ED WOODWARD delivered and emotional speech as Manchester United staff attended a ceremony to honour of the men that died in the Munich Air Disaster.
United players were travelling back from their European Cup match away to Red Star Belgrade on this date in 1958 when their aircraft crashed in Bavaria.
Eight players lost their lives and two would never play football again. Some 23 died altogether.
With United’s Europa League match being played at Partizan Belgrade’s ground in Serbia, where the 1958 match was actually played, Woodward led the tributes as United paid their respects to the men that died.
At the commemoration ceremony in Belgrade this morning, United executive vice-chairman Woodward said: It was incredibly important to come here and mark the occasion.
“As soon as the draw happened, our attention turned to wanting to remember those who lost their lives in 1958.
“This was the last place, on this very ground, against Red Star Belgrade, when they played as a team together before they got on that fateful plane to stop over in Munich and tragedy struck.
“So for us as a club, there is a game tonight but for us the trip is also important for remembering those who lost their lives and paying respects, which we have just done by laying the wreath.
This is only the second time since tragedy struck 61 years ago that United have played in Belgrade.
Representatives from the club and the Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation, as well as Sian Macleod, UK Ambassador to Serbia, gathered in the centre circle at the stadium to hear a short address commemorating those who lost their lives.
Club legends Bryan Robson and Mickey Thomas then laid down a wreath, before a minutes silence was held to remember the 23 people who were killed as a result of the disaster.
Former United and England captain Robson said: “You can feel the emotion. When you have been at the club for as long as we have, you get that history and you have met a lot of the families who have lost people in the Munich Air Disaster.
“I have even heard Bobby Charlton talk about the game when they were over here in 1958.
“It was supposed to be a great performance by the team and you can sense that when you come into the stadium.
The club thanks its friends at Partizan Belgrade and Uefa for facilitating this ceremony.
