Back to the Manchester United Newsfeed

How the Munich air disaster put the rivalry between Manchester City and Manchester United to one side and brought the city together

The rivalry between Manchester’s two clubs has reached new heights in recent times but it is pertinent to remember a meeting of 10 years ago.

In 2008 United and City played at Old Trafford on the 50th anniversary of the Munich tragedy.

City won the game but that didn’t really matter. Both teams, wearing kits shorn of advertising and player names — and their supporters — marked the sombre occasion magnificently. City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson wrote to his fans asking for appropriate behaviour and they did not fail him.

Man United and City players on the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster at Old Trafford
Man United and City players on the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster at Old Trafford
Eight Manchester United players and three backroom staff died in a plane crash in 1958
Eight Manchester United players and three backroom staff died in a plane crash in 1958

It was a sad day but also strangely uplifting, a day to recognise the good in both clubs, a day to be proud of Manchester.