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1958 Munich air crash: A tragedy that still haunts and defines Manchester United

Manchester United are holding a commemorative service at Old Trafford on Tuesday to remember the victims of the Munich air crash.

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A banner that reads "we'll never die" travels across the Stretford End in comemmoration of the 1958 Munich Air Disaster in the 60th anniversary year of the crash that killed 23 during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on February 3, 2018.
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Ferbruary 6, 1958- a date that is "ingrained in the history of Manchester United".

A clock at Old Trafford remains permanently frozen at 3:04pm, the time of the crash. A solitary word beneath simply reads: Munich.

United were travelling back from a European Cup tie in Belgrade in February 1958 when the plane they were travelling in veered off the runway at taking off at Munich airport after a refuelling stop.  

Eight players lost their lives. Three members of the club's staff were also killed. Twenty-three people died in total. Among the 21 survivors were eight Manchester United players and manager Matt Busby.
 
Busby was twice read his Last Rites while gravely injured in a Munich hospital - before making a miraculous recovery and leading a young team nicknamed 'Busby Babes' club to European Cup glory just ten years later. 

The day still continues to haunt not only the club but the whole footballing community. And it still continues to shape it. 

The current Manchester United's manager Jose Mourinho says the Munich Air Disaster has always been a part of his life ahead of the 60th anniversary of the accident.

"The day that is absolutely shown in red on this week's calendar is on Tuesday, a day that marks the 60th anniversary of the air disaster," United's current player Juan Mata wrote in his blog on United's website this year.

"The victims will never be forgotten, they will always be remembered and will be a part of United's history forever. The passion, determination and courage shown by the club to carry on in those horrible moments have left an indelible mark forever."

Marcus Rashford, who follows in United's proud tradition of blooding young, homegrown players, said he learned about the disaster as a young child.

John Valentine, who sells scarves outside Old Trafford, said the Munich crash is "ingrained in the history of this club".

"If I come back in another 500 years it will still be being talked about," said Valentine, born in the year of the disaster. "You can't forget something like that -- a team nearly wiped out in a plane crash." 

United are holding a commemorative service at Old Trafford on Tuesday, which will include readings and poems ahead of a minute's silence at 1504 GMT, marking the time of the plane crash six decades ago. 

Around 2,000 United fans are due to go to Munich for the anniversary. 

The Old Trafford crowd held a minute's silence before Saturday's match at home to Huddersfield and the players wore black armbands as they pay respects to those that lost their lives in the fatal incident.

Former United boss Alex Ferguson, who will attend the service on Tuesday, recalled how the tragic events in Munich impacted his life. 

The former United boss said: "On the day of the Munich Air Disaster, I was in the library studying for my exams... I used to train with Queen's Park, so after I'd finished my work I went along to the training ground, but when I arrived, people were crying. These were grown men."  Feguson told the Daily Star. 

"I'm sure the whole public in Manchester felt that way, and Matt Busby carried great resonance for the people in Scotland, so it was keenly felt up there, too," Feguson told the Daily Star. 

"Matt never spoke to me about Munich, but he spoke about Duncan Edwards, David Pegg, Eddie Colman and all the boys who passed away."

Ferguson also talked about how United rose back again after the tragedy and the legandary 'Busby Babes'.  He recalled the incident and the events after that have defined the club in subsquent years.

"While I was Manchester United manager, the 'Babes' were always a reference point for us, in terms of having belief and trust in what young players can do and building a loyalty base from there.

"Not only that, the 'Babes' made the history of Manchester United, without question. Okay, there had been the 1948 FA Cup and some success in the distant past, but actually the history which was made through that particular period of Matt playing those young players is really the history of Manchester United."

"The Babes are what gives this club such a fantastic romance, in terms of how they played the game and how they generated this thread of youth throughout the club."

"The spirit of the club is created by all these young players, and that began back then," he said.

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