The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 212 White Rose and Red Rose

“The two teams have been enemies throughout history, and this season’s championship battle has pushed the feud between the two teams to a new stage.”

--Inscription

The British media wrote after the season ended: "Two out-county people dominated the latest results of the War of the Roses, and the White Rose had the last laugh."

Leeds United won the league title as a dark horse, and the Red Devils fans were the most upset. The rivalry between the Red Devils and Leeds has, to some extent, gone beyond the level of club competition and is a continuation of the historical hatred and confrontation between the two regions.

The geographical location of the two teams is very special. The Red Devils are located in Lancashire, while Leeds United is located in Yorkshire on the other side of the Pennines. Historically, the two descendants of King Edward III of England, the Lancaster family and the York family, have been in constant conflict. Since 1455, they have launched a civil war for the throne of England. At that time, the Lancaster family emblem was a red rose, while the York family's was a white rose. Shakespeare's historical play "Henry VI" also described it, and the War of the Roses became a specific term.

The "War of the Roses" between the two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty lasted for more than 30 years and ended with the marriage of Henry VII of the Lancaster family and Elizabeth of the York family, which marked the beginning of the rule of the Tudor dynasty. The Tudor dynasty used the rose (the rose here is actually the ancient European rose) as its national flower and changed the royal emblem to a red and white rose pattern.

After the War of the Roses, the struggle between the two regions turned into an all-round competition. After the British Industrial Revolution, Manchester developed rapidly, while Leeds' economy lagged behind. However, in the 21st century, Leeds has developed modern service and financial industries in an all-round way, and it seems to be overtaking Manchester.

The struggle between the two regions is also reflected in competitive sports. The football confrontation is the struggle between Leeds United and Manchester United. The game between them is also called the "Roses rivalry". This hatred is very special. Manchester City and Leeds do not have such fierce confrontation and contradictions. For example, the hostility between Leeds United and Liverpool (Liverpool and Manchester both belong to Lancashire) is far less sharp and deep than that between Manchester United and Leeds United.

The extreme fans of Leeds United and Manchester United are real enemies. They would even fight when they met, and every time it would develop into a group fight. It was not until the 21st century that the British government severely cracked down on football hooligans, and this blood feud was partially alleviated.

After World War II, Busby quickly led the Red Devils to rise, and also withstood the blow of the Munich air crash, leading the team not only back to the top of England, but also overwhelming the opponent, which happened to be Leeds United. Leeds United, which was in its domineering stage, and the Red Devils fought hard for a while, and finally the Red Devils won the 1964-1965 league championship with more goals.

Leeds United was radiant in the 20s and 60s. They reached the peak of the club's history under the leadership of the meritorious coach Don Revie. During the 70 years that Don Revie led the team, he made Leeds United one of the greatest teams in English football history. From 1965 to 1974, Leeds United never fell out of the top four of the English League One, and won two English League One titles, one English FA Cup, one English League Cup, two European Fairs Cups, one English League Two title and one Charity Shield. It can be said that Leeds United and the Red Devils were the two most glorious clubs in British football at the time, but Busby's Red Devils won the Champions League in 2 and became the first English football club. Leeds United also reached the Champions League final in 1, but unfortunately only finished second.

The peak of the hatred between the Red Devils and Leeds can be traced back to 1965. That year, Leeds and the Red Devils competed for the double championship and met in the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough. Both sides played very rough. Nobby Stiles of the Red Devils tackled Albert Johannesson on the left wing of Leeds with the ball. This foul triggered a fierce conflict and a group fight broke out between the players of both sides. The violent clashes continued in the game, and many players on both sides were injured. The game ended in a 0:0 draw, but the fans immediately started a large-scale fight.

The Red Devils eventually defeated Leeds United in the league to win the championship, and eliminated Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-final replay and finally won the championship.

By 1974, Leeds United was making great strides. They won the league championship that year and defeated the Red Devils in the league handily. In the end, they stood at the top of the league and watched the Red Devils tragically relegated.

The rivalry between the two teams is everywhere, from players to fans, from coaches to assistants, everything will be compared. The most famous is the Charlton brothers who played for the two clubs. Bobby Charlton and Jack Charlton are the greatest brothers in British football history, and they were the heroes of England's World Cup victory in 1966. However, their relationship was very bad, and they even stopped talking to each other. The elder brother Bobby was the leader of the "Busby Boys", while the younger brother was the main player of Leeds United coach Don Revie. The two served their respective masters and refused to give in. Many years later, the two brothers retired and grew old, but their relationship remained cold.

In the conflict between the Red Devils and Leeds, the hatred between radical fan organizations was the greatest. They often provoked trouble, fought in groups, and created a series of violent incidents, causing many fans and innocent people to be injured and bleeding. The football hooligans became more arrogant because of hatred, and would set off more intense and bloody conflicts. In the 70s, Leeds United's "Shooting Gang" and the Red Devils' "Red Team" were both notorious football hooligan organizations, and both caused many bad things that shocked Britain. The English police department and the Football Association took action many times, but they still could not stop the football hooligans from making trouble, and the hatred between the two teams became deeper and deeper.

