Manchester...United through sport & history

VISITING Manchester United's home is like a pilgrimage. Many stories and folklore have been connected with the football club that has outgrown the city and is known more for its famous two clubs - United and their rival City -- than anything else.

- FIROZ MIRZA

Though the hegemony of United's dominance is being challenged by City but the legend lives on.

Once you get off the tram at the Old Trafford Station, the first thing you see is the Old Trafford Cricket Stadium. But that's not the original Old Traf ford, at least that is what the football buffs claim.

In their bid to reach the original Old Trafford, they cross the cricketing facility, most of the time overlooking it, taking the Barlow Road towards the Hornby Road. Only a few steps later, one can see the Trafford Pub with a mural of the late Sir Bobby Charlton. Besides him, murals of other Manchester United legends, voted for by fans, have also been painted on the pub.

Opposite the pub are shops and the brick houses, which retain the character of the city.

One of such houses also has a flex in remembrance of those players and support staff killed in the air crash. Once you reach the venue, a bronze statue of late Sir Busby, erected in 1996, stands on the exterior of the East Stand, overlooking Sir Matt Busby Way.

One has to walk past the Megastore Entrance towards Sir Alex Ferguson Stand to seek an appointment for the tour of the club and museum.

Once done, you can enter Manchester Suit and go to level 3 to join the group of enthusiastic fans waiting for tour to begin.

Old Trafford has been United's home since 1910. But the iconic venue was completely destroyed during the second World War II when Germans bombed Manchester. Except for the players' tunnel, the stadium was razed to the ground.