The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 277: Champions League Summit

"The Red Devils finally won their first European Cup, and Busby's team finally stood at the top of Europe. In the past ten years, from the Munich air crash to the Wembley championship, the Red Devils have gone through hardships, and finally became a great team after a phoenix nirvana. Busby finally completed his redemption."

--Inscription

While leading the Red Devils to rise again, Busby suggested that the Red Devils' nickname be officially named "Red Devils". Busby said, "I hope our Red Devils team will be called 'Red Devils' and the team will use this fixed nickname in the future. Our team has magic power and can turn the impossible into the possible. We are full of indomitable fighting spirit and always move towards victory. I hope this team will move towards legend and reach the pinnacle, making the Red Devils a great team respected by the whole world."

"We are the invincible Red Devils!" Busby hoped to use this name to properly show the characteristics of the Red Devils. He also hoped to use this nickname to inspire the Red Devils players' strong character of not admitting defeat. The Red Devils fans highly recognized Busby's proposal and they particularly liked this nickname with a bit of magic.

The Red Devils club is the Red Devils, and the Red Devils fans are also the Red Devils. This nickname aptly expresses the blood connection between the fans and the club.

Time came to May 1968, and Busby finally led the Red Devils into the Champions League final.

The Red Devils made it to the Champions League final - this was one of the most sensational news in world football that year. Even if the current Red Devils fans use their brains, they can't imagine how popular the Red Devils were at that time. The legendary Busby, the legendary Red Devils youth training, the legendary rebirth, the legendary league championship, and the even more legendary Champions League journey, Busby's team was surrounded by media publicity all the way, and reaching the final became a media carnival.

The Champions League final was held at Wembley Stadium in England, which was the home of the Red Devils. Countless fans flocked to the stadium, and even if they couldn't buy tickets, they were willing to wait outside the stadium. In the early morning of May 1968, 5, fans were waiting outside Wembley Stadium. On the way from the hotel to Wembley, every car passing by honked for the Red Devils, and every pedestrian gave a thumbs up, regardless of whether they were Red Devils fans or not, or even whether they were fans or not.

It wasn't just the 8 fans who wanted the Red Devils to win the final, it was the Red Devils fans all over the world, and countless neutral fans. Busby's team made the country proud, not only because they were the first English team to reach the Champions League final, but also because they reborn after the Munich air disaster and once again achieved unprecedented success.

Busby and Charlton, who survived the plane crash, had mixed feelings before the game. Busby was eager to win the Champions League. He was filled with grief for the victims and guilt for the survivors. He always felt deeply guilty, and this time he hoped to redeem himself after winning the championship. Red Devils captain Charlton reminded his teammates that no one had ever won the championship for justice. Charlton later said in an interview: "We were fully prepared. We walked towards Wembley Stadium with heavy steps. We shouldered heavy sustenance. This pressure sometimes made me breathless. But I clearly knew that sadness could not win the game. We must play at our best level."

The Red Devils players felt an extra sense of responsibility before the game. As George Best said, Busby's aging at the time worried everyone, and the entire locker room felt that this was the last chance for Busby to win the Champions League. Red Devils player Sadler said that even breathing felt like sparks, but he insisted that he would definitely win the championship. Another Red Devils player Cleland visited Edwards' parents before the game. After he came back, he burst into tears in the locker room and said: "Edwards' parents hope that we don't need to be nervous and don't need to carry any burden. They hope that all of us can take it easy and enjoy this final. Edwards' mother also said that she believes Edwards will be watching this final in heaven."

Before the game, the Red Devils received much attention, but Benfica, which won the European Cup twice in 1961 and 1962 and had superstar Eusebio, was the favorite to win. Eusebio, known as the "Black Panther", was as famous as Messi today. Although the Red Devils had Denis Law, Best and Charlton, they were still not as good as him. Even so, the Red Devils fans still maintained strong confidence in the team. Some die-hard fans even specially adapted the Beatles' song to celebrate the 19th birthday of Kidd, the youngest player in the team, while boldly teasing Eusebio.

Wembley Stadium was boiling as the game was portrayed as second only to England's World Cup victory in 1966.

In the Red Devils dressing room before the game, Busby gave a final mobilization, "We have gone through countless hardships and obstacles to finally get here. We have become the winners, now please go out bravely and enjoy your game."

Busby deployed the classic 424 formation, which is more in line with the current 4231 formation to some extent. Kidd, who just turned 19, was placed in the front as a forward, while Best, Charlton and Aston became the three arrows behind him. Kidd will be the key link in the attack, but Busby's killer is the hidden Best, who will open a gap on the right, while Aston will move back and forth on the left, the sharpest horse of the Red Devils, and Charlton will become a shadow killer, waiting for an opportunity to move. The Red Devils' midfield is a steel combination, with the most famous "toothless tiger", England's 1966 champion hero - Stiles, responsible for marking, and Collerand more responsible for sweeping and covering.

When the game started, the entire Red Devils team was filled with passion and eagerness for victory. Charlton later recalled, "There was fire in our eyes and our blood was boiling. For a moment I was trembling all over and was so excited that I couldn't speak."

