Manchester United European Memories: Some Lesser-Known Classics

This season seems unlikely to be remembered as a classic European campaign for Manchester United. The UEFA Europa League opener against Feyenoord did not portend great things in terms of the team’s motivation for the tournament.

Unless Jose Mourinho’s men somehow turn it around and win the competition in swashbuckling fashion, for the most part Europe’s second-string tournament will likely be a distraction from the attempt to rebuild United as title challengers.

But not all great European memories were earned at the cutting edge of competition. For every “That Night In Barcelona,” there are plenty of less-remembered evenings under the lights at Old Trafford.

With Zorya Luhansk set to visit on Thursday, we asked for some memories of lesser-known United performances in European competition.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane.

             

@UtdRantcast Videoton 1984-85

— markboardy (@markboardy) September 26, 2016

Ron Atkinson’s United took on Hungarian side Videoton in the UEFA Cup quarter-final in 1985.

The home leg saw the Red Devils win 1-0 thanks to a Frank Stapleton goal. The away game, though, saw the wheels come off Atkinson’s usually effective cup machine.

Tomasz Mortimer of HungarianFootball.com told Bleacher Report:

“The second leg of Vidi-United was just one of those games you watch and just know an upset is going to happen.

“On an almost impossibly muddy pitch, Vidi had taken an early lead in the game—to go level in the tie—thanks to a deflected free-kick and just hung on by any means possible.

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“The pitch didn’t help United’s cause, but after chance upon chance failed to cough up a winner, you knew there was only going to be one outcome in the [penalty] shootout.

“The heavily bearded Peter Disztl in goal for Vidi ultimately proved to be the hero with a stunning penalty save in sudden death.”

Atkinson would soon be replaced by a manager who had had some success in Europe with Aberdeen.

           

@UtdRantcast Pesci Munkas home in 1991 CWC. Blackmore’s outrageous swerving shot to put us in front

— TheShaw2009 (@TheShaw2009) September 26, 2016

@UtdRantcast 1991 CWC – legia Warsaw at home – lee sharpe scored and did the sharpe shuffle right in front of me (an impressionable 16 yo)

— Al (@Allang1974) September 26, 2016

The European Cup Winners’ Cup was a competition which featured the winners of domestic cup competitions from all around Europe.

Given that United were perceived as cup specialists in the 1980s, it was only fitting that a much younger, not-yet-knighted Alex Ferguson should guide them to this title in 1991. It was the end of an era, and the foreshadowing of a more successful one to come.

It was a run which brought United into contact with teams they rarely played—as well as the above mentioned Pecsi Munkas of Hungary and Legia Warsaw of Poland, United beat Welsh Cup winners Wrexham and Montpellier of France en route to their victory over Barcelona in the final.

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United beat Pecsi Munkas in front of just 28,411 people at Old Trafford, per Website of Dreams, but Clayton Blackmore’s goal was indeed ample reward for those who made the trip. 

Lee Sharpe left his mark on impressionable young …

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