Sir Bobby Charlton believes the spirit of the Busby Babes helped Man United to become the first English club to win the European Cup.
Busby Babes were the inspiration for 1968 European glory
Sir Bobby Charlton believes the spirit of the Busby Babes helped Manchester United to become the first English club to win the European Cup.
Ten years after the Munich air disaster, in 1968, United beat Benfica 4-1 in a performance that will live long in the memories of the club's faithful.
Charlton believes United's success at Wembley was a fitting tribute to those that lost their lives, while helping Sir Matt Busby's sense of responsibility for the tragic consequences of taking the club into Europe.
Tragedy and loss
"It was marvellous because winning the European Cup was something you could aim at to put things right in a way. The accident had happened, this great tragedy and loss," said Charlton.
"And if we could win the European Cup for Matt Busby because it was his team, his lads, it would be fantastic.
"When we won it, that was a big thank you really.
"I think Matt Busby could feel a lot happier because he probably missed the players more than anyone else. He felt responsible."
Busby thanks
Charlton is convinced, however, that United would have won the European Cup 10 years before they actually did if it had not been for Munich.
They had reached the semi-final in 1957 and one year later Charlton believes United could have wrecked one of sport's great feats, the one which saw Real Madrid win the European Cup five times in succession from its inaugural competition in 1956.
He added: "If the accident hadn't happened I think we would have won the European Cup that year.
"Real Madrid won the European Cup for the first five years, but we were never going to go backwards once we set off on this path to be the best in Europe.
"Yes we would have beaten them. We would have beaten Real Madrid."
