As mentioned in my “Name on the Trophy” blog on 21st September, where I’d recently discovered three e-mails from 26th May 2004 from my old work e-mail address in London to my hotmail account. It was something that I had completely forgotten I’d done, but now so glad I had as it has been a fascinating read that I’d like to share with you.
The e-mails were entitled “Name on the Trophy!!! 26/05/1999 (1), (2) and (3)” and it was a load of quotes from the world of TV commentary from the day, as well as various newspaper reports from the days after the event. Below is another one of those reports and I have many more to come, enjoy reading them. I certainly have.
Manchester United sealed a historic Treble last night. That was predicted. But what could not have been foreseen was the manner of their victory. Two goals in injury-time by substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed them a victory every bit as remarkable as their first European Cup at Wembley win 31 years earlier.
Yet the start for United could hardly have been worse. The game was merely heading towards the fifth minute when Bayern’s giant striker Carsten Jancker burst towards the opposing penalty area only to be unceremoniously brought down by Ronny Johnsen’s tackle some 19 yards out on the left.
As the Germans loitered over the free-kick, United arranged a long wall into which Markus Babbel infiltrated.
As Mario Basler hammered his shot towards the crimson sentries, Babbel appeared to peel off backwards, taking the end of the wall with him and the ball fizzed around the defensive line with Peter Schmeichel, in his final game for United, left angrily rooted to the spot as it hit the net.
Neither the United players nor the fans could believe they were losing. After all the hope they had invested in this tie, was defeat going to be the reality? About half the giant bowl of the 90,000 capacity Nou Camp wallpapered red by United supporters, a colourful backdrop made even bolder by Alex Ferguson’s starting line-up.
In the absence of the suspended Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, the United manager took a huge gamble in this, without doubt the most important game of his life, by risking David Beckham alongside Nicky Butt in midfield.
The player constantly praised as the best crosser of the ball in Europe and prior to the game rated by Pele as currently the third best player in the world behind Rivaldo and Zinedine Zidane, has filled this central role hardly at all in his career and just once this season – in last Saturday’s FA Cup final.
But the move did not entail just one risk. To accommodate Beckham’s switch, Ryan Giggs was relocated to an equally unfamiliar position on the right wing, and the squad player Jesper Blomqvist brought in on the left.
Going a goal behind so early offered an even stiffer test of the effectiveness of Ferguson’s brave redesign. But slowly, as they have done so many times before, United worked their way into the game.
Andy Cole bundled a shot under pressure just wide and Dwight Yorke met Beckham’s ball to the near post with a turn and shot which the Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn rushed to punch away. But the difficulty of United’s task was frequently exposed. Beckham is great going forward but when, on 29 minutes he was naively dispossessed by Jens Jeremies just inside the Bayern half, the ensuing counter-attack ended with Alexander Zickler shooting just wide of Schmeichel’s goal.
Johnsen, preferred in central defence to midfield, proved an unexpectedly wobbly compatriot for Jaap Stam, while Blomqvist was also fitting uneasily into the United reshuffle, not only leaving the left side virtually a cross-free zone but directing too many passes to players in grey.
But Ferguson’s team were pressing for the equaliser even if they were not getting very far. The closest to a chance early on in the second half fell, actually, to Blomqvist, whose outstretched foot directed a deep cross from the right over the bar.
But Bayern’s well-organised and quick-witted side always remained a danger as United pushed forward. Not for the first time Jancker ran uninterrupted into the area only to see his acute-angled shot shovelled away by Schmeichel and then Basler nearly chipped the keeper from the halfway line before Stefan Effenberg blasted just wide from 25 yards and forced Schmeichel to tip over from close range shortly after.
A United change was inevitable and on 67 minutes the ineffective Blomqvist made way for Saturday’s man of the match Sheringham. And twice Bayern could have stretched their lead as shots rebounded from the United woodwork. Bayern would regret those misses as they missed a chance of their own Treble.
#4 Solskjaer takes Treble chance – GUARDIAN
United shatter Bayern with double strike in injury-time
By Martin Thorpe
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