"Manchester United" and Madrid's "Real" clubs should feel a huge aversion towards each other: the socialists, who were respected at the "Stretford End" tribunes, supported by Spanish dictator Franco, destroyed the "Red Devils" club academy. Who can forget the words of long-time "Manchester United" coach Sir Alex Ferguson when Madrid's "Real" acquired one of the brightest stars of the planet Cristiano Ronaldo from them: "money organization" and "virus". The relationship between these teams improved after Jose Mourinho opened the doors of Madrid's "Real" club. However, the most important history of friendship between these clubs consists of two people - the first "Real" president Santiago Bernabeu, after whom the stadium was named, where the first match with "Man Utd" took place, and the manager of the latter team Sir Matt Busby. The story of these two men is revealed in John Ludden's book "A Tale of Two Cities: Manchester and Madrid 1957-1968". The author of the book revealed that he was shocked by the rivalry of these two clubs in modern football. He said: "You know, when you look back at history and find out what Madrid's 'Real' did to 'Man United' after the Munich tragedy, it's just unbelievable." The friendship between Bernabeu and Busby began in 1957 when "United" was not yet the most famous European club. It all started from the semifinals of the European Cup, in which "Real" triumphed with a total score of 5-3, but the superb performance of the "Man Utd" team in the return leg, which ended in a 2-2 draw, earned respect from Santiago Bernabeu. The president of Madrid's "Real" club remained so impressed by the spirit and quality of the young "United" team after those matches that he even offered Busby a coaching job after them, but Busby was so dedicated to the Manchester team that he wanted to achieve success only with "United", so he rejected the offer. Ten months later, the "Man United" team suffered a huge tragedy - exactly 60 years ago on that day, the plane trying to take off from Munich airport, with the entire Manchester team, had an accident in which eight footballers, three members of the coaching staff, and 10 other people died. The team had just won the quarterfinals of the European Cup, so Sir Busby's great dream of conquering Europe that season remained unfulfilled. Three months later, the "Man United" team entered the first match, but in the semifinals, they fell to the "Milan" team, which fell 3-2 in the final after a competitive battle against Madrid's "Real." Santiago Bernabeu dedicated this victory in the final to his good friend's club, and to honor all the deceased, he even offered to accept the trophies, but "United" refused this opportunity. If this offer from Madrid's "Real" team was more symbolic, the offer made in the 1958-59 season shocked the entire football community - Real offered to lease the biggest football star of that year, Alfredo Di Stefano, to the "United" team for the season. The author of the aforementioned book, J. Ludden, said that Bernabeu had already begun talking with the player himself, but the "United" club said during the lease that both clubs would pay half the player's salary. However, this deal was not meant to happen - the FA blocked the transfer with the motive that such a deal could take away the opportunity from a potentially England-qualified player. Without the completion of this support, Santiago Bernabeu did not stop there. He sought various other help and found it - he created a memorial flag with the names of all the deceased in Munich, called it "Champions of Honor," and announced its sale in Spain to raise money for the United club. In addition, many of those injured in the disaster, after rehabilitation, received an offer to live in luxury apartments in Madrid completely for free. Through friendly matches, the two teams raised a considerable amount of money. "Man United" had to release a lot of money after this tragedy, so financially it affected the entire organization of the club. Holding such friendly matches cost the "Real" club an average of £12,000, but Bernabeu immediately stated that "Man Utd" could contribute as much as they were capable of. However, all of these friendly matches were not just for "Man United" to recover financially. As J. Ludden writes in his book, "United" could not even dream of playing in Europe, their main goal was to remain in the first division of English football: "Busby's idea was to retain hope for the players and supporters that they would still play in the European Cup. The opportunity to compete against players like Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas would give 'Man United' players the experience to be able to return to that tournament." The first friendly match between "Man Utd" and "Real" at "Old Trafford" stadium ended with a victory for the guests from Madrid with a score of 6-1. 63 thousand spectators had the opportunity to witness top-level football from Di Stefano, Puskas, and Gento. The next month, 80 thousand spectators saw an even more impressive match between the two teams - the meeting ended with a score of 6-5 in favor of the "whites" in Madrid. That evening a charity event was held in Madrid, where all the money collected was distributed to the families of the deceased on the plane. Santiago Bernabeu himself also participated in the event, stating that Busby was not only the bravest but also the most amazing person he has ever met in football." In the friendly matches that took place in October 1960, there were many doubts about the performance of Puskas and Di Stefano on the field. Bernabeu immediately told his friend Busby that they could cancel the match, but the latter refused this possibility, saying that "Madrid had become like a family to him." Puskas and Di Stefano then took to the pitch and played such great matches that "Real" triumphed again with a score of 3-2. "Man United" took steps towards better results, and in November 1961, "Real" fell for the first time against the "Red Devils" - a victory with a score of 3-1. A month later, "United" added another victory - at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, the opponents were defeated with a score of 2-0. That season, Manchester returned to their lost places - they triumphed in the FA Cup, which was their first won trophy after the Munich tragedy. In 1968, what Busby had been waiting for all his life finally happened - more than 10 years after the rebuilt team, "United" triumphed in the semi-finals of the European Cup, defeating the same "Real". "If there had to be something there, I am very proud that it was them," Santiago Bernabeu kindly said, becoming one of the reasons for "Manchester United" to rise again. The article was written based on the 2013 publication of "The Independent."
