Matt Busby is a name that is familiar to anyone interested in football. Indeed, the person known by this name is a true legend. And therefore, it is simply necessary to talk about him.
Scottish legend
Sir Alexander Matthew Busby was born on May 26, 1909 in Scotland. He was a famous football player and coach, commander of the Order of the British Empire. He received tremendous fame as the head coach of the Manchester United team, which he led from 1945 to 1969, and also after - another year, from 1970 to 1971. He takes the second place in the list of coaches of “MU” in terms of the duration of team leadership. Only in 2010, the Busby record was broken by Sir Alex Ferguson. Under the leadership of this man, “Manchester United” existed 27 years.
Alexander Matthew is considered one of the best coaches in all football history. He is on the second line of the best leaders of the post-war period according to the official version of The Times. He also takes 11th place in the list of the best coaches of all nations and times (version of Football Pantheon).
The beginning of a football career
Matt Busby was born in a mining village called Orbiston, in a family of Catholics with Lithuanian roots. All his uncles and father were killed at the front during the First World War.
The young footballer began his career at the currently famous Manchester City club. In 1933, he played in the FA Cup, in the final, however, then his team lost. But next year a victory was won.
George Patterson, who was the head coach of Liverpool, bought the player in 1936 for 8 thousand pounds. The Scottish debut match was unsuccessful - a loss with a minimum score. But a month later, the young footballer scored his first goal for the new team. Then the game ended with a score of 2: 2.
Matt showed himself well from the first matches. Soon, he replaced Robert Savage from the “foundation” and began to enter the field in almost every game - for three years in a row! He demonstrated a reliable and stable game. And it was these qualities that made him the captain of Liverpool.
By the way, Busby started from the position of a drawn forward, but then he became the right midfielder. Together with Tom Bradshaw and Jimmy McDougall, they formed a great bunch. Many claimed that this is the best midfield line in the history of the club.
War years
Matt was not just a good Liverpool footballer. He was still a man with a capital letter. So, for example, in 1939, in May, Bob Paisley, a player from Bishop Auckland FC, joined the team. Matt helped the newcomer get comfortable in the new club, and then they became friends. And this friendship lasted until his death. And what’s most interesting, no one could even think then that these strong friendships are the friendship of two people who in the future will become the greatest coaches in the history of English football.
Everything was fine. Until World War II arrived. Like many Liverpool players, Busby went to war. Matt settled in the Royal Liverpool Infantry Regiment. But he continued to play on the field during the war. Three times he played in Chelsea T-shirts, and also appeared as a player in the following teams: Hibernian, Bournemouth, Brentford, Reading and Middlesbrough.
In 1933, on October 4, the Scottish footballer held his first (and I must say, the only) official match for his native national team. Then his team lost to Wales. The score was 2: 3. During the war, Busby entered the field seven more times as a player in the national team (only in unofficial matches).
Coach Activities
When the war ended, the 36-year-old Scottish footballer was offered a job as a FC Liverpool coach. Sir Matt Busby then said that he would like to have more authority in order to directly control the game of football players. But this work has always been entrusted to the club secretary. And at that time, the leadership of the English team decided not to make such a change.
In 1945, he was offered the position of head coach of FC Manchester United. And in October, he began work. The result was shown right there. In the 1946/47 season, the team won silver medals in the First Division. In the next three seasons, the results were the same. The long-awaited championship was won in 1951/52. By that time, quite an age-old footballer was playing in FC Manchester United. The captain, by the way, was Johnny Carey. Because Matt began to look for new players, young.
And everyone expected the coach to start buying expensive ambitious football stars. But no. The coach invited promising young people aged 16-17 and taught them how to play. That was how his football story was written. Matt Busby created many eminent players. Bill Foulkes, Mark Jones, Jackie Blanchflower, David Pegg, Albert Scanlon, Liam Whelan, Duncan Edwards - these are their names. And the latter did become the one who was called the best football player in England of his generation. He was called up to the national team at age 18 - and this is a record. By the way, he lasted 40 years.
Munich tragedy
In the second half of the fifties, the team “Manchester United” began to be called “Busby kids”. And all because the players were really young, and Matt treated them not just as football players, but as his pupils. Which they, in fact, were.
In 1957, they reached the final of the English Cup. The next season was supposed to be promising. But something happened that no one expected. The team flew to Munich for a match with FC Crvena Zvezda (as part of the European Cup). On February 6, 1958, they returned home. Twice the plane tried to fly into the air, but the attempts were unsuccessful. The third time the plane took off, but after a few minutes of the flight crashed. It has become a real tragedy.
Survivors
Matt Busby survived. Like the legendary Bobby Charlton. Seven young players died - everyone was 22 years old maximum. Duncan Edwards - a young but famous player at that time, survived. But from numerous injuries, he died on February 21.
Still survived 8 players and 7 other passengers. Most of the people on board died. This period is connected not only with the history of FC Manchester United, but also with Matt Busby himself. By the way, about the disaster in 2011, an excellent film called “United. Munich tragedy. ” It is based on real events and accurately reflects not only what happened, but also a story that was both before and after the disaster.
Resurrection team
United has literally become bloodless. But Busby did not give up. He firmly decided - “United” will not become the lowest team. In honor of the dead players and in honor of the future of this club, he began to resurrect the team. I scored young guys on the principle: “If they know what the ball looks like, they will play.” And he tried to educate new players.
Three months later was the final match of the FA Cup. But “MJ” lost. However, Busby continued to believe in the future and build a new team. And by 1963 it worked out. Then the club won the FA Cup final, beating “Leicester” with a score of 3: 1. In 1964/65 there was a new wave of success - the team led by Matt won the First Division. And after a season (1966/67) she repeated this result.
But the biggest success was in 1968, on May 29. Then, “Manchester United” won the European Cup. After that, Busby decided to end his career as a coach. But he remained the director of Manchester United. True, in 1970 he again began to lead the players when Wilf McGuiness (former United player), resigned from the post of coach transferred to him by Busby.
Other interesting facts
A person like Matt Busby has a very interesting biography. This person is a great player and personality. He was awarded the Knightly Order of the British Empire and was given the title “Sir” in 1958. In 1991, at the Old Trafford stadium, a game was held in honor of Matt Busby - a new generation of the English club and the Irish national team came together as part of this match. It all ended with a minimum score of 1: 1.
In 1994, on January 20, Sir Matt Busby died of cancer. He was 84 years old.
The name of Sir Matt Busby means a lot, not only for football, but also for history.
In Greater Manchester there is a road named after Sir Matt Busby. It is located in Stretford - there is the home stadium “MJ”.
Words that will remain in history forever
The author of many meaningful expressions about football and Manchester United is Matt Busby. Quotes from this man are numerous, but some are best known. For example, about George Best he said this: “He could use any leg. Sometimes it even seemed that he had six. ” This phrase is remembered by many. In general, Busby was never shy about praising someone if he really deserved it. And he did it beautifully.
For example, he spoke of the deceased Duncan Edwards like this: “Years passed, and people sometimes called young players the new Duncan Edwards. There were Dave Mackay, Brian Robson ... But not one of them came close to him. Duncan was the only player who made me feel subordinate. "
And finally, one of the most powerful quotes that can be applied not only to football. And it sounds like this: “Victory is not everything. There must be no arrogance in victory, but hopelessness in defeat. ”