Sir Matt Busby

Lore & Background

Before going into management, Busby was a player for two of Manchester United's greatest rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool. During his time at City, Busby played in two FA Cup Finals, winning one of them. After his playing career was interrupted by the Second World War, Busby was offered the job of assistant coach at Liverpool, but they were unwilling to give him the control that he wanted over the first team. As a result, he took the vacant manager's job at Manchester United instead, where he built the famous Busby Babes team that won successive Football League First Division titles and challenged for the European Cup. Eight of these players died in the Munich air disaster, but Busby rebuilt the team and won two more First Division titles as well as other domestic cups before he took United to European Cup glory a decade later. In his 25 years with Manchester United, Busby won five league championships, two FA Cups and the European Cup. He was among the inaugural inductees into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

In Their Own Story

The rain had just stopped at Wembley, leaving the turf slick under the floodlights. Sir Matt Busby stood on the touchline, his coat buttoned against the chill, watching his players celebrate on the pitch. It was 1968, and the trophy in Bobby Charlton's hands gleamed silver. For a decade, he had carried the weight of Munich in his heart, rebuilding brick by brick from the ashes. Now, as the European Cup finally rested in Old Trafford soil, the old manager allowed himself a rare, quiet smile. The dream was no longer just a memory; it was reality.

Reader's Guide

Busby was born to Alexander and Helen 'Nellie' (née Greer) Busby in a two-roomed pitman's cottage in the mining village of Orbiston, Bellshill, Lanarkshire. He was raised Catholic. He played for Manchester City and Liverpool as a half-back or inside-forward, never for Manchester United as a player. He was appointed Knight Bachelor in 1968, and in 1972 Pope Paul VI made him a Knight of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great.

Did You Know?

• Busby made only one official international appearance for Scotland, in a 3–2 loss to Wales in 1933.
• He was the first manager of an English team to win the European Cup.
• Busby's father was killed by a sniper's bullet in 1917 during the First World War.
• He was knighted in 1968, not 1970.