Gary Neville collapsed on his back for the second time in a minute. He had done so when Solskjaer scored, because he was too exhausted to run half the length of the field. “That’s an out-of-body experience, that,” said Neville of the final whistle. His fatigue was particularly understandable; he was the only United player to start each of the last 10 games of the season. In all, he started the last 28.
There was one exception to the widespread fatigue. Beckham just kept running, all the way down the other end of the field to the United fans. “I don’t know if I’ll experience moments, or see celebrations, quite like those ever again,” he said. Everybody recognised straight away that this was seismic stuff, and not only because of the fury with which a devastated Kuffour was pounding the ground.
In the last 20 years, million of words have been spoken and written in an attempt to contextualise the miracle of Barcelona. None have done it as much justice as the three that came out of Alex Ferguson’s mouth when he spoke to ITV’s Garry Newbon less than two minutes after the final whistle. “I can’t believe it I can’t believe it. Football, bloody hell. But they never give in – and that’s what won it. I’m so proud of them.”
There is a lovely moment just before that interview, a split second when a frazzled Ferguson inhales extravagantly in an attempt to compose himself. Everybody knew what it meant for him. “Europe had become a personal crusade,” he said in The Unique Treble. “I knew I would never be judged a great manager until I won the European Cup.”
He always thought he would win it one day. But not as part of a Treble, and not with two goals in injury time at the end of a season full of epic matches, death-defying comebacks, unbelievable drama and exhilarating football. Ferguson’s managerial career was complete. He won another 15 major trophies after that.
Throughout the 1990s, as United took a crash course in European football, Ferguson spoke with wonder about the suddenness of opposition attacks, how sophisticated teams like Barcelona could kill you with a Hitchcockian thrust of the dagger. It was quite a twist on that theme for his side to then score twice in 101 seconds to win the European Cup.
This was the summit of unreality
That’s how long there was between Sheringham and Solskjaer’s goals – and the ball was in play for only 28 of those. Two goals in 28 seconds of playing time: there has never been such a sudden, savage twist in a game of such importance. Rinus Michels, the godfather of Total Football, was asked afterwards if he had seen anything comparable. “Of course,” he said. “In my dreams. This was the summit of unreality. Neither I nor any person involved in this extraordinary game have ever, or will ever see such a finish.”
“Tonight it was not the best team that won, but the luckiest,” said Matthaus after the game. “It’s bitter, sad and unbelievable.”
Ferguson saw things differently. He said “Bayern tried to back into the winners’ enclosure” by killing the game when they went ahead. “Some of the stuff written about how Bayern outplayed us was weird. So were many of the assessments of Beckham and Giggs. Beckham was the star of the midfield show and Giggs worried them plenty.” It wasn’t an exclusively Fergusonian viewpoint. On ITV’s coverage, Ruud Gullit said, not entirely without relish, that Bayern’s approach was “absolutely c**p”, while in The Sun Jimmy Greaves took a similar line. “This was not just a triumph for Manchester United but for football in general. It was a triumph of good over evil.”
Some say it was coming. Some say it was lucky.
But even today, when you hear the word ‘comeback’ in football, your mind immediately goes: United, ’99.
You just couldn’t write United off. We are United. Devil’s own breed.
Into Added Time 