This final was a spectacular one.

The singing of the Red Devils fans resounded throughout Wembley Stadium. The Red Devils launched an attack at the beginning of the game, hoping to overwhelm Benfica with their momentum. Benfica was experienced and although they were passive, they did not panic. They carefully protected the goal and played a steady defense and attacking tactics, keeping the score 0-0 until the halftime break.

The Red Devils quickly launched an attack after the start of the second half, catching the opponent off guard. Charlton cut into the penalty area and deceived the opponent's defender. Aston made a cross from the left, and Charlton, who was not marked, jumped high and headed the ball directly into the goal, giving the Red Devils the first goal!

The commentator at the scene joked nervously, "Charlton's header was just right. If he had more hair, he would have headed the ball away!"

The lagging Benfica team attacked fiercely and launched multiple rounds of counterattacks. "Black Panther" Eusebio's personal ability is superb. He dribbled past the opponent, broke through, inserted at high speed, shot... and became the biggest pressure in the Red Devils' defense. Although Stiles tried his best to guard, he still couldn't stop Eusebio. After missing a long shot at the beginning of the first half and hitting the crossbar, Eusebio also created two chances to kill the Red Devils before the end of the first half. After the Red Devils took the lead in the second half, Eusebio's attack became sharper. At the end of the second half, Eusebio dribbled into the Red Devils' hinterland, attracted the Red Devils' central defender and defensive midfielder, and then passed the ball. Benfica's Jaime Greca cleverly broke into the penalty area and shot an extremely tricky cold shot to score!

Benfica 1-1 Red Devils!

In the end, the two teams had no more scores in 90 minutes and went into overtime to decide the winner.

At the beginning of extra time, Benfica had physical problems. The Red Devils were unwilling to be tied by their opponents, so they rekindled their fighting spirit. The Red Devils quickly controlled the situation and gained the advantage. The extra time became a performance by Best, Brian Kidd and Charlton, who each scored a goal, and finally helped the Red Devils beat Benfica with a total score of 4-1.

Best said: "We have been thinking about this game all season. This victory is the best gift for Busby. To be honest, I didn't play very well. The opponent kept watching me for a long time and I could hardly move. But after extra time, I was suddenly free and scored a goal. I will never forget the old man's face and all the expressions on that face. Yes, I kept looking at him after I scored, and his excitement made me tremble. I looked at him specifically at the end of the game. At that time, there seemed to be a halo around him, which made people feel magical."

Although Aston did not score a goal, he repeatedly created opportunities and was a major contributor to the Red Devils' victory. Aston said after the game: "I have never felt so full of energy in my body. I seemed to have endless energy. I remember that I kept trying to speed up and compete with the opponent's defenders. I kept attacking them on the right and completely tore apart their defense. I think they must have studied Best. There were two guys who were always around him, but I was free because of this."

Aston said: "They couldn't defend Best or Charlton, and in the end, because of man-to-man marking, even my side's defensive system was completely messed up. Best played the opponent's players around, and kept passing them at the edge of the penalty area, almost breaking the opponent's defender's legs. My speed later became an advantage. I often passed the opponent with a single acceleration, and then it all depended on whether the cross was accurate or not."

The Red Devils won the Champions League trophy, the first Champions League title in their history.

The Red Devils fans sang "We are the champions, we are the Red Devils! We are the champions, the champions of Europe!"

Some fans even sang Busby's song: "Why are we so good? It's all because of you, Busby. Why can we win the championship? It's all because of Busby. Why can we beat our opponents? Because we have Busby!"

Singing, applause, laughter and cheers resounded through the sky. The entire Red Devils team was extremely excited. They welcomed Busby into the team, surrounded him, surrounded him, cheered for him, shared the joy of victory with him, held up the trophy with him, and accepted congratulations from all over the world together.

Amid the cheers of "Champions" and "Champions" from the fans, Busby's lips trembled and tears flowed down his cheeks. Busby bit his finger and dripped blood into the championship trophy. He then held the trophy high on the lawn of Wembley Stadium and saluted in the direction of Germany to pay tribute to the heroes of the Munich air crash.

Busby held the trophy high and called the names of the dead players over and over again, sharing this incomparable glory with them.

Suddenly, the whole stadium fell silent at that moment, and the Wembley Stadium with nearly 10 people seemed to be silent.

It was as if those heroic souls who had passed away had come to this great stadium and, together with countless Red Devils fans, were welcoming the supreme glory.

There was silence amid the noise, solemnity amid the shouting, sadness amid the happiness, and memorial service amid the glory. Busby was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, and the emotions that had been suppressed for so long were finally released.

The young team that Busby once created was wiped out in a plane crash, but ten years later he once again built a Red Devils team with the same temperament, courage and creativity, fulfilling his unfulfilled wish!

This is a classic, this is a legend, this is a miracle, this is Busby’s redemption, this is the glory of the Red Devils, and also the sorrow and tears of all the Red Devils!