Manchester United

England · one of the fourteen clubs in the Normal pool

Two managers define Manchester United. Matt Busby rebuilt the club after the Munich air disaster and made it the first English winner of the European Cup. Alex Ferguson, over twenty-six years, won thirteen league titles and, in 1999, the first treble by an English club.

The story in brief

The 1960s: Busby, Best, Law and Charlton

In February 1958 the plane carrying Busby's young team home from a European Cup tie crashed on take-off at Munich; twenty-three people died, eight of them United players. Busby survived and rebuilt round Bobby Charlton, another survivor, the Scottish forward Denis Law and the Northern Irish winger George Best. United won the league in 1965 and 1967 and, on 29 May 1968, beat Benfica 4–1 after extra time at Wembley to win the European Cup. Law, Charlton and Best each won the Ballon d'Or in the 1960s.

The 1970s and 1980s: the long wait

After Busby retired the decline was steep: United were relegated in 1974 and came straight back up. FA Cups in 1977, 1983 and 1985 — the 1980s side was led by the captain Bryan Robson — were the only major trophies until Ferguson, appointed in November 1986, won the FA Cup in 1990 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1991.

The 1990s and 2000s: Ferguson's United

Eric Cantona's arrival in late 1992 brought the first league title in twenty-six years, in the first Premier League season. Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville formed the core of the side that won the 1999 treble, sealed by two stoppage-time goals against Bayern Munich in Barcelona. The next great team, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić, won three titles in a row from 2007 and the 2008 Champions League on penalties against Chelsea in Moscow.

Since 2013

Ferguson retired in 2013 after a thirteenth league title. United have won FA Cups, League Cups and the 2017 Europa League since, but not the league.

United in Treble Winner

United are in the Normal pool but not in Easy. On Normal they come up in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s; the Busby 1960s and the 1970s are Hard only.

Manchester United in the game's pool, decade by decade.
Decade	Players	Best-XI rating	Rank	First on	Highest rated in the game
1960s	76	78.2	47	Hard	George Best, Denis Law, Bobby Charlton
1970s	95	76.7	71	Hard	Denis Law, Bobby Charlton, Alex Stepney
1980s	97	75.4	115	Normal	Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside, Paul McGrath
1990s	140	80.5	19	Normal	Peter Schmeichel, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane
2000s	173	81.5	11	Normal	Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic
2010s	156	78.0	50	Normal	David De Gea, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford
2020s	75	74.5	190	Normal	Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Andrcu Onana

The game rates the 2000s and the treble-winning 1990s as United's two best decades, close together. The 1960s come next, but only on Hard. The 1980s and 2020s are the thinnest cells — a United spin there is one to use a re-spin on if the shirt matters.

Drafting tips

Giggs and Scholes are in three decades: the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. Between them they cover the left wing and midfield.
A spine is easy to build. The 1990s and 2000s are both deep, and the treble side in particular — Schmeichel, Keane, Beckham, Giggs — is all in one cell.
Best and Law are Hard-only prizes, in the 1960s cell, along with the young Charlton.