Manchester United's quest to win the European Cup was forged admist the charred remains of an Elizabethan airliner that crashed on take off at Munich's Riem Airport on 6 February 1958. Twenty-three people died in the tragedy, including eight of the famous Busby Babes. From that moment manager Matt Busby's goal of winning the European Cup becam an obession that permeated the whole club. The prize of becoming the first English team to win the European Cup was United's Holy Grail. Ten years after the Munich disaster Busby achieved his dream when United - inspired by Bobby Charlton and George Best - beat Benfica 4-1 in extra time to lift the European Cup at Wemblet. Some felt the ghosts of Munich were there to witness the club's joy on that summer's evening in London. It seemed to be united's destiny finally to honour those who had lost their lives in pursuit of the gleaming silver trophy. But that triumph was to to hang over the club for the next 31 years as they failed to reach those height again. Alex Ferguson's arrival spawned a flood of trophies, but the European Cup - by then known as the Champions League - remained elusively outside their grasp.