Manchester United in Europe: The complete journey 1956 - 2001 - David Meek & Tom Tyrrell (First edition)

The inspirational story of how Manchester United blazed a trail for English football to compete in Europe.

In 1956, Sir Matt Busby and his chairman, Harold Hardman, defied convention and the football authorities in allowing England's best to measure themselves against the cream of the continent in the championship of champions. United's first thrilling encounters with the likes of Real Madrid  and Benfica immediately caught the imagination of the fans, and it is inconceivable today to imagine football without the stimulus of European competition.

The European quest didn't only bring glory for Manchester United: the tragedy of the Munich air crash in 1958 was a catastrophic blow and could very easily have been the end of Manchester United as a major club. Amazingly, Busby rebuilt and just ten years later another marvellous side conquered Europe with a memorable victory over Benfica at Wembley.

Europe then became increasingly difficult to beat in the football arena until Sir Alex Ferguson arrived at the helm and, after warming up with success in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1991, he finally bridged the gap from Sir Matt's era in an unforgettable match by beating Bayern Munich in Barcelona to win the European Champions League in 1991.