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.

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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.

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There are reasons why Manchester United is considered among the most successful football clubs in the world. For starters, they are earning millions each year; the immense financial power makes it easy for them to purchase top players and strengthen the team even further. They also scored a lot of spectacular achievements ever since the team was established. The 1998-99 season was considered Manchester United’s golden season, and this is largely thanks to Sir Alex Ferguson himself.

At the beginning of the 1998-99 Premier League season, Manchester United was keeping their reputation of being one of the best teams in British football as well as the world superbly. They just won a double in 1996 and they have a solid team. Beckham was leading the midfield while top attackers including Paul Scholes made the team even stronger.

The season turned out to be superbly well for both the team and Alex Ferguson alike. The team successfully won the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League – the so called “The Treble” – earning their place in British football history. Manchester United is the first team to have done this at the time, and they are quickly recognized for the achievement.

The 1998-99 season was spectacular for Sir Alex Ferguson as well. At the end of this season, Ferguson was knighted for his contribution to the British football and world football in general. Ferguson remains the manager of Manchester United until today, recording several more achievements throughout his career with the marvelous team.

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Along the team’s history, Manchester United has recorded ups and downs. The beginning of 1969-86 era was in fact one of the worst times for Manchester United. The team finished 8th in the 1969–70 season and had a poor start to the 1970–71 season. That is not all, Manchester United also failed to keep the team’s high-profile players, including Nobby Stiles and Pat Crerand.

Things started to improve when Frank O’Farrell was appointed manager of the team in 1971. O’Farrell’s short career as manager for Manchester United was ended when Tommy Docherty took over in December 1972. Docherty made some quick actions and improve the team enough to avoid relegation. It was not solid enough though, because Manchester United finally faced relegation in 1974.

After one season, Manchester United was promoted back to the First Division and reached the FA Cup final in 1976. They won the FA Cup in 1977 though, defeating Liverpool with a solid 2-1 win at that time. Docherty was dismissed a year after due to a sex scandal that hit him. He was then replaced by Dave Sexton in 1977, bringing Manchester United to series of good – not great – performances throughout the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons.

Ron Atkinson was the latest manager of Manchester United before Ales Ferguson took over until today. He successfully brought the team to winning the FA Cup twice in three years; Manchester United won the 1983 and 1985 FA Cup titles. Atkinson’s place was taken over by Ferguson in 1986.

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