March 13, 2007, held a special match to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and Manchester United’s participation in European competition. The Treaty of Rome brought together various European nations and became a foundation for a future European Union. This treaty was signed in 1957. That same year, Manchester United became England’s first team to participate in a European competition. These two factors led to the match hosted at Old Trafford.
The Match
The UEFA Celebration match was played between a current Manchester United squad (plus Andy Cole) and a Europe XI. The Europe XI consisted of players from ten nations, and included stars like Iker Casillas, Andrea Pirlo, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The match certainly lived up to the occasion, as Manchester United secured a 4-3 win over the Europe XI. The Reds’ goals’ were scored by Wayne Rooney (2), Wes Brown, and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Europe XI’s goals came from Lyon’s Florent Malouda and Bolton’s El Hadji Diouf (2).
Impact
Sir Alex Ferguson hailed the match as he said, “It was fantastic. All the players were relaxed, and it’s amazing when you play without pressure, they can enjoy themselves so much. For everyone who attended the game, it was a really good night. It was good that there were so many young people here. Ticket prices were good for young people, and it was good to see some really good football also.” As Ferguson stated, the ticket prices were low and allowed a lot of families and kids to enjoy an incredible match at Old Trafford.
The match also raised $1.6 million for the Manchester Foundation.
Events like the UEFA Celebration Match are an example of how football brings people together and the importance of football in Europe. As a way to celebrate a monumental event in European history, football was chosen to show the unity of the continent. The match was a huge success and had an impact far beyond the pitch. Maybe there will be another at the New Old Trafford in 2057…
United Beyond Manchester 
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