History of Manchester United F.C. (1986–2013)
The period from 1986, when Alex Ferguson was appointed as Manchester United manager, to 2013, when he announced his retirement from football, was the most successful in the club's history. Ferguson joined the club from Aberdeen on the same day that Ron Atkinson was dismissed, and guided the club to an 11th-place finish in the league. Despite a second-place finish in 1987–88, the club was back in 11th place the following season. Reportedly on the verge of being dismissed, victory over Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup Final replay (after a 3–3 draw) saved Ferguson's career. The following season, Manchester United claimed their first UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title. That triumph allowed the club to compete in the European Super Cup for the very first time, where United beat European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 at Old Trafford. A second consecutive League Cup final appearance in 1992 saw the club win that competition for the first time as well, following a 1–0 win against Nottingham Forest at Wembley Stadium. In 1993, the club won its first league title since 1967, and a year later, for the first time since 1957, it won a second consecutive title – alongside the FA Cup – to complete the first "Double" in the club's history. United then became the first English club to do the Double twice when they won both competitions again in 1995–96, before retaining the league title once more in 1996–97 with a game to spare.
Manchester United's 1998–99 season was the most successful in English club football history as they became the first team to win the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League – "The Treble" – in the same season. Losing 1–0 going into injury time in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored late goals to claim a dramatic victory over Bayern Munich, in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks of all time. The club then became the only British team to ever win the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1–0 in Tokyo. Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football.
In 2000, Manchester United competed in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil, and won the league again in 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2002–03. They won the 2003–04 FA Cup – beating Millwall 3–0 in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff – and the 2005–06 Football League Cup – beating Wigan Athletic in the final. The club regained the Premier League title in 2006–07 and 2007–08, making history in the latter by completing the European double with a 6–5 penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. Ryan Giggs made a record 759th appearance for the club in this game, overtaking previous record holder, Bobby Charlton. In December 2008, the club became the first British team to win the FIFA Club World Cup and followed it with a third successive Premier League title, the first time any team had won three successive league titles more than once. In 2010, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 to retain the League Cup and mark their first successful defence of a knockout cup competition. The following season was even more successful, as the club secured a record-breaking 19th league title, overtaking arch-rivals Liverpool's long-standing record of 18 titles that they had equalled in 2009, with a 1–1 draw against Blackburn Rovers on 14 May 2011. That record was extended to 20 titles in 2013, in what proved to be Ferguson's final season at the club. He retired as the most decorated manager in football history.