first english team to play in european cup
English football clubs in international competitions The European Cup began in 1955–56, but there was no English representative during that inaugural season as reigning champions Chelsea had been persuaded to withdraw by The Football League. The first English side to participate in the following edition was Manchester United, who were also the first English winners in 1968, ten years after their first attempt to win the cup had effectively ended when eight of their players died in the Munich air disaster when flying home from Belgrade after qualifying for the 1957–58 semi-final. Tottenham Hotspur won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963.
Manchester United F.C. The club holds the record for most top-division titles (20) – including a record 13 Premier League titles – and FA Community Shields (21). It was also the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968, and, as of 2017[update], is the only British club to have won the Club World Cup, in 2008. United also became the sole British club to win the Intercontinental Cup, in 1999. The club's most recent trophy came in May 2017, with the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League.