A day like today, on February 6, 1958the top football team of the time was “eliminated”, the Manchester United (Manchester United FC)

After the repeat quarter-final meeting for the Champions Cup in Belgrade, against Red Star, the Mission of the English team, had been scheduled flight its charter British Airwayswhich was to make a stop at Munich Airport for refueling.

Manchester United with a draw (3-3) in Belgrade secured qualification to the “4” of the Champions Cup, as they had won 2-1 in the first leg in Manchester.

A qualification that came one day before tragedywhere 23 of the 43 passengers died of the fatal plane, including team players, members of Manchester United’s coaching staff, fans and journalists.

The accident

The slipperiness of the ice covering the runway prevented the aircraft from taking off. Two failed attempts were made and finally the plane, in blizzardin his new attempt to get up, he ended up crashes into a fence at the airfield and crash.

The fatal accident happened on 15:04 local time. Rescue crews recovered dead seven football players (Jeff Bend, Roger Byrne, Eddie Coleman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan), seven journalists, four team officials, two crew members and two fans.

THE Duncan Edwardsthe team’s greatest player, passed away a few days later from his serious injuries in a Munich hospital.

It was the team with the nickname “babies» of the legendary Matt Busbywho was languishing in the hospital for several months and recovered to re-create the great United from “scratch”.

The investigations of the German authorities put the pilot James Thane as the culprit, because he did not complete the de-icing process of the plane’s wings. British Airways fired him immediately, but after a ten-year legal battle, he was vindicated.

Again team from 0

Among the survivors, the late Bobby Charlton, then very young, later to become an icon of the England team.

Manchester United struggled to pick up the pieces and the remaining players, along with several teenagers, made it all the way to the FA Cup final, where they lost 2-0 to Bolton.

The new team created by Matt Busby was able to win the first Champions Cup for England in 1967, crushing Benfica 4-1 and creating the beginning of the legend of…