Manchester United - 1999 Treble Archive
Free 1999                                  Treble Web Site Animations
The treble had been                 called 'the impossible dream'. It was considered that the demands of English football made                 it almost impossible for an English club to achieve 'the treble'.
Perhaps history will judge that                 Manchester United were destined to be the first club to achieve it. Certainly some of the                 events in the final matches of the season suggested a sense of destiny.  And if any                 further evidence of destiny is needed, the record books also show that only once before                 had any team been within reach of the treble. Twenty two years previously, Liverpool                 needed to win the F.A.Cup Final to claim the second of the three trophies that comprise                 the treble. Liverpool lost, and in doing so confirmed the belief that the elusive treble                 was beyond realistic expectation. It was Manchester United who beat them that day.
When United finally clinched the                 treble, fate also decreed that their final match should be played on the day marking the                 90th anniversary of Sir Matt Busby's birth, and against a club from Munich; both Sir Matt                 and Munich forever linked with the history of Manchester United.
The treble meant firstly winning the                 English Premier League - one of the most demanding football leagues in the world in which                 every team was capable, on their day, of beating any other team. The Premiership was a                 massive test of consistency and endurance.
Next was the F.A.Cup - the oldest,                 most famous, and most competitively contested domestic club competition in football. To                 win the F.A.Cup at Wembley is for many players the ultimate ambition. A domestic knockout                 competition, the F.A.Cup offers no second chances - one defeat and the team is out.
Finally, and hardest of all, the European Club Champions Cup. The most prestigious club competition in world football. The                 cream of Europe's teams, the best from their respective countries, contest the Cup that                 bestows the honour of European Champions. This was also a personal quest for both Alex                 Ferguson and Manchester United. It was United under the legendary Sir Matt Busby who had                 paved the way for English Clubs to enter the European Cup. In 1958, Sir Matt's young                 prodigies, the Busby Babes were all but wiped out in the Munich air crash while returning                 from a European game. It took Busby 10 more years to rebuild a team capable of winning the                 European Cup which he finally did with his team built around Best, Law, and Charlton. Alex                 Ferguson had made it his personal Holy Grail for United to be the champions of Europe                 again.
To win any one of these competitions                 would be a success. To win all three was unthinkable.
Then, in the 1998-1999 season, Alex                 Ferguson, later Sir Alex, assembled a squad and a team which swept all before them. As the                 season reached its climax in May 1999, with the team within reach of all three trophies,                 the dramatic events in those final matches will live in the memories of all football fans                 who saw them.
The Premier League was eventually                 won, by one point, on the last day of the season. If Arsenal won their last game of the                 season, then only by also winning their final match against Tottenham were United assured                 of winning the League. In what had become characteristic of United, they promptly went one-nil down before coming back to beat Tottenham 2-1.
United's place in the F.A.Cup Final                 had only been possible after two titanic Semi-Final battles, also against Arsenal. After a                 drawn first match in which a United goal was harshly ruled off-side, there was a thrilling                 replay in which United played the latter stages of the game with 10 men against the 11 of                 Arsenal. With the full 90 minutes played and the score at 1-1, Arsenal were awarded a                 penalty to take them through to the Final. United's Peter Schmeichel saved the penalty and                 kept United in the competition. Then in extra time, there was "that goal". Ryan                 Giggs received the ball in his own half, ran over half the length of the pitch evading                 five Arsenal tackles on the way, before scoring what was heralded as one of the great                 individual goals of all time.
On the day, the F.A. Cup Final                 itself proved to be the easiest of the treble winning matches and United outplayed                 Newcastle United to win 2-0.
Then there was the European                 Champions Cup. Throughout the season in all competitions United had driven both Manager                 and fans to despair by conceding one or even two goals and seemingly heading for defeat                 before staging thrilling fight backs. The habit became such that it was accepted by both                 the press and the Manager that they always seemed to make it difficult for themselves.                 This hallmark of the treble team was most evident during their campaign to win the                 European Champions Cup.
They had reached the Final in                 sensational style, but nothing could compare with the drama of the Final itself played                 against Bayern Munich in Barcelona. With the full 90 minutes played, United were losing                 1-0 and the Bayern Munich colours had already been tied on the trophy. The UEFA officials,                 on their way to make the presentation passed by the watching Sir Bobby Charlton and                 commiserated with him on United's loss. The UEFA officials then went inside the Stadium to                 prepare for the presentation while the referee allowed just 3 minutes of extra stoppage                 time to be played.
When UEFA's officials emerged from                 inside the Stadium for the presentation they could not understand why the winners looked                 distraught while the losers were celebrating. Their astonishment was shared by all who had                 seen what had happened. The answer of course was that in those three incredible minutes,                 Manchester United had made history.
 
ï¿½ 1999. No part of this site may be copied or reproduced                 in any format without the prior written permission of the authors. This site is not part                 of Manchester United.