6. The First European Success (1990/91)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwnaqlAU6rc Other than four European cup semi final appearances and one victory under the stewardship of Sir Matt Busby, Manchester United were never really a significant force in European football until Sir Alex took charge, having crashed out early from most of the competitions that they qualified for. In the 1990/91 season, English teams were permitted by UEFA to enter European competition again, having been banned for five years following the Heysel disaster in 1985, in which thirty nine people had died following the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus. Having won the FA Cup, United were invited to participate in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, a now defunct competition that was merged into the UEFA Cup (Now the Europa League) several years later. The standard of competition was not particularly high, but United reached the final with victories over teams such as Wrexham and Pecsi Munkas. The mighty Barcelona stood in the way of Sir Alexs first European triumph, but United dispatched the Catalan giants in a 2-1 win. In an interesting footnote, the team was floated on the London stock exchange in the same season. Their market value? £18 Million 10 million less than what Sir Alex would pay for Argentinean flop Juan Sebastian Veron just eleven years later an indication of just how much football has changed in a financial sense.