Meet the Red Devils, Athletic's Europa League semi-final opponents

The Europa League is approaching its end point and Athletic fans have not stopped dreaming of what could be. The Zurigorri have a tough semi-final tie as they face Manchester United over two legs for a spot in the final at San Mames on May 21.

Match Info

First leg

San Mames, Bilbao

Thursday May 1, 21:00 CEST

Second leg

Old Trafford, Manchester

Thursday May 8, 20:00 BST (21:00 CEST)

The Opponents 

 

Manchester United was originally founded in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) Football Club by local railway workers.

However, in 1902, with the team on the verge of bankruptcy, local businessman John Henry Davies saved the club and renamed it Manchester United - Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were also considered.

In a four-year period from 1907 to 1911, United won their first two top flight titles (1907/08, 1910/11), a first FA Cup (1908/09) and moved to Old Trafford (built in 1909 and opened in February 1910).

 

The United Way

Since October 1937, at least one home-grown player has played in every Red Devils match, a total of more than 4,000 games.

It is not surprising, therefore, that Manchester's two great golden eras have coincided with managers who made a serious commitment to youth and attacking football.

The first began in 1945 with Scottish coach Matt Busby. Together with his assistant, Jimmy Murphy, he built a dynasty, making the Mancunian club European champions and laying the foundations for today's Manchester United.

It was during this time that they had to deal with the darkest moment in their history. On 6 February 1958, eleven members of the group travelling to Belgrade for a European Cup match died when their plane failed to take off after refuelling in Munich.

Eight of the deceased were footballers, while two others never played again due to serious injuries. At the same time, Matt Busby was hospitalised for two months and was read his last rites twice.

The Scot survived and rebuilt the team around the likes of Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law.

During his 24 years in charge, the Red Devils won six First Division titles (51/52, 55/56, 56/57, 64/65, 66/67), two FA Cups (47/48, 62/63) and one European Cup (67/68).

After Busby's retirement, 26 years would pass before Manchester United lifted the English top-flight title again.

Despite a shaky start at the helm, Sir Alex Ferguson then returned the Red Devils to the pinnacle of English and European football.

In a decision widely criticised at the time, Ferguson completely overhauled his championship-winning squad in the early 1990s to bring in the famous ‘Class of 92', a talented generation of mostly Manchester-born players who dominated English football for the rest of the 1990s.

Con el técnico de Glasgow, los Red Devils ganaron 13 títulos de la Premier League, cinco Copas de Inglaterra, cuatro Copas de la Liga, la Recopa de Europa, la Supercopa de Europa y dos Ligas de Campeones.

Manchester United have lifted a total of 67 trophies: 20 First Division/Premier League titles, two Second Division titles, 13 FA Cups, six League Cups, 21 Charity Shields, one Europa League, one UEFA Super Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and three European Cups/UEFA Champions Leagues.

 

Europa League 2024/25:

Man Utd are yet to lose in this season's Europa League. They finished third in the League Phase with five wins and three draws.

In the Round of 16, they knocked out Real Sociedad, drawing 1-1 in Donostia before winning 4-1 at Old Trafford. They overcame Olympique Lyon in a thiller of a quarter-final tie. The first leg was a 2-2 draw in France, while United came from behind to score three stoppage time goals, two in the final two minutes, to move into the semi-finals.

 

Head coach:

Rúben Amorim (40) took over the job last November, joining from Sporting CP. In fact, he faced Athletic with the Portuguese side in a pre-season friendly before this current campaign began. Prior to that, he had managed Braga and Casa Pia in the Portuguese top flight. 

As a player, he reached Benfica's first team after training in their youth academy and also played for Belenenses and Braga, and had a brief spell in Qatari football. While playing for Benfica, he played against Athletic in a pre-season friendly in 2009/10, and was an unused substitute in another warm-up match in 2014/15.

Standout players:

United's squad is littered with top-class international players: Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Casemiro (Brazil), Alejandro Garnacho (Argentina), Manuel Ugarte (Uruguay), Rasmus Hojlund, Christian Eriksen and Patrick Dorgu (Denmark), Lenny Yoro (France), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Matthijs De Ligt (Netherlands), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco), Andre Onana (Cameroon), Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire (England).

However, the Reds have struggled this season, currently sitting in 14th place in the Premier League, with 39 points from 34 matches.

Previous Meetings

The Lions and Red Devils have already met six times. They have played two more memorable double-legged European ties and two friendlies, the last of which was a 1-1 draw at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin two pre-seasons ago.

Our most recent official duel was an epic Europa League tie in the 2011/12 campaign, with the Zurigorri winning 2-3 at Old Trafford and 2-1 in the return leg at San Mamés. 

Their first battle was also memorable. The legendary Busby Babes visited an unusually snowy Bilbao for a European Cup quarter-final in January 1957 and The Cathedral faithful were treated to a great spectacle as the game ended 5-3.

As Old Trafford lacked floodlighting at the time, the second leg was played at Maine Road, the former home of Manchester City. The Lions lost 3-0, struggling with the cold conditions, the stodgy pitch and Man Utd's long-ball game.

Exactly one year later, several players and staff members of that Man Utd team tragically died in the Munich air disaster.

In 1984, Norman Whiteside scored the winning goal in a pre-season friendly between United and Athletic at the Riazor stadium in La Coruña.

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Manchester, home of the industrial revolution
The total population of Greater Manchester is around 570,000 residents make it the fourth largest city in the country, but it is generally regarded as England's second city due its cultural, political and scientific legacy.

Since the 17th and 18th century, industry has played a major role in city life, with Manchester recognised as the epicentre of the globe's historical industrial revolution.

Old warehouses, factories, and especially cotton mills, can still be seen all over the city, even if most are not is use today.

The city has also had a major impact on modern music. The Madchester movement of the late 80s and early 90s put Manchester on the map as groups like the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Charlatans and Ocean Colour Scene recieved global recognition for how they combined indie rock with psychadelia.

Besides the Madchester groups, other bands such as Oasis, Joy Division, The Smiths, The Verve and New Order have had monumental success and influence.

Several popular TV shows and films have also come out of the city, including: Shameless, The Royle Family and Coronation Street. Looking For Eric, starring Eric Cantona, was screened at Athletic's Thinking Football Film Festival this year.