February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
A silence fell upon the city of Manchester. Everyone was fixed to the TV and the radio. By nightfall it was clear that a disaster had taken place on the runway in Munich where Manchester United’s chartered plane had stopped to refuel after a European Cup game against Belgrade in Yugoslavia.
The headlines read “Manchester United Air Crash.” The following morning 21 people were reported dead. Seven of them were players of a team that had won back-to-back championships in 1956 and 1957: Roger Byrne, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, Billy Whelan, a Dublin native, and Geoff Bent. Three others were United staff: coach Bert Whalley, trainer Tom Curry and secretary Walter Crickmer. A fan, a travel agent, two crewmembers and eight journalists also died.
Matt Busby was indeed pulled from the wreckage and was at the Bavarian hospital alongside the gravely injured Duncan Edwards, not just the most naturally gifted of the “Busby Babes” but talked of the greatest English player ever. Both the manager and his star player were reported to be fighting for their lives. Old Trafford was in a state of shock, as was the rest of Manchester, the nation and indeed the football world.
Two weeks later, Edwards was dead at age 21. News of his passing confirmed the Munich crash as the most devastating tragedy that Manchester had experienced. Believing and hoping that Edwards – who at 16 was the youngest ever to play in a Division One game and who got the first of his England caps at age 18 — would pull through is what kept the faithful alive and kicking. But it was impossible for him to beat the odds. As it was, doctors couldn’t believe that he had held on for so long.
Manchester was now in a deep depression, as was the nation. People were seen on the streets breaking down in tears. A strange atmosphere was cast over the city. It was a sad day for football not only in England but also in the entire world.
Two days before Edwards’s death, club director Harold Hardman stated in the game program for United’s fifth round FA Cup tie on Feb. 19: “Here is a tragedy, which will sadden us all for years to come. Although we mourn our dead and grieve for our wounded we believe our great days are not done for us. The road back may be long and hard but with the memory of those who died at Munich, of their stirring achievements and wonderful sportsmanship ever with us…Manchester United will rise again.”
Busby was never the same after the Munich disaster. He never talked about it. His participation lessened on the training field. New and older players were bought in. Some of these new players questioned the training methods and game preparation at Old Trafford. They were surprised to be playing free-for-all games and head-ball tennis. Talk around the ground was that Busby was losing the plot. That he was falling behind the progress of the game in the league.
Strange days it seemed at the club. A thief in the dressing room unsettled everybody. Rumors had it that United players were involved in rigging games. It was by no means the same United. How could it be? The road back to greatness was clearly fraught with problems. However, the one group that was still in awe of Busby was the youth at the club.
In 1963, five years after the Munich tragedy that road to recovery that director Hardman talked about seem real when United won the F.A. Cup. But their key goal was the championship, and the 1963-64 season, beginning in August, saw the club make a serious bid for England’s top honor. In a September league game against West Bromwich Albion, they tried out a skinny 17-year-old from East Belfast named George Best. United won 1-0, but the team hit a bad patch just before Christmas, losing 4-0 to Everton, and 6-1 to Burnley on the road. Busby had seen enough. One move was to fly the Irish prodigy Best, enjoying Christmas with his parents and extended family, back in time for a home league game on Dec. 28 against Burnley of all teams. The Red Devils got sweet revenge with a 5-1 victory in what was Best’s second first-team game for the great club. But it wasn’t about the score line but rather the arrival of that young gifted player that everybody was talking about. The question at the clug had always been: could he produce the magic that he showed in training? Against Burnley, he did in style. In fact, the Belfast teenager was sensational.
Best kept his place for the rest of the season, winning a runners-up medal. There was such a buzz around Manchester just to see this kid from Belfast play. He mesmerized the crowds.
Manchester was full of life with anticipation for the following season. Fans couldn’t wait to see him again. The magic never stopped. Best was becoming one of the most popular players in the English game — in fact, he was one of the most popular people in the nation. For five years his Manchester fans adored him while opposing fans applauded his performance or should we say artistry. He himself often stated that he was an entertainer. But he was more than that — he became an idol when in 1968 when Manchester United beat Portugal’s Benfica to win the European Cup, the first English to do so. It was just 10 years after that quarter-final clash in Belgrade.
All now believed that Busby was doing something special again with his new group of homegrown players. Some believed the Busby Babes were reincarnated. Winning the Football League in 1965 and 1967 was impressive, but winning the European Cup was special. Best, Sadler, Dunne, Stiles, Foulkes, Brennan, Aston and Charlton all played in the street football environment at United. They were not exposed to the more modern day methods. It was an incredible achievement apparently beyond explanation.
The United boss didn’t tolerate any player stepping out of line or complaining about the set up. The Busby way was based on admirable behavior. Personal traits like courage were more important than anything else in the players. But Busby also knew that a star had been born in George Best. The charismatic coach knew that United’s road back to success was very much founded on the natural abilities of his now adored Belfast boy who had become the gifted superstar.
The Manchester faithful had not forgotten the Munich tragedy, and they never will, but a new era had begun. United were moving on. George Best was more than a player for United. He was a special presence in the game that even the self-confident Best himself never truly realized. Manchester and everybody attached to Manchester needed something to remove the dark cloud of tragedy that covered Old Trafford. Best played a decisive role in helping remove that cloud. A feat that no ordinary player could achieve, Best helped raise the spirit of Manchester after Munich in much the same way the Beatles helped the American nation after John Kennedy’s assassination. He wasn’t called the “Fifth Beatle” just for his good looks, long hair and charm.
A grim reminder of the Munich tragedy was brought back to Manchester when flowers covered the pathway outside Old Trafford at the weekend just gone. George Best died on Nov. 25. However as Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said: “Players like George Best never die.”