The competition in which the club has had the most success is the European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League); they have won three European Cups, the first of which came in 1968; this win made them the first English club to win the European Cup. The other two victories came in 1999 and 2008. The club has also won the Cup Winners' Cup, which they won in 1991; the Super Cup, also won in 1991; and the Intercontinental Cup, which they won in 1999.
After their Champions League wins in 1999 and 2008, Manchester United also competed as UEFA's representatives at the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup. They were knocked out of the 2000 tournament at the group stage, but went on to win the 2008 competition, becoming the first English side to do so.
Following their league title win the previous season, Manchester United first competed in European football competition in the 1956–57 season. 1954–55 Football League winners Chelsea had been denied the opportunity to take part in the inaugural European Cup by The Football League's chairman Alan Hardaker, who feared that European football would damage the integrity of the English game. However, Matt Busby, the manager of Manchester United, was a forward-thinking man and was determined to have his team compete on the European stage. With the backing of The Football Association's chairman, Stanley Rous (who would later go on to become the president of FIFA), Manchester United were allowed to compete in the 1956–57 European Cup.
The club's first match in European competition was a European Cup preliminary round tie against Anderlecht at Parc Astrid in Brussels; Manchester United won the match 2–0 in front of 35,000 spectators. The return leg was played at Maine Road, the home of Manchester United's local rivals Manchester City, as United's stadium, Old Trafford, had not yet been fitted with the necessary floodlighting for evening games. The match finished as a 10–0 win for Manchester United, a result that still stands as the club's record win in all competitions. A long run in the European Cup followed, including wins over Borussia Dortmund and Athletic Bilbao and culminating with a semi-final tie against Real Madrid. The first leg took United to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, where they were defeated 3–1 in front of a record away crowd of 135,000 spectators. However, they were only able to draw 2–2 in the second leg back at Old Trafford, and the club's first European season came to an end as Real Madrid went on to record the second of their five consecutive European Cup titles.
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