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CROWN CLINCHED IN FANTASTIC FINISH

It was all over. We'd lost. One minute to play. Sheringham scores. Extra time, great. Then up pops Solskjaer with a Liverpool repeat to win us the European Cup and the treble. What an incredible night! You will never see anything better than this! They push you right to the edge, then bring you back in glorious style. United, we love you.

Look up the word "occasion" in any dictionary - English, German or Spanish, and you should see a picture of the Nou Camp stadium, taken in the minutes before kick off in the 1999 European Champions League final.

To say it's big is to damn it with feint praise. The European Cup final. On what would have been Sir Matt Busby's 90th birthday. Peter Schmeichel's last game with the club. At the Nou Camp, Barcelona. It couldn't be bigger if it tried.

A fantastic stadium, an incredible atmosphere, and the biggest game in club football to look forward to. If you could bottle this feeling, you'd make a fortune.

But back down to earth. When the team sheets were passed around, the name of Jesper Blomqvist was on everyone's lips. Many column inches have been filled recently speculating how Alex Ferguson would fill the midfield gap left by the suspended Roy Keane. In the end, he did the unexpected, which, ironically, we should have expected.

David Beckham recovered from the knock he picked up in training, and moved into centre midfield while Blomqvist patrolled the left flank, moving Giggs to the right. Despite his match winning performance on Saturday, there was no place for Teddy Sheringham in the starting eleven, the resurgent England man having to be content with a place on the bench alongside David May, who many expected to fill in at centre-back. With Ronny Johnsen not being deployed in midfield, he was not needed.

The Bayern team came as no surprise, largely because Ottmar Hitzfeld named it 48 hours ahead of the match. A supreme show of confidence, or an act of gross stupidity. Only time would tell.

A spectacular, colourful opening ceremony got the evening underway, with dancing girls, inflatable statues and loud music getting proceedings off to a lively start. I wouldn't like to think what Sir Matt would have thought about it all, but it certainly heightened the party atmosphere within the ground.

Monserrat Cabelle, the opera singer, made probably not the most graceful entrance of her career, on the back of a truck, to serenade the crowd with a rendition of "Barcelona." Then the football, never in danger of being overshadowed, started. The roar that greeted the teams was something to behold. This is what we were here for.

The first event of the match was a free-kick awarded to Bayern after Jancker was felled on the edge of the area by Johnsen. The Bayern fans called for a penalty, but the Italian referee was sure it was outside the box.

It did not matter to Mario Basler. Just outside the box, he struck a sweet shot that curled past Peter Schmeichel on his left hand side and into the net. 1-0 to Bayern after just five minutes. But we ve been here before. Don't panic.

That is what Schmeichel seemed to do just two minutes later. A misunderstanding with Johnsen almost let Jeremies in, but the Dane got himself out of trouble with a hasty clearance.

Bayern chances were coming thick and fast, and Basler put in a great ball to Zickler in the ninth minute. A well-timed interception took the ball to safety. Nervous times.

United's first real chance came in the 14th minute, when Jaap Stam rose well to head the ball on to Cole. The striker lost the ball at his feet, but fortuitously regained it, and got off a shot that looped off a defender's boot. The whole stadium watched as the ball, almost in slow motion, passed just wide of Kahn's post.

Effenberg did well in the 16th minute to create a chance for Jeremies, but the German international did not get a proper shot off, and Schmeichel saved comfortably.

Kahn had to be at his best in the 20th minute, when Andy Cole motored into the area, and got up well at the near post. He met Beckham's corner with his head, close in on Kahn, but the goalkeeper did well to punch clear.

United began to put some of the pressure back on the Germans in the following six minutes, culminating in a good move involving Butt and Giggs. Butt received the ball on the edge of the area, shimmied, trying to make a yard of space for himself, but his touch was too strong, and gifted the Bayern defence the ball.

Zickler had a shot from distance after Beckham has been dispossed by Jeremies a minute later, but his shot went wide of a diving Schmeichel.

