Premier League Team Profiles: Manchester United

Every week, I have been introducing each team in the Premier League. The Premier League consists of 20 different teams, so each week, I profile each one and share some key information about them.

"At Man United, we strive for perfection, but if we fail, we might just have to settle for excellence." - Sir Matt Busby, 1945-1969 Manager

Manchester United was founded in 1878, but were officially named 'Manchester United' in 1902. They are known as the Red Devils as a reference to the devil that lays on the crest on their jerseys. The club is based in Manchester, England and is housed in Old Trafford (also known as the Theatre of Dreams). Their homeground can hold a capacity of 74,140 people. The reds were one of the founding members of the Premier League.

United are the most successful English football (soccer) teams in history. They have a total of 20 League Cups, 12 FA Cups and three European (Champions League) Cups. They also are the only team in history to have earned themselves the Treble- three titles in one season-including the Premier League title, FA Cup and European Cup. 1999 was a spectacular year for the Red Devils and their thousands (maybe millions) of fans. After many rough patches in the beginning, they took the lead and were unstoppable. Manchester United fans will forever remember this remarkable season. The team that led the club to this win will also go down in history as legends. Some include: Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Peter Schmeichel, Andy Cole, Dwight York, Gary and Phil Neville. There are also some names that came out of Manchester United that anyone outside the football world would know: David Beckham, Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and arguably, Zlatan Ibrahimovic . With its substantial endowment, Manchester United continues to produce world class players. The current squad includes Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, David De Gea, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba, who are all known for their impressive personal stats as well as their abilities to shape the outcome of matches.

Of course these players are quite exceptional in their own right, but some credit must also be given to their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who effectively puts together each lineup so that the players all complement each other. Ole was a Manchester United player himself from 1996 to 2007 which makes him one of the legendary players from the '99 season. Even though he was not one to start in matches, he was United's secret weapon as he is sometimes referred to as "the deadly substitute" and "the baby-faced assassin."

"It's Fergie time!" The most successful, trophy-winning manager in Premier League history is Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson. Fergie reigned from 1993 to 2013 and in those 20 years, won a whopping 13 titles. He is known for his great leadership skills which, while slightly scary and intimidating at times, was what the players needed to achieve results. "Fergie time" refers to any added time to matches. People say he could sometimes intimidate the referees and almost control how much added time there would be. These extra minutes were crucial as United is notorious for scoring goals and securing wins at the very last moment.

Even with the very long standing rivalry between the neighboring clubs: Manchester United and Manchester City, historically the United community have a deep rooted feud with Liverpool. Also, United being as successful as they are, most teams have some sort of "beef" with the club because they want to dethrone them.

Last season, the Red Devils finished in third place on the table. The beginning of this season was definitely unlike any United season ever. You can tell how crazy 2020 is when you see Manchester United in the lower half of the table for weeks on end. Thankfully, they have upped their game and landed themselves in first place (where, according to their history, they belong) with 11 wins and four draws and losses.