The Tactical Intelligence Of Matt Busby In 1968

On this day in 1968, United won their first European Cup

On this day in 1968, Manchester United won their first European Cup. It was the culmination of the most tragic and romantic story in football.

Ten years after the Munich Air Disaster which killed many players and officials, United recovered to compete at the highest level. They did so thanks to the tireless work of Jimmy Murphy, the heroic contribution of survivors Harry Gregg, Bill Foulkes, Bobby Charlton, Kenny Morgans and Albert Scanlon, and the unsung sacrifice made by youngsters who made a step too soon but gave so much - such as Alex Dawson and Mark Pearson.

When Matt Busby was well enough to return to his job, he set upon the long road of transition, first bringing in an assortment of top stars and then integrating a new batch of prodigious talent into the team. Denis Law, Paddy Crerand and David Herd were the expensive signings which lit up the 1963 FA Cup - but David Sadler, Nobby Stiles, John Aston and George Best were breaking through from the production line.

Title wins in 1965 and 1967 gave Busby chances at the trophy he coveted more than any other - the European Cup. An agonising semi-final defeat to Partizan Belgrade in 1966 was attributed to an injury to George Best. Two years was a long time - but United finally got over the line when they faced fabled foes Real Madrid in the 1968 semi final. When Bill Foulkes strode into the Real penalty box to make it 3-3 in the second leg, it was one of the most romantic goals in the club’s history.

United were drawn against Benfica in the final. They were favourites, not least because Best had eviscerated them in their own backyard in 1966 in his seminal arrival moment.

Indeed, it seemed like the club’s biggest opponent was the millstone of history they’d been dragging around for a decade. That’s how it was for United, and has perhaps since been, destined to compete on a pitch of their own where the shadows of the past loom large. When you hear Benni McCarthy, a coach at the club in recent times, speak about the intellectual struggle some of the players of this generation feel with representing Manchester United, you can appreciate the emotional pressure and context that those players were facing back in 1968. Munich was never spoken of, but it was constantly a part of the club’s composition.

Moreover, it spoke to that intangible quality of the club, that something extra that makes you fall in love with it. And, that something extra which for so long almost counted against Busby getting the true respect he deserved. His genial way made him a soccer statesman before the crash but the events of 1958 turned him into an uncomfortable public personality.

A counter-effect from that was that he was seen as a charismatic force rather than a footballing mastermind, or a great tactician. It was this, and the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson faced a similar reputation, which inspired me to write Football, Taught By Matt Busby. Two men who could have their own claim to be the greatest manager of all time shared one negative in the eyes of the general public - they weren’t renowned as great tacticians. Not in the way of a Mourinho or a Sacchi, nor in a philosophical way like a Cruyff or a Guardiola.

The fact that the evidence demonstrated they had all that nous but were flexible enough to match most opponents was lost by most investigators, but then, most people who chose to do the research didn’t spend a decade like I did, talking to everyone I could about it, dedicating my time solely to the tactical and philosophical history of one club.

The events of May 29, 1968, were a spiritual triumph for Manchester United. Munich survivor Bobby Charlton scored twice, the greatest player in the world, George Best, scored the decisive goal, and Brian Kidd, a local lad on his 19th birthday, scored the other in a 4-1 win.

What is lost to most is the tactical genius in that side - the flexibility demonstrated by Busby to ensure there was no way United could lose the final.

Line up

Stepney

Brennan Foulkes Sadler Dunne

Stiles

Crerand Charlton

Best Kidd Aston

The team lined up as a 4-3-3 on the television graphics but the adaptability of it was outrageous.

First, in Stepney, United had a goalkeeper comfortable with the ball at his feet and not only adept at starting attacks, he was alert to spotting opportunities to do so.

Brennan and Dunne could change sides if need be and play in either full-back position. Bill Foulkes had played at full-back in the earlier days of his career but was one of the few pinned players in the side - you knew he would play centre back, although that didn’t mean he wouldn’t drift, as he had done in Spain.

David Sadler was a dream for Busby. He was a player of premium intelligence, capable of playing in defence and attack. It meant in Sadler, the manager had a player who could change this formation from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-4 at a moment’s notice. It also enabled Sadler to drift, as he did when he set up the opening goal, generations before Harry Maguire was earning tongue-in-cheek praise for crossing like a maestro in big European games.

Stiles had often been the second-centre half alongside Foulkes, even though he had started his career at inside-forward. In the final, he was given one task - follow Eusebio and stop him as often as you can. If he hadn’t had Eusebio to track. Stiles could easily have settled alongside Crerand, too, as a holding midfielder.

Crerand was a metronomic figure in the middle - the play flowed through him and it was often through the Scot that the pace of United’s quickened or slowed down. In the years before this final, Bobby Charlton had played at inside forward and outside left, but he had matured into one of the most responsible and effective players in the game. In the World Cup Final of 1966, Charlton had done a patrolling job on Franz Beckenbauer which influenced the pattern of the match. Against Benfica, Stiles’ job meant Charlton could deploy his considerable attacking threat.

George Best, the team’s wild card, played at outside right, even though he played the match in something of a free role. That required the ultimate of discipline from Brian Kidd. Kidd was filling in for Denis Law, who had his own tendency to drop back and join in the play - but the youngster knew that when Best roamed on this stage, he would have to fill in the spaces.

The final player who, alongside Foulkes and Crerand was probably the most fixed outfielder, was John Aston. He was told to run Adolfo, the Benfica right-back, ragged, and give the full-back a dribbling threat that the opponents felt only existed in Best. He was so fantastic in this role he won the man of the match.

Three of the goals were scored exploiting this tactical versatility. Sadler’s aforementioned cross after he had progressed into a left wing role was headed in masterfully by Charlton after a late run in to the box. Best had drifted infield from the left - having started the game on the right - to take control of Stepney’s opportunistic punt up the pitch, nutmeg his marker, round the goalkeeper and score. And, as Best continued to drift, Kidd dropped wide in the move that ended with Charlton’s outstanding shot into the far corner.

Busby might have been perceived as the kindly grandfather of football. He may well have been that. But he was more besides. His philosophy of football had been developed by watching the interchanging work of the Brazilian players and Hungarians long before the Match of the Century in 1953. But you can read about all that in Football, Taught By Matt Busby.

Through his, and Jimmy Murphy’s education of the players, he had created positionally-flexible and adaptable individuals who were able to change at a moment’s notice. Their familiarity with each other developed through years of playing together brought the synchronicity associated with the greatest United sides - a trait introduced by Busby’s way of doing things.

The tactical innovation of Busby’s side in the European Cup Final on this day in 1968 was one of the greatest triumphs in English football history. Intellectually, as well as spiritually.