100th anniversary of Old Trafford - in pictures

1911 FA Cup final replay 26 April 1911 Just over a year after the stadium opened, it hosted the 1911 FA Cup Final replay. Bradford City beat Newcastle United 1-0 thanks to a goal by J.H Speirs. The first game at Crystal Palace had ended 0-0 Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images Photograph: guardian.co.uk 1915 FA Cup final 24 April 1915 The first time the actual FA Cup final was staged at Old Trafford and the last final before football became regional because of WWI. Sheffield United defeated Chelsea 3-0 Photograph: Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photograph: Topical Press Agency/guardian.co.uk Luftwaffe bomb falls 11 March 1941 In the midst of World War II, the German air force, the Luftwaffe, destroyed Old Trafford to such an extent that it took until 1949 before it was reopened for football Photograph: Manchester Evening News Syndication Photograph: guardian.co.uk World Cup comes to Old Trafford 16 July 1966 Eventually knocked out in the semi-finals by hosts and eventual winners England, Portugal began their campaign with a 3-0 win. Eusebio scored Portugal’s second Photograph: PA Archive/Press Association Images Photograph: guardian.co.uk Manchester United manager Matt Busby holds the League Championship trophy aloft as Shay Brennan, Bill Foulkes, Tony Dunne, Pat Crerand, Alex Stepney celebrate Manchester United’s 1967 triumph Photograph: PA/PA Photograph: PA/guardian.co.uk George Best scores against Sheffield Wednesday. 1968 proved the the high point of the Northern Irish legend’s career as he was crowned European Player of the Year. Photograph: BTS Denis Law scores to relegate United 27 April 1974 United’s second highest goalscorer Denis Law scores for arch-rivals Manchester City with a now-famous back-heel. Law did not celebrate the goal which relegated United Photograph: Manchester Evening News Syndication Photograph: guardian.co.uk Bryan Robson signs on the pitch 3 October 1981 Prior to the Manchester United vs Wolves game future United legend Bryan Robson, complete with a full perm, complete his £1.5million transfer to Ron Atkinson’s side Photograph: Bob Thomas/Getty Images Photograph: guardian.co.uk Manchester United eliminate Barcelona from the European Cup Winners Cup 21 March 1984 After losing 2-0 at the Camp Nou, United looked set to be knocked out of the Cup Winners Cup. However, they won 3-0 at Old Trafford to knock out a Barcelona side that featured Diego Maradona Photograph: Trevor Jones/Getty Images Photograph: Trevor Jones/guardian.co.uk Bruce bonus for United 10 April 1993 Steve Bruce scores two towering headers in the last five minutes against Sheffield Wednesday to help propel Manchester United onto their first Premier League title in 26 years. Photograph: John Giles/PA Archive/Press Association Images Photograph: John Giles/guardian.co.uk Manchester United win Premier League 3 May 1993 Manchester United’s first league title in 26 years was celebrated at Old Trafford as Blackburn were defeated 3-1 Photograph: John Giles/PA Archive/Press Association Images Photograph: John Giles/guardian.co.uk Nigel Benn v Chris Eubank 9 October 1993 Possibly the greatest rivalry in British boxing culminated in Benn vs Eubank II, a WBC-WBO super-middleweight title unification fight. 42,000 watched as the bitter rivals battled to a draw Photograph: Action Images Photograph: guardian.co.uk United beat arch-rivals City 5-0 10 November 1994 An Andrei Kanchelskis hat-trick and goals by Mark Hughes and Eric Cantona helped United avenge a 5-1 defeat in 1989, Alex Ferguson’s self-confessed “most embarrassing defeat” Photograph: Action Images Photograph: guardian.co.uk Eric Cantona returns from ban 1 October 1995 Following an eight-month ban for his infamous ‘kung-fu kick’ at Selhurst Park, Cantona returned to torment Liverpool, assisting a Nicky Butt goal and scoring a penalty in a 2-2 draw Photograph: John Giles/PA Archive/Press Association Images Photograph: John Giles/guardian.co.uk European Championship semi-final 26 June 1996 The Czech Republic booked their place in the final with a narrow win on penalties against France, hours before England were knocked out by eventual winners Germany Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Images Photograph: Mark Thompson/guardian.co.uk Manchester United knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup 24 January 1999 A few months short of his famous late goal in the European Cup final, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knocked Liverpool out of the fourth round in stoppage time with a trademark finish. United won 2-1 after going behind to an early Michael Owen goal and Sir Alex Ferguson later reflected that beating Liverpool at Old Trafford gave them the momentum to go on and win the Treble Photograph: Action Images Photograph: guardian.co.uk Manchester United win League on the last day of the season 16 May 1999 Needing a victory to prevent Arsenal stealing the title, United fought back from 1-0 down against Tottenham to win 2-1 and win the Premier League Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Photograph: Shaun Botterill/guardian.co.uk Rugby League World Cup final 25 November 2000 New Zealand had surprised a few with their form in the early stages of the tournaments and had been tipped to upset the favourites, Australia. Nonetheless the Kangaroos prevailed over their southern hemisphere rivals 40-12 to seal their sixth successive world crown Photograph: Max Nash/AP Photograph: Max Nash/guardian.co.uk Beckham sends England to the World Cup 6 October 2001 Seconds from losing to Greece and missing out on the 2002 World Cup, England won a free-kick on the edge of the area. David Beckham scored a trademark free-kick in injury time to save England’s qualification bid Photograph: Tom Jenkins Photograph: guardian.co.uk Uefa Champions League final 28 May 2003 The first final between two Italian clubs, Juventus and Milan, ends with Milan winning 3-2 on penalties, after a dull match dominated by the defensive prowess of each side Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Guardian Sir Matt Busby’s statute surveys the Manchester United empire from it’s Old Trafford perch in 2004 Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Guardian A new fans record 31 March 2007 A total of 76,098 fans attend Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers to set a new attendance record for the Premier League at an all-seater stadium Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images Photograph: John Sibley/guardian.co.uk Rooney gets the season off to a good start 16 August 2009 Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring United’s first goal of the 2009/2010 season. Will 2010 see not only Old Trafford’s 100th anniversary but also United winning the title for a record 19th time? Photograph: Tom Purslow/Man Utd via Getty Images Photograph: Tom Purslow/guardian.co.uk