Manchester United will play our 100th game in the Europa League when we take on Athletic Club in Bilbao this Thursday.
The competition has been through several transformations over the years and it was during its initial guise, as the Fairs Cup, that we made our debut.
During the 1964/65 season, the Reds eliminated Sweden’s Djurgardens, Borussia Dortmund, Everton and Strasbourg en route to a semi-final with Ferencvaros, who ultimately beat us in a play-off in Budapest, following wins for each side on home soil.
By the time we were next involved in the tournament, it had been brought under the umbrella of European football’s governing body and was known as the UEFA Cup.
Although the European Cup was the blue-riband event, as it was contested solely by champions of domestic leagues (and the holders), the UEFA Cup was often regarded as more difficult to win, as multiple teams could enter from the top countries.
The FA Cup triumphs of 1977, 1983, 1985 and 1990 resulted in us playing in the Cup-Winners’ Cup the following season, but we also featured in the UEFA Cup several times due to high league placings.
United were involved in 1976, after finishing third upon promotion back to the top flight, under Tommy Docherty, beating Ajax but losing to Juventus.
We also made it in 1980 (second in the First Division) and 1982 (third) but fell at the first hurdle to Widzew Lodz and Valencia respectively.
European football was becoming a common occurrence under Ron Atkinson and United looked well placed to go the distance in 1984/85, especially after overcoming PSV Eindhoven and a Dundee United side that had been European Cup semi-finalists earlier that year.
Many would have fancied us to add Hungarian outfit Videoton to the list of vanquished opponents, but the Szekesfehervar club took us all the way to penalties – a club first – and held their nerve, on the way to an eventual final meeting with Real Madrid.
United have missed out on Europe altogether just once since a five-year ban on English clubs was lifted in 1990, but our domestic dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson and then the expansion of the European Cup, as it became the Champions League, meant the UEFA Cup was rarely a concern.
After Rotor Volgograd beat us on away goals in 1995 – Peter Schmeichel’s famous late goal proving not enough on that evening – it would be 17 years until we next took part, by which time the UEFA Cup had evolved into the Europa League.
The competition increasingly began to reflect its more prestigious cousin, incorporating a league format prior to Christmas.
Teams finishing third in the Champions League groups would join for the knockouts in the new year, which is how United were reintroduced in 2012 and then 2016.
Athletic Club and Liverpool put paid to our hopes under Ferguson and Louis van Gaal, meaning we were still looking to add the final piece of silverware to the Old Trafford cabinet.
Jose Mourinho was the manager to end the wait, as United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League under Van Gaal ultimately proved to have a silver lining.
The Reds emerged from a group containing Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk and then beat Saint-Etienne, Rostov, Anderlecht and Celta Vigo to set up a mouthwatering final with Ajax in Stockholm, won 2-0 through goals from Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Although the Champions League is still a target each season, United have always been competitive in Europe’s secondary tournament, losing just five of the 45 games we’ve played in it since that solitary triumph.
Ominously ahead of our rendezvous with the Basques, it has been La Liga sides who have put paid to our hopes, with Sevilla knocking us out at the semi-final stage in 2020, when the competition climaxed behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The following season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was denied a European trophy as manager by Villarreal and their unerring ability from the spot in a shootout, while Sevilla eliminated us in 2023, on their way to a record-extending seventh success in the competition.
The Andalusians are, fortunately, not involved this time around but, with San Mames also hosting this year’s final on 21 May, Athletic Club will be a significant obstacle for Ruben Amorim and the Reds, as we look to rediscover the winning formula.
COMPLETE RECORD
Fairs Cup: P11 W6 D3 L2 F29 A10
UEFA Cup: P20 W6 D10 L4 F19 A14
Europa League: P68 W40 D16 L12 F141 A65
Total: P99 W52 D29 L18 F179 A89