MAY 29th

It was 47 years to the day of the Benfica (1) v Manchester United (4) match in the European Cup Final (29th May 1968), that the "Protest" club, FC United of Manchester, founded in 2005, following the "Glazier" intervention at Old Trafford, played its own celebratory match at their home Broadhurst Park against a "Benfica" Squad.

The two clubs have met in European competition 11 times, with United winning 8 and drawing 1.
Over 4,000 watched FC United lose 0-1 in what almost certainly wasn't as good a game as the original. It did mark the "opening" of the new FC United stadium. Next aim for FCU, Football League status!

On the same day, in 2019, Arsenal met Chelsea in a London derby in the Europa League Cup Final, 5,000 miles away at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, (a country that has never hosted an Olympic event/games). Azerbaijan, is in Asia of course, though the host country does play in UEFA competitions, some how.
So why not drag a small crowd of English supporters along to join in with some laddish locals, given cheap seats and a number of collar and tie invitees paying nothing, to see Chelsea win 4-1.

18 days after the "Bradford City Stadium Fire" (11 May), there was another disaster at the Heysel Stadium, Brussels in 1985. An old, decrepit stadium, chosen by UEFA as a neutral venue, for the European Cup Final, which suffered from poor organisation and rioting fans who contributed to 39 deaths and 600+ injuries. The game was not abandoned for fear of further rioting. The result is irrelevant, though Juve won 1-0.