Kenny Morgans

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Kenneth Godfrey "Kenny" Morgans (born March 16, 1939 in Swansea , Wales , United Kingdom , † November 18, 2012 ) was a Welsh football player who began his professional career at Manchester United . He was one of the survivors of the Munich-Riem aircraft accident , in which the team and entourage of the English club had an accident on the return flight from a European Cup match.

Career

Manchester United coach Matt Busby spotted the young Welshman during a Youth Cup match between Swansea Town and his club. In 1955, Morgans joined the English club and initially played in his youth, while doing an apprenticeship at a shipyard in Manchester. The right winger became team captain of the youth team and was promoted to the squad of the first division team in 1957, where he later shared a room with Bobby Charlton . He made his debut in the First Division in December 1957 in a 4-0 win over Leicester City ; in the formation called Busby Babes he replaced Albert Scanlon , who switched to the left wing position, on the right attacking side.

The 18-year-old flew to Belgrade with Manchester United in February, where the team reached the semi-finals of the European Cup with a 3-3 draw at Red Star . After a stopover in Munich, the plane came off the runway and exploded; 23 of the 44 people on board died. Morgans was the last victim to be found alive; two German journalists had discovered him unconscious under the rubble of the cargo hold, hours after the official rescue was completed.

He quickly recovered from his physical injuries, resuming training after just a week in the hospital. During the 1957/58 season he played for United several times, including in various cup games and in the semi-finals of the European Cup against AC Milan . In the first leg at Old Trafford he played "full of fervor for the deceased teammates" and was "Player of the Game". Manchester won 2-1 but lost the second leg 4-0.

After the accident, Morgans never found his way back to his old form. He missed his dead teammates and no longer enjoyed playing in the United first division team. David Meek, a contemporary English sports reporter, says Morgans started gambling again too soon. “Although he had recovered physically very quickly,” Meek is quoted in the BBC obituary, “you could see that his soul had lost fire and hunger. There were no expressions like post-traumatic stress back then, but that's exactly what he suffered from. ”He only played 23 games for Manchester United and didn't score a goal.

In 1961, after six years in England, Morgans returned to his Welsh homeland and played again for his home club Swansea Town . In three seasons he came there on 54 missions and in 1964 reached the semi-finals of the English FA Cup with the Welsh. He then played three more years for Newport County before ending his career in 1967.

Morgans then worked again as a ship chandler and later as a landlord. He died at the age of 73 after a brief illness on November 18, 2012.

Web links

Notes and evidence

  1. ^ "I played my heart out that night," Morgans recalled. "I was one of the match against Milan." In Kenny Morgans , obituary in The Telegraph, November 19, 2012
  2. ↑ David Meek: "And even though physically Kenny made an almost instant recovery, psychologically you could see he'd lost his spark and his hunger. Back then terms such as post-traumatic stress hadn't been invented; though that's clearly what he 'd been suffering from. ", in Busby Babe Kenny Morgans, Munich survivor, remembered , BBC News Online, November 19, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Morgans, Kenny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Morgans, Kenneth Godfrey (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION welsh football player
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Swansea , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
DATE OF DEATH November 18, 2012