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Published on February 2, 2008

Led by Matt Busby, the "Busy Babes" had entered the European Cup that season, against the wishes of the English Football Association, and had reached the semi-finals, for the second successive year.

With a young team and confidence at an all-time high, United began the 1957/58 season in good form and were challenging for three competitions when, on the afternoon of February 6, 1958, their world fell apart.

Their plane bringing them home from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade, having stopped to refuel in Munich, crashed as it attempted a third takeoff from a slushy runaway.

 A total of 23 people, two of whom died later in hospital, lost their lives, among them several journalists and club officials.

 Eight of the Busby Babes were killed   Roger Byrne, Geoff Bent, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Billy (Liam) Whelan, with Duncan Edwards losing his battle for survival 15 days later in hospital.

The 50th anniversary of the tragedy coincides with England's friendly match against Switzerland, at Wembley on Wednesday.

 Instead of a minute's silence the FA is worried that fans of other clubs will ruin the tribute by being noisy - images of players will be shown on screens before the game and players will wear black armbands as a mark of respect.

 Like the assassinations of American president John F Kennedy in November 1963 and that of former Beatle John Lennon in December 1980, everyone alive at the time seems to remember where they were when the Munich air disaster happened.

 Edwards, who was just 21, had already won 18 caps for England and had been tipped to become of the best players in the country, and it seemed that his loss and that of the other seven would leave United as a mere also-ran, cut down in their prime.

 But Busby, who himself suffered multiple serious injuries in the crash, to the extent that he was twice close to dying, had other ideas.

 The manager rebuilt the club over the next decade, signing the likes of George Best and Denis Law and United won the league again in 1965 and 1967, backed by a fan base that grew exponentially, in part, no doubt, due to the disaster.

 Playing a brand of football that was the envy of Europe's top sides, the culmination of the regeneration of the club came in 1968 when United beat Benfica to win the European Cup, with Bobby Charlton, one of two crash survivors to play in the final, lifting the trophy as captain, having scored two of United's goals in the 4-1 victory.

 David Gill, the club's chief executive, recently summed up the magnitude of the 1958 crash.

 "The Munich air crash was not just about Manchester United," he said. "It devastated the lives of the 23 families involved, as well as those who never played again, and united a city in grief.

 "Everyone knows where they were when the terrible news came through. It is a heavy responsibility that those who work for this great club and who live and work in this magnificent city have to show respect, admiration and regret for that loss some five decades ago."

   While the FA is not willing to risk interruption to a minute's silence in the England-Switzerland game, United are going ahead with their own commemorations.

 United play rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Feb 10   their closest match to the anniversary itself   and the United players will wear a similar style of shirt to that worn by the 1958 side.

 The club has also put up a memorial, featuring an image of the eight players who died in the crash.

 A permanent exhibition will also be unveiled in the South Stand tunnel - which will be renamed the Munich Tunnel - focusing both on the disaster and the rebuilding of the club.//dpa