After the British government cracked down on football hooligans in the late 80s, the violent clashes between the two teams began to decline, but the hostility of the fans did not decrease at all. During the game, fans of both teams would sing "There's only one United, that never be u!" (There is only one United, but it can never be you!), and all kinds of insults and shouting were endless. When the two teams met, fierce clashes were bound to occur, and the game was always full of gunpowder.

Although Leeds United cannot compare with many strong teams in terms of performance, its fans are famous for their loyalty. For Ferguson, Leeds United's Elland Road Stadium is very impressive, and can even be called one of the most terrifying stadiums in Europe. This is mainly because Leeds United fans love their team so much that they are not polite to their opponents.

Leeds United fell into a slump after Don Revie left, struggling throughout the 80s, and the Red Devils were also having a hard time. After that, Ferguson came to the Red Devils, and Wilkinson took office at Elland Road, and the confrontation between the two teams rekindled.

In the 91-92 season, Leeds won the top league championship. What made them happiest was that they beat the Red Devils to win the championship.

Ferguson was well aware of the hatred between the Red Devils and Leeds United from the beginning. He said: "I know the relationship with Manchester City, and I know the sworn enemies Liverpool and Leeds United. I have always believed that confrontation between teams is indispensable, and this confrontation turning into hatred between fans is also inevitable in history."

Ferguson said: "I once went to watch a match between Crystal Palace and Leeds with Archie Knox and was almost beaten up by Leeds United fans. Leeds was leading 1-0 in that match and an excited Leeds fan suddenly shouted at the box where I was sitting, "You Red Devils bastard, die!" I was confused at the time and didn't know why the fan was so angry all of a sudden. "

The reporters soon found the answer. Leeds' home box usually only sells tickets to die-hard fans. Leeds fans were naturally unhappy when they knew that Ferguson came to watch the game and sat in the VIP box.

Crystal Palace quickly equalized the score, and Leeds United fans became even crazier. Crystal Palace then overtook the score, which Leeds fans could not accept. They began to rush to this "special box" and prepared to beat up these two annoying guys.

Finally, even with the police and stadium security, Ferguson was hit on the back by a Leeds fan with a cup when he left, and his way was almost blocked. Ferguson said afterwards: "I'm fine, but I don't think I should be treated like this because I was invited to watch the game."

In the 1991 League Cup semi-final, the Red Devils played against Leeds United and sparks flew. Lee Sharpe broke the deadlock 2 minutes before the end of the game, but the goal seemed to be at least 10 yards offside. The Leeds United fans were almost crazy. They jumped over the security guards, rushed to the pitch, and rushed to the Red Devils' coaching bench.

The Red Devils' fans were certainly not to be trifled with. They immediately rushed up to fight back, beating up the Leeds United players and coaches, and a big melee began.

In the 1991-1992 season, Leeds United finally won the English League One championship, but their extremely rough style of play was also criticized by the Red Devils and other teams.

The Red Devils, who finished second, won the first Premier League title. Ferguson finally led the team to rise successfully and achieved great success. At this time, Leeds United had long lost its glory. In addition to failing to defend the title, it was also eliminated from the Champions League early. Not only that, this White Rose Army could not suppress its aging and gradually lost the fight for the Premier League title.

In the Premier League era, the Red Rose and the Red Devils soared to the sky and became the overlord of the Premier League; while the White Rose took a tortuous and bumpy road, and was even unfortunately relegated in 2004. In the different paths of fate, Leeds United gradually lost the strength to compete with the Red Devils, and could only struggle in the English Championship. Since 1993, the Red Devils have conquered cities and territories under the command of Ferguson, becoming a giant sweeping the Premier League and one of the most powerful giants in Europe. Not only did they complete two consecutive Premier League titles, but they also achieved the unprecedented feat of winning the triple crown.

Leeds United struggled in the lower leagues for a long time until they returned to the Premier League under Bielsa's leadership. The Red Devils have maintained their strong strength during the Ferguson era. Even if they encountered a short period of lows and faced challenges from other strong teams, they were always able to rebuild successfully and return to the throne of dominance time and time again.

In the past ten years, although Leeds United has lost the strength to compete with the Red Devils and has been struggling in the abyss of fate, their fans have never given up on the team. They still love the White Army with great passion and have no regrets. When Ferdinand, Smith and other players transferred from Leeds to the Red Devils, they were scolded by Leeds United fans as "Judas" and "traitors". They will never accept such betrayal.

After being relegated, Leeds United played against the Red Devils many times, and the games were still very intense, and there were even some amazing performances. In the third round of the 2010-2011 FA Cup, Leeds United beat the Red Devils 1-0 at Old Trafford, which was a huge upset.

This was the first time that Leeds United defeated the Red Devils away from home since 1981, and eliminated their arch-rivals from the FA Cup. This day became a major festival for Leeds fans to celebrate!

The hatred and opposition between the two teams are so deep-rooted and irreconcilable that even the disasters suffered by the other team have become weapons to attack each other. This makes the hatred between the two teams even more difficult to eliminate and impossible to eliminate. The Munich air crash of the Red Devils has always been a topic of attack and abuse by extreme fans of Leeds United.

In the 2000 League Cup match, two Leeds fans were stabbed to death in a clash after the match with Galatasaray in Istanbul. After the incident, Ferguson and Leeds' manager publicly called for respect for the dead and rejection of violence and harm. But even this failed to eliminate the hostility between the team and the fans.

In the end, we can only wait for time to tell.