For fans of English football, the year 1999 was deemed to be the season of the century as Manchester United scored an amazing 128 goals and lost only 4 games in all competitions in a treble winning season whose memories would never be forgotten by United Supporters.
The season started for United on a low as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat against Arsenal in their first League game. It was a disappointing start to a new season as United who won four League titles in the last six years were hoping to reclaim the trophy from a star studded Arsenal team desperate to defend their title. But United began to get back on track as they won Liverpool 2-0 four days later. This was the beginning of a perfect season for the red devils. A season that was noted for United's wonderful displays, high margin wins, crucial saves, amazing comebacks, breathtaking moments and of course the unprecedented achievement.
In one of the League games, United hit Nottingham Forest for eight in a game that saw Olé Gunnar Solskjaer come on to become the first substitute to score four goals in a match. Olé came on after 72 minutes with United already 4-1 up, and within 18 minutes Olé doubled United's score, one of the reasons he was nicknamed the "Super-sub".
There were multiple memorable comebacks that season one of which was against Liverpool and Arsenal in the FA cup both ending in a 2-1 victory for United. The match against Arsenal was extra special as United were a man down. And with 10-men on the pitch, they conceded a penalty which Peter Schmeichel saved, before a moment of Giggs brilliance (a solo run into the heart of Arsenal's defense skipping past four players) settled the tie.
The last day of the Premier League also saw United record another comeback against Tottenham Hotspur, a 2-1 win that ensured the title came back to Old Trafford. United went on to win the FA Cup in grand style as goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes gave United a 2-0 win over Newcastle.
The peak of the season was the Champions League final against Bayern Munich. The game started nervously as United conceded a goal via free-kick after just six minutes into the game. They huffed and puffed but nothing was happening. It looked as if United had lost when the clock hit 90 minutes. A minute into injury time, United won a corner which David Beckham took and Sheringham was there to tuck home a golden equaliser.
Soon, United had another corner which Beckham took again. His cross was flipped by Sheringham into the path of Olé Gunnar Solksjaer who redirected the ball into the roof of the net. And within the space of two minutes, United went from defeat to becoming Champions with one of the greatest comebacks in the history of football to win an unprecedented treble.
The Golden '99 would forever be remembered not only for United's treble win but also for the group of United talented young players who showed class by performing at the biggest stage of European football.
The likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Wes Brown became stars as they entered into a new millennium.
The incredible United manager was awarded a Knighthood by the Queen of England as the icing on the cake, and Sir Alex Ferguson (who went on to retire as the most successful manager in the history of football) became the paragon of success for coaches in the beautiful game.
What a year it was!
#El_Magnifico™
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