Foulkes, now 71, was at the heart of United's defence and was the only United player to appear in both of their European Cup semi-final legs in Madrid. He describes "the unique bond between the clubs" and himself as the "cripple who beat Real Madrid" and still considers the goal he scored in Real's Bernabeu on May 16, 1968 as "the greatest moment of my career".
In 1957, Foulkes had experienced a 3-1 defeat. A 2-2 draw back at Old Trafford failed to salvage United's dreams. Eleven years later Foulkes and Busby's rebuilt side following the Munich tragedy were back in Madrid with a 1-0 lead from the first semi-final, but this time they clawed their way to a 3-3 draw with Foulkes scoring the winner.
"After Munich, that's when Real Madrid came to help us," Foulkes said. "They became special friends because they kept playing a series of friendly games against us which helped our finances enormously. There were huge crowds and it got our team to start thinking about the level of football we were facing. Not only did we get the gate receipts but we learned so much from them on the pitch in those friendlies."
Subscribe to the Red Issue magazine on line:
UK Subs £18.50 for 10 issues
Euro Subs £22.50 for 10 issues
ROW Subs £29.00 for 10 issues