Juventus. An iconic name in world sport and the sizeable
obstacle barring United’s way to the Champions League
final in ’99. Managed by Carlo Ancelotti and boasting talents
such as Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps from France’s
World Cup-winning side of 1998, plus Dutch midfield giant
Edgar Davids and prolific Italian striker Filippo Inzaghi, Juve
were a dangerous side. After a 1-1 draw in Manchester they
were the favourites, and even more so after 15 minutes of
the second leg in Turin, when Inzaghi put them 2-0 up. Then
came Roy Keane. He dragged United back into the contest,
scoring on 24 minutes, then through sheer will power and
personality he drove his team forward, dominating the
midfield. Yorke equalised before half-time and, as they
continued to press, United’s pace and aggression overran
the Italians. They hit the woodwork twice before Cole
wrapped up the game with a late winner. But victory came
at a cost: both Keane and Paul Scholes got bookings that
ruled them out of the final. Keane said later that he was so
wrapped up in the game that the consequences of his yellow
card barely registered at the time. No doubt Ferguson was
already plotting how he would cope without his first-choice
central midfield in the final. ImagesGetty ImagesAbove Andy
Cole lobs Spurs
goalkeeper Ian
Walker for the
winning goal
in the final
League match
of the season
Left Becks
enjoys a brief
moment alone
in the dressing
room with the
FA Cup
Far left top The
imperious Jaap
Stam was a vital
link in the
United defence
Far left bottom
A delighted Alex
Ferguson holds
the ultimate
prize closeKEANE TURNS IT AROUND
The United stunned Juve to reach Champions League finalincluding a Mehmet Scholl chip that bounced off the post and back
into Schmeichel’s arms and a Carsten Jancker overhead effort that
cannoned off the crossbar. “Can United score?” asked commentator
Clive Tyldsley. “They always score.” Prophetic words.
With time running out, United were awarded a 90th-minute
corner. Schmeichel came up to throw some doubt into German
minds. Maybe it distracted the defence; certainly it seemed as if Yorke
had a little more room at the back post when he nodded Beckham’s
cross into the middle of the area. The ball fell to Ryan Giggs, who
helped it on to Sheringham, the former Spurs striker poking home to
bring United level. “Name on the trophy!” yelled Tyldsley. On the
sidelines Assistant Manager Steve McLaren was preparing for extra
time. “Sit down, Steve,” his boss told him. “This match isn’t over yet.”
There were 93 minutes on the clock when United were given yet
another corner. This time Sheringham turned provider, knocking the
ball towards the far post, where Solskjaer instinctively stuck out a leg
to redirect the ball and turned it high into the net. “Manchester
United have reached the Promised Land!” announced Tyldsley during
the match. “Nobody will ever win a European Cup final more
dramatically than this!”
Later he reflected on those incredible final three minutes. “We’d
hardly had time to draw breath, me and Ron Atkinson in the
commentary box, when there was another goal. My lasting memory
of that night is the faces of the Bayern Munich players; they looked
like victims of a disaster. It’s an overused word in a football context,
but we’d never really seen a German team in that state before.”
All this was happening while UEFA President Lennart Johansson
was making his way down to pitchside for the presentation. Because
he was using an internal lift he had no idea what was transpiring until
he got there. “I was confused,” he said. “It cannot be, the winners are
crying and the losers are dancing.”
“United played excellent attacking football in those last minutes,”
said Bayern and Germany captain Lothar Matthäus graciously after
being substituted before the great comeback. “They had nothing
to lose and we just tried to protect our result, which was surely
a mistake. You have to congratulate United.” Ferguson was more
succinct in his appraisal. “Football! Bloody hell!”
Winning the treble was an impossible dream. Until it wasn’t.
And after the pain of the Munich air disaster and the long wait for
a second European Cup, it was fitting that United should be the club
to achieve it. They remain the only English club to do so. And long
after the partying was over, Sir Alex Ferguson summed it up perfectly:
“The celebrations begun by that goal will never really stop.”WINNING
THE TREBLEFourFourTwo.com The Story of Man Utd 85