Carrick emphasizes the importance of the Munich air disaster for Man United’s history

Michael Carrick said his Manchester United players must understand “the history” of the Munich air disaster as the club prepares to mark the 68th anniversary of the tragedy.

The United team were on their way back from a European Cup win over Partizan Belgrade when their plane crashed in Munich after a refueling stop, killing 23, including 11 players and staff of the English giants.

Carrick made the comments at the pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Tottenham on Thursday, moving forward a day so as not to coincide with Friday’s service at Old Trafford to mark the disaster.

“As soon as you come to this club you are informed and you can’t help but know and understand the history,” said Carrick, who has served United as a player, coach and manager.

“I think it’s a responsibility that when you work here, play here, coach, that you understand what’s ahead of us, and the behaviors and responsibilities that we have to carry out.

“Munich is probably the biggest part of the history of this club in terms of the tragedy itself, how the team and the football club came back from it and then went on to success, and everything continued from there.”

Carrick has had a dream start to his reign with three consecutive victories over Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham.

The former Middlesbrough boss has the luxury of plenty of time on the training ground, with United set to play just 40 games this season – the lowest since the 1914/15 season.

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That has opened up the possibility of staging friendlies for cash, with a trip to Saudi Arabia possible in the coming months.

There are no plans for the 13-day break after next week’s trip to West Ham.

But there are also gaps in the fixture list in March and April, which could see United fly to the Middle East to make up for some of the lost revenue from not playing in Europe this season.

“We are aware of the schedule and there are spaces, if you like, that we can use in different ways,” Carrick added. “So it’s all up for debate at this point.”

Published on February 5, 2026