The story behind Thursday’s United Review cover

A floodlit semi-final at Old Trafford and one more step to Bilbao…

This season has had its lows, but Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg offers hope – and United Review will have a cover that channels that feeling, the buzz building as fans file in for a huge night against Athletic Club. A cover in keeping with what has gone before.

Front covers from past home European semi-final programmes offer a fascinating visual timeline of Manchester United’s proud continental history. From European Cup and Champions League clashes with giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan, to UEFA Cup/Europa League battles against Juventus and Roma, each cover tells a story.

Even the less glamorous, but no less vital, Cup-Winners’ Cup tie with Legia Warsaw in 1991 – a key step on the road to glory in Rotterdam – is part of this rich tapestry.

United Review covers for our previous 17 home continental semi-finals are far more than just the first page of a pamphlet – they’ve served as lasting reminders of treasured occasions (mostly!), capturing the mood, design trends, and significance of their time.

Our very first, for the visit of Real Madrid in 1957, featured a welcome message in Spanish, reflecting the warmth and respect between two newly acquainted clubs. A year later, the semi-final against Milan – coming in the wake of the Munich Air Disaster – was marked by a visually striking cover made up of abstract shapes and patterns.

Real’s return in 1968 inspired a distinctive design so memorable it was echoed 40 years later, in retro style, for the visit of Barcelona in 2008.

And, in 2017, the Celta Vigo semi-final was marked by a stunning cover showing a jigsaw of club honours – with the missing piece being the Europa League trophy, soon to be added in Stockholm.

Such an impressive tradition of striking continental covers needed to be continued – and I hope fans feel it has been. A celebration shot from the first leg would have been fitting enough given our impressive win, but something more distinctive still felt in order. Something to capture the mood and possibly add to the occasion.

Something that, if we get the result required, will hopefully be remembered fondly in years to come. What we came up with was inspired by a simple but eye-catching design used on a magazine cover produced by Spanish newspaper El Pais in December 2023 – a wooden signpost pointing to the start of the new year.

Our respectful twist on this composition seemed an ideal way of reminding fans of previous successful trips to European finals. One that included us outlining our desired direction of travel to Bilbao, with the aim of writing another glorious chapter of our continental history.

The signs point to images of previous glory nights in London, Rotterdam, Barcelona, Moscow and Stockholm. While the sign to Bilbao at the bottom, complete with a much-needed question mark, shows an image from the first game – our opening scorer Casemiro battling it out with Athletic starlet Nico Williams.

Also included is what we view as a key message to the team and fans for Thursday evening: ‘Let’s seal our spot in the final tonight!’. Nobody is taking anything for granted because, as we saw only last month against Lyon, football can be beautiful, chaotic and unpredictable.

It can also be euphoric, and that’s how we’re all hoping to feel at the end of this latest Old Trafford European night.

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