fire, goodbye.

- [Man] Louis, you are nottaking questions from the media?

- No.

- [Narrator] Van Gaal was givenmore time than David Moyce,

but in May 2016, Van Gaal announced his retirement

from football, two days after winning the FA cup.

Once again, United were having to look for a new manager.

Luckily, after the firing of Jose Mourinho

at Chelsea that same season,

United had an open target and approached him for the role.

Despite United and Chelsea's long rivalry,

facing against him multiple times in the Ferguson years,

Mourinho joined United on the 27nd of May, 2016.

- I think with Jose Mourinho, everything's exciting with him

whether it's good or bad, there's always a story,

there's always excitement.

United fans will love that.

- [Narrator] Under Mourinho, things looked to be improving

with United getting to the top of the league.

Mourinho also helped United to go on

to win the Europa League

and the English Football League Cup that same year,

earning United another double to add to their collection.

After a phenomenal first season,

Mourinho's United started to slip up once again.

In the season of 2017-2018, they finished second,

18 points behind their closest rivals Manchester City.

They also failed to gain any silverware

in any of the other competitions they were in.

- I'm really, really happy with the players

that I had on the pitch.

With their attitude, with theireffort, I'm more than happy.

I'm more than happy, and because I'm more than happy,

I assume the responsibilities of the defeat,

and I want them to be eating behind me.

They gave absolutely everything.

- [Narrator] That following season,

pressure was mounting on Mourinho once again.

Inconsistency was weighing on the club once again,

and the media was focusing on why Mourinho

was failing as a manager.

In a constant tussle with the press,

Mourinho finally lashed out at a journalist

in a post-match conference after losing 3-0

to Tottenham at Old Trafford.

- No, just to finish, do you know what was the result?

3-0.

3-0, do you know what this means?

3-0, but also mean 3 premierships

and I won more premierships alone

than the other 19 managers together.

Three for me and two for them.

- Just one second. - Respect.

Respect.

Respect, man, respect, respect.

Respect, man.

- [Narrator] A few months later,

Mourinho was fired from United,

and it was back to the drawing board once again.

By the start of the 2018-2019 season,

United was struggling to find anyone

for the management role.

In an act to boost morale for the players and the fans,

the board appointed the ex-player and club legend,

Ole Gunnar Solskjfr, in the caretaker management role.

But with his appointment, United's results flourished

as they went on to win game after game.

Within a few months,

the United board hired Ole as their new manager.

- I didn't even see the announcement of Ole coming.

It was a really big surprise that they picked him.

I thought they'd go somewhere else.

Some of the former players whose had bigger clubs,

who've been at the club from other parts of Europe.

It was kind of a clever move

because Ole's worked with Pogba,

he's worked with Lingard when they were in the reserves,

and they have huge respect for Ole.

Everyone has huge respect for Ole.

The potential as a coach was very, very early on.

It was very clear that he would be a really good coach.

- Hindsight's a wonderful thing, isn't it?

We'd all love to have it.

We kind of forget that when Ole came in,

Ole Gunnar Solskjfr came in initially

as a temporary manager, the results went [blowing]

straightaway, for a good period of time.

Wasn't one or two games, it was over a 15-game period.

They won 12 or something like that of the 15 games.

He'd have been a brave boy to have gone,

no, we're not gonna go that, we're gonna go somewhere else

because he would have got crucified.

Because they would have gone, well, what on Earth?

What more can he do?

But as soon as he was given the job, then it went

[blowing softly],

now why is that the case?

That's gotta be a bit of mentality down to the players.

I don't image for one second

that Solskjfr would have changed.

He still would have been doing the same things he

did during those first 15 games.

But the mentality of I'm playing for temporary manager,

all right, let's get, yes.

I'll work for you, work for you, work for you,

and then suddenly you're put full-time

it's, well right, okay, well,

I don't know whether it won't work for you

for two, three years.

And the personnel has changed a little bit,

and he'll have to change it a lot

because the policy of bringing in new players as well is.

That's dangerous because that's.

We talk about the Busby Babes.

You talk about the Class of '92.

These were quality, quality players.

Really, really good, young players.

But they also had some senior players around them.

I don't see too many senior players

around the Manchester United players

in this Ole Gunnar Solskjfr squad

with the exception of Pogba,

Mata, towards the end of his career.

And some of the other ones are the ones

who are getting slabbed more than any.

Phil Jones, Lukaku's left.

So there's no balance there and that's, is that his fault?

- [Narrator] To this date, Ole is still at the wheel

and continues to build a new, young United side.

With the same mentality as Ferguson and Busby,

Ole looks to be trying to encourage young players

to see their real potential.

And although they aren't what they used to be

in their glory days, maybe in the near future

United could bloom into the legendary team

like they did in the early 1990s.

- You've got to be patient.

You have to know that to build a team

and rebuild a squad it will take time to.

I'm not gonna ask for too much time

because as a manager you're always under pressure

to get results right away.

Or maybe not results, but maybe the way we wanna

play football so I hope with the way we

approach the games now, thefans will see what we're trying

to do and the results will come.

- The results have still been inconsistent

but the performances have been getting better

so we can see where we're heading

and obviously there's a lot of young players in the squad

and in the starting 11 so we're sort of learning

as we go along, but you know hopefully we can.

It's the first time we've had back-to-back wins

in the league so hopefully that can start something off

for us and we can get used to getting results

and performing.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] United have had a long

and rich history behind them.

They're still to this date the Premier League's

top winning team.

They have also become one of the biggest brands

in the industry, selling millions in merchandise

all over the world.

With over 650 million fans worldwide,

it's not hard to see why Manchester United

is a recognizable image known everywhere.

- They'll always be there or thereabouts and the size.

You can't pick a number and say

throw the statistics out there.

Richest club in the world this year is Real Madrid

and last year it was Manchester United.

Go into somewhere in Thailand and whatever

and walk up to someone and say

which football team do you know,and they'll pretty quickly,

Man United will be one of the first ones they say.

- [Narrator] With the statues of Matt Busby,

Alex Ferguson, as well as the Munich Air Disaster

Memorial Clock, United's historywill always be remembered

no matter what happens to them

on the pitch over the seasons.

Everyone will always know the team name, Manchester United,

and will always know of their hard-fought campaigns

and how they achieved their glory.