Munich 1958: The air crash that almost wiped out Man Utd

A team with a glorious future

A team with a glorious future, Unfavourable conditions, A terrible toll, The flower of youth destroyed, Matt Busby clings to life, A club in mourning, a country in shock, Making do, The long road to recovery

By 1958, Manchester United were England’s most exciting team, with an average age of just 22. The "Busby Babes" had just beaten Red Star Belgrade to reach the European Cup semi-finals. Sourcing material from BBC Sport, the Guardian and Manchester United official archives, let's examine one of football's worst disasters.

Unfavourable conditions

A team with a glorious future, Unfavourable conditions, A terrible toll, The flower of youth destroyed, Matt Busby clings to life, A club in mourning, a country in shock, Making do, The long road to recovery

On February 6, United’s chartered plane attempted to leave Munich after refuelling. Icy conditions and a snow-covered runway turned a routine takeoff into disaster.

A terrible toll

A team with a glorious future, Unfavourable conditions, A terrible toll, The flower of youth destroyed, Matt Busby clings to life, A club in mourning, a country in shock, Making do, The long road to recovery

Of the 44 people onboard, 23 died instantly or soon after. Eight were Manchester United players, and three club officials also perished. The crash devastated the footballing world.

The flower of youth destroyed

A team with a glorious future, Unfavourable conditions, A terrible toll, The flower of youth destroyed, Matt Busby clings to life, A club in mourning, a country in shock, Making do, The long road to recovery

Among the dead were star players Roger Byrne, Tommy Taylor, and Duncan Edwards, though Edwards, tipped to be a future England great, initially survived. His death 15 days later underscored the crash’s brutal toll.

Matt Busby clings to life

A team with a glorious future, Unfavourable conditions, A terrible toll, The flower of youth destroyed, Matt Busby clings to life, A club in mourning, a country in shock, Making do, The long road to recovery

Manager Matt Busby was severely injured and received last rites twice. He survived after weeks in a Munich hospital and would eventually rebuild the team from its ashes.

A club in mourning, a country in shock

A team with a glorious future, Unfavourable conditions, A terrible toll, The flower of youth destroyed, Matt Busby clings to life, A club in mourning, a country in shock, Making do, The long road to recovery

News of the crash swept through the UK, freezing a nation in grief. At Old Trafford, 63,000 mourners filled the stands for the first game after the disaster.

Making do

A team with a glorious future, Unfavourable conditions, A terrible toll, The flower of youth destroyed, Matt Busby clings to life, A club in mourning, a country in shock, Making do, The long road to recovery

Assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, absent from the flight due to World Cup duty, took charge. He led a makeshift team to the FA Cup final just months later.

The long road to recovery

A team with a glorious future, Unfavourable conditions, A terrible toll, The flower of youth destroyed, Matt Busby clings to life, A club in mourning, a country in shock, Making do, The long road to recovery

United took a decade to fully recover. But in 1968, exactly ten years later, Busby’s rebuilt team, led by survivors like Bobby Charlton, won the European Cup at Wembley.

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