One of the most important aspects that determine a team’s success is of course the captain leading the team. Manchester United had some of the best captains along the team’s history, and we are going to take a look at them in this article.

The first known team captain was of course E. Thomas who led the team in 1882. Sam Black was considered the next known team captain, leading the team in the 1883-87 period, followed by Jack Powell who was the first non-English team captain in 1887 to 1890.

Harry Stafford became the first team captain since it was officially named Manchester United. Some historians and avid fans consider Stafford the first captain of Manchester United, period. There were several top players leading Manchester United, but the first player from outside the UK who ever lead this team was Johnny Carey from Republic of Ireland.

The legendary Bobby Charlton was captain of Manchester United in 1967–1973. Manchester United was at the team’s best, and having Bobby Charlton as team captain really make the era even better. In fact, the team won a lot of amazing trophies and titles during this period. The glorious era was then followed by a short downfall until team manager Alex Ferguson took over.

Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Gary Neville are the three most recent captains leading Manchester United. Even with the team’s long history, Eric Cantona was still the first captain from outside the UK and Republic of Ireland; the controversial player is from France.

Manchester United has a lot of all-time rivals throughout these years. One of them is Leeds United which is known for the team’s arch rivalry with Manchester United. This particular rivalry was not always about football. From the history, we can clearly see how the rivalry between Leeds United and Manchester United dated back to the 15th century when the two historic counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire were considered rivals due to the Wars of the Roses. This is also why the rivalry between Leeds United and Manchester United is known as the Roses rivalry.

During the 1970s, the rivalry between these two teams was intensified by the fact that British football hooliganism was at its peak. Manchester United’s Red Army and Leeds United’s Service Crew – back then were considered two of the most notorious hooligan firms in the UK – were often seen involved in street fights and other acts of vandalism.

There are a lot of interesting records set by both teams along the rivalry’s history. Leeds United’s biggest win was their 5-0 victory against Manchester United back in 1930, while Manchester United scored their largest victory in 1959 with a 6-0 win. Eric Cantona, one of Manchester United’s most legendary players, was actually transferred from Leeds United for £1.2 million. It was considered a great loss for Leeds United, because Cantona later on contributed so many goals despite the fact that he was a very controversial player.

We will definitely see more of Leeds United vs. Manchester United, and it is always interesting to find out which team comes out on top.