February 6th, 2008 marked the 50th death anniversary of the Lost Babes. On 06-02-1958, the plane carrying the team of Manchester United crashed on the runway in Munich. The team was coming home after drawing 3-3 in European Championship quarter final match against Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia. On that fateful day, 7 of the first team players died in the crash which included Roger Byrne, Geoff Bent, Tommy Taylor, David Pegg, Mark Jones, Eddie Colman and Liam Whelan. After fighting for 21 days, Duncan Edwards succumbed and whole England mourned. But fortunately for United, Matt Busby survived. He built a young team comprising the deadly trio Bobby Charlton-George Best-Dennis Law often called The Holy Trinity. They won the coveted European Championship in 1968 and Busby's dream was fulfilled.
Special events were held at Old Trafford to mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich tragedy. The South End Tunnel was renamed The Munich Tunnel. A free exhibition of Busby era was opened. MUTV Online was available free to all the netizens on that day and telecasted the events live. 4 days later an EPL match was scheduled against cross-town rivals Manchester City. United's players wore the kit of the 1950s similar to the one worn by the Busby Babes. One minute silence was held prior to the match. Removing all the doubts that City fans may disrupt it, the Blues were well behaved and observed the silence.
From the word go, City showed the urgency and the will to win which brought them 2 goals in the first half. United were nowhere near their best. Rooney and Evra had to sit out of the game as they picked their 5th yellow card in the previous match. City's defence dictated the terms for most part of the match. Ronaldo, who is in ominous form this season had yet another off-day. Hargreaves and Carrick were brought on in 2nd half, but Utd couldn't get that elusive goal. Though Carrick got a goal in 90th minute, it was too late for the champions and the City were deserved winners on the night when nothing went right for the Red Devils.
Man Utd slumped to their 1st home defeat of the season. Red Devils including me were heart broken. The last time Utd lost to City at Old Trafford was in 1974 when Dennis Law's goal sunk the home team's hopes of avoiding the relegation. After 38 years, City did a double on United (they won the earlier derby 1-0 at Maine Road). Arsenal extended the lead on the top of the table to 5 points. With only 12 more games left in the League, it is extremely difficult for Man Utd to bounce back and retain the title. But what hurt the most is that Utd lost on the 50th death anniversary of the Lost Babes. Accepted that Utd played shitty football and was nowhere near its best, but at least the big occasion should have spurred the Reds to win. Though Ferguson refuses to admit it, the players were overwhelmed by the occasion instead of getting inspired.
R.I.P Busby Babes. We owe you an apology.
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