It was a gigantic duel of two super teams; one side were led by Mitic and Sekularac, while Edwards and Charlton led the other. Unfortunately, it was the last match of Busby’s Babes, who would perish the next day in an aeroplane crash at Munich airport
Crvena Zvezda played Manchester United in the quarterfinal of the third European Cup in the season 1957/58.
On their way to the quarterfinals, Zvezda eliminated Stade Dudelange from Luxembourg (5-0 in an away game and 9-1 in a home game, which is the most convincing European victory in the history of the club), and then a Swedish club Norrköping (2-2 in Sweden, 2-1 in Belgrade), while Manchester eliminated the Irish Shamrock Rovers (6-0, 3-2) and Dukla Prague (3-0, 0-1).
The crowd were expecting great duels between legendary Rajko Mitic and young Bobby Charlton, incredible Dragoslav Ðekularac and the best player in England’s history Duncan Edwards, and finally, between a great striker Tommy Taylor and the best European goalkeeper Vladimir Beara.
The first match was played at Old Trafford on 14 January 1958 and the hero of the game was Beara, whose great saves helped Zvezda to finish the first half with a clean sheet, while Tasic gave them a 1-0 lead.
The home team succeeded in reversing the score in the second half, as Coleman and Charlton scored for the final 2-1.
The return match was scheduled for 5 February and it took place at JNA Stadium in front of 52,000 spectators. The start was shocking – after 90 seconds Dennis Viollet scored, Charlton’s goal on 15 minutes was disallowed for offside, but the future world champions managed to produce two goals in three minutes and the first half ended 0-3.
The second half brought a fantastic turn of events. Already on 47 minutes Kostic scored and 8 minutes later, after a duel with Fox, Tasic was given a penalty kick and converted it, while Cosic missed an opportunity to kick the ball into an empty goal.
Morgans strike hit the post and in 88th minute Manchester goalkeeper Gregg raced beyond the penalty box holding the ball in his hands. Bora Kostic took advantage of a situation and equalized. Zvezda was just a goal away from the third match, but there was no time to completely reverse the score and so Manchester went through to the semi-finals.
Although they fought a fierce battle on the pitch, the players of the two teams were on exceptionally good terms with each other and they spent the evening after the game together at the Majestic Hotel in Belgrade, making arrangements for a new match.
Only some of the players of the English side would live to see that match, as their plane would crash into a house at the end of a runway in Munich on 6 February 1958, at 3 pm. 21 people would die on the spot and many of the players who would survive the accident would never play on such a level as they had played before. 
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50 years ago today, on 6 February 1958, a plane carrying Manchester United players home after the second leg European Cup quarterfinal with Crvena Zvezda crashed in Munich. 21 lives were ended immediately and two other men suffered injuries that were later to claim their lives in hospital. Eight of the Busby’s Babes perished in this disaster, including Duncan Edwards, the team’s most talented player.
On 5 February 1958, Manchester United played a spectacular match in the second leg European Cup quarterfinal that ended in a 3-3 draw, and the English side went through to the semi-finals thank to their previous 2-1 victory at home. The players of the two clubs and a great number of journalists from Belgrade and Manchester spent the evening after the game socializing in the Majestic hotel and Skadarlija restaurant in Belgrade.
The two groups took leave of each other as close companions, with a promise to keep up their friendship and to keep the closeness between their clubs for future generations.
The English party set off for England the next day by plane. On their way back home, the BEA flight 609 made a scheduled refuelling stop in Munich. It was exceptionally cold and the city was covered with snow, including the Munich-Reim airport runway, as the plane made two abortive attempts to take off. The plane crew even considered postponing the flight until the next day, so that some of the players telegraphed home warning that they were likely to be detained overnight.
However, the pilots made a fatal decision to make another attempt to take off. At 3.04 pm, the plane was on the runway again. It managed to leave the ground and then a disaster happened. At the end of the runway, the plane failed to gain adequate height and crashed into a fence surrounding the airport and then its wing and tail collided into a house. The ****pit crashed into a tree, while the other wing collided into a wooden shed full of fuel and tires which exploded on impact.
When the survivors composed themselves after a few moments, they faced a horrible sight.
The back part of the plane was gone. Bill Fox and Harry Gregg aided the other survivors and dragged Bobby Charlton, Matt Busby and some of their remaining team-mates and passengers clear of the wreckage.
Seven Manchester United players died on the spot – Rodger Byrne, Geoff Bent, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Liam Whelan, Eddie Colman and Tommy Taylor. Three club officials also perished - Walter Crickmer (secretary), Bert Whalley (chief-coach) and Tom Curry (trainer).
Only one of the nine journalists who were in Belgrade with the club survived, while a steward, a travel agent, and a supporter complete the list of those who died immediately.
Duncan Edwards died 15 days later in the Rechts der Isar Hospital in Munich, while three weeks after the crash the co-pilot, Ken Rayment, also lost his fight for life. Johnny Barry and manager Matt Busby survived, but Berry never played football again, just like Jackie Blanchflower who suffered a fractured pelvis and crushed kidneys in the crash.
Seven players stayed with Matt Busby who would return to the team bench later that season. They would be the backbone of the team that would play in the FA Cup final that season. Over the next 10 years, a Scottish manager would manage to produce another Busby’s Babes generation, led by Bobby Charlton. In 1968, that team would become the first English side to win the European Champions’ Cup.
6 February will forever remain a very important date for Manchester United and their supporters, and as a sign of remembrance of those who had died in Munich, the club added a third colour to their standard red and white kit – black, usually worn on socks.
The Munich tragedy brought together Manchester United and Crvena Zvezda and created a strong emotional relationship between Serbian football fans and the club of Old Trafford, a relationship that still exists, strengthened by former Zvezda captain Nemanja Vidi¿’s presence in Manchester United squad. And more about cooperation
Crvena Zvezda delegation, namely the president of the club Toplica Spasojevic, the secretary-general Zoran Damjanovic and the president of the Veterans’ Association Vladica Damjanoviã, attended the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest tragedies in the history of football in Manchester on Wednesday.
On 6 February 1958, the plane carrying Manchester United players crashed into a fence at Munich airport in third attempt to take off. Seven players of the famous Busby’s Babes generation that were returning home from Belgrade after playing Crvena Zvezda perished in the crash.
Crvena Zvezda delegation was given a great publicity at both the commemoration at Old Trafford and a dinner that followed. This was an opportunity to confirm good relationship between two football giants.
”We talked about many aspects of the future cooperation of the two clubs with Manchester United representatives. Manager Sir Alex Fergusson emphasized that our coaches who wanted to come to England for further education would be made welcome. The proposition concerning friendly matches between Crvena Zvezda, Manchester United and Bayern Munich was met with approval and we’ll surely discuss it in near future. We are exceptionally glad that our gift to Manchester United ended in one of the most prominent places in their trophy hall, and that describes best the strength of the bond between the two clubs,” Crvena Zvezda president Toplica Spasojevic said.
Vladica Popovic used the occasion to reminisce about unforgettable games back in 1958.
”It was a fantastic Manchester United generation. I still remember the matches we played in Manchester and Belgrade. Crvena Zvezda veterans maintain a close contact with their Manchester United peers and I’m very glad we met again here. One of the greatest generations in the history of football was decimated in Munich, but Manchester United remained standing and they are in the very top of world football today. That shows their strength and we should all look up to that,” Vladica Popovic said.