United just needed a change in luck. They were making all the right moves, but the final ball was more often than not cut out, or a weak shot came at the end of a good move. That was well illustrated when Giggs broke with pace down the right, delivered a good ball to Yorke, only for his shot to take a deflection, which took all the sting out of it.

United were on the back foot again in the 36th minute, when Basler made a darting run towards the area. Butt tackled well, but the rebound fell to Zickler. He tried hard to get a shot in, but was tackled before he could do so.

Beckham struck a good free kick from 30 yards with five minutes to play, but Kahn just watched as it curled wide of his right-hand post.

Giggs almost broke through in the 42nd minute, but the throughball was just too weighty, and Kahn claimed at the winger's feet. That summed up United's frustrating half perfectly.

Panic almost set into the United defence in the dying moments of the half, as all three Bayern strikers converged on goal. Johnsen kept calm to bring the ball clear.

No changes were made at half-time. Maybe the change of ends would suit United, attacking towards their own fans.

Bayern started as they had finished - pressurising. Matthaus played a sweet ball through to Jancker, and Schmeichel got down well to put the German's opportunistic toe-poke out for a corner.

A comedy of errors ensued in the 50th minute, when Butt stooped to head back Irwin's throw-in. The defender's resultant back-pass to Schmeichel put the keeper in trouble, and his clearance was blocked by an onrushing striker. Fortunately, it rebounded to safety. Still no improvement from the first half.

Giggs pounced on a loose ball in the 53rd minute, and crossed for Yorke. Linke got his head in first, however, and nullified the threat.

Blomqvist had United's best chance of the match so far, when Giggs again broke free on the right. His pinpoint cross only needed the slightest touch to be diverted into the goal, but the Swede got under the ball, sent it flying high over the bar, and was left holding his head in his hands, prone in the Bayern six yard box.

Effenberg was booked in the 59th minute for a tackle from behind on Giggs.

Mario Basler attempted a Beckham-like shot from just inside United's half in the 63rd minute, seeing Schmeichel off his line. The shot was just too strong, however, and sailed over Schmeichel's bar.

24 minutes to go, and Teddy Sheringham was introduced in place of Jesper Blomqvist. His arrival was greeted by the crowd similar to that of a prodigal son. Yorke dropped off the two strikers, in search of space, and more importantly, the ball.

Gary Neville's throw-in in the 68th minute saw Yorke touch it on to Cole, whose attempted bicycle kick did not come off, sending the ball away from goal.

Mehmet Scholl came on for Bayern in the 70th minute, replacing Alexander Zickler.

In the next minute, Effenberg struck a great shot from way outside the area, but the rocket flew just wide of Schmeichel's left hand post.

Jancker and Effenberg combined well with 72 minutes on the clock, and Schmeichel had to pull off a world class, fingertip save to deny the midfielder.

Basler made another great run with 12 minutes to go, and set up Scholl on the edge of the area. His little chip beat Schmeichel all ends up, and came back off the post. United breathed again.

Lothar Matthaus was replaced by Thorsten Fink with 10 minutes to go.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came on for Andy Cole a minute later. United forced a couple of good opportunities, but the Bayern defence held firm.

Schmeichel saved well again in the last eight minutes, turning away Babbel's shot for a corner. From the corner, Jancker's athletic overhead shot rebounded off Schmeichel s crossbar to safety. Twice had the woodwork come to United's rescue. That tells its own story.

Sheringham almost performed the heroics again after being put in by Solskjaer, but his shot was weak and presented Kahn with no problems. A minute later, Yorke missed the ball completely after Beckham's little touch in the area.

One minute to play, and Sheringham came to United's rescue. Beckham's corner fell to Butt on the edge of the area, he shot and Teddy deflected the ball into the net. Unbelievable. 1-1.

Better was still to come. Another Beckham corner. Another Sheringham touch. This time Solskjaer hooked it in. Two goals in a minute. Liverpool revisited. Absolutely incredible! 2-1 to United. Bayern were finished.

We hardly had two chances all match, then two late, late strikes won us the European Cup and the treble. What a team. What a night. One word - fantastic!!


Report by an ecstatic Webmaster

Nou Camp, Barcelona.