Manchester United F.C. season 1998–99

Manchester United
	Season 1998–99
Manager	Sir Alex Ferguson
Chairman	Martin Edwards
FA Premier League	1st
FA Cup	Winners
Worthington Cup	Quarter-finals
Charity Shield	Runners-up
UEFA Champions League	Winners
Top goalscorer	League:; Dwight Yorke (18); All:; Dwight Yorke (29)
Highest home attendance	55,316 vs Southampton (27 February 1999)
Lowest home attendance	37,337 vs Nottingham Forest (11 November 1998)
Average home attendance	54,056
← 1997–98	1999–2000 →

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Manchester United F.C. season 1998-99)

Jump to: navigation, search

The 1998–99 season was the most successful in the history of Manchester United. United won of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, becoming the first English club to achieve the feat of winning the domestic league and cup as well as the European Cup. En route to winning the three trophies, United went undefeated from December 1998 to May 1999, a run of 33 matches in all competitions.

United gained a reputation for winning matches after being behind. Some of their more notable come-backs were the FA Cup Fourth Round tie at home to Liverpool, which Liverpool led from the third to the 85th minute, both legs of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Juventus and the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, won in the final minutes of extra time by a Ryan Giggs goal. However, the most dramatic comeback came in the final of the Champions League against Bayern Munich, when Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored a goal each in stoppage time to give United a 2–1 win.

United lost five times in the entire season; three in the league, one in the Charity Shield and one in the League Cup. They defeated every other Premier League team at least once and were undefeated in the Champions League – Barcelona were the only team that United played in Europe without beating them at least once.

Around this time, United was the world's richest club, with turnover at £110 million.^[1]

[edit] Pre-season and friendlies

The previous season Manchester United failed to win a trophy for the second time in the 1990s. The start of the season will also be remembered for the return of David Beckham to competitive action following the 1998 World Cup, where he had attracted enormous criticism following his red card against Argentina, and the threat of a takeover by Rupert Murdoch and British Sky Broadcasting. United signed three new players before the beginning of the 1998–99 season: Dwight Yorke was brought in from Aston Villa, Jaap Stam from PSV Eindhoven became the world's most expensive defender and the Swedish left winger Jesper Blomqvist was signed from Parma. An offer for Ole Gunnar Solskjær from Tottenham Hotspur was accepted, but Solskjær himself made it clear that he did not want to leave United. Eventually the deal was not completed – a decision that United did not come to regret.

The 1998 close season saw the departure of the club's two longest-serving players – Brian McClair and Gary Pallister. McClair had been at United since 1987, and opted for a return to Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League – he had played at Fir Park in the early 1980s. Pallister, meanwhile, agreed to return to Middlesbrough in a £2.5 million deal, nine years after he had left them for a £2.3 million transfer to Old Trafford. Also on their way out of the club were reserve players Kevin Pilkington, Graeme Tomlinson, David Brown, Michael Appleton and Ben Thornley.

The opening game of the season was the Charity Shield, in which United lost 3–0 to the previous season's double winners Arsenal. The game saw the return of club captain Roy Keane after almost a year out injured, and Jaap Stam making his debut for the club.

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
25 July 1998	Birmingham City	A	3 – 4	Mulryne (3) (1 pen.)	20,708
27 July 1998	Vålerenga IF	A	2 – 2	Solskjær, Scholes	19,700
31 July 1998	Brøndby	A	6 – 0	Scholes, Sheringham (2), Cole (2), Cruyff	27,022
4 August 1998	Brann	A	4 – 0	Irwin (3) (2 pen.), Cole	16,100
9 August 1998	Arsenal	N	0 – 3		67,342
18 August 1998	Eric Cantona European XI	H	8 – 4	P. Neville, Butt, Scholes, Giggs, Cantona, Cruyff, Notman (2)	55,210
18 January 1998	Aberdeen	A	1 – 1 (6 – 7p)	Johnsen

[edit] FA Premier League

Manchester United soon were in the top two positions, competing with Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa. Crucial games for United included a 1–1 draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford and a 2–2 draw at Liverpool.

One of United's most notable matches was at Nottingham Forest, where Ole Gunnar Solskjær came on as a substitute and scored four goals the last 12 minutes of an 8–1 victory, the biggest away victory to date in the Premier League.^[2] Some of United's most important results came in games against Leeds United, with the Manchester side winning 3–2 at home and drawing 1–1 away. In contrast, Arsenal's penultimate game of the season was a 1–0 defeat at Leeds which left United with a one-point lead over them, meaning that an identical result to Arsenal's in the final match would guarantee United the League . United would play Tottenham at home at the same time as Arsenal played Aston Villa at Highbury. Spurs took the lead in the first half, but David Beckham scored for United just before half time and Andy Cole's second half goal gave United a 2–1 win and the League Championship. Arsenal had beaten Aston Villa 1–0 but it was not enough for them to overtake United. Manchester United had edged out Arsenal by a single point (79–78) to capture the Premier League with a record number of goals scored (80).

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
15 August 1998	Leicester City	H	2 – 2	Sheringham 79', Beckham 90'	55,052	7th
22 August 1998	West Ham United	A	0 – 0		26,039	11th
9 September 1998	Charlton Athletic	H	4 – 1	Solskjær (2) 39', 63', Yorke 45', 48'	55,147	9th
12 September 1998	Coventry City	H	2 – 0	Yorke 20', Johnsen 48'	55,193	5th
20 September 1998	Arsenal	A	0 – 3		38,142	10th
24 September 1998	Liverpool	H	2 – 0	Irwin 19' (pen.), Scholes 80'	55,181	5th
3 October 1998	Southampton	A	3 – 0	Yorke 12', Cole 60', Cruyff 75'	15,251	2nd
17 October 1998	Wimbledon	H	5 – 1	Cole (2) 19', 88', Giggs 45', Beckham 47', Yorke 52'	55,265	2nd
24 October 1998	Derby County	A	1 – 1	Cruyff 86'	30,867	2nd
31 October 1998	Everton	A	4 – 1	Yorke 14', Short 23' (o.g.), Cole 59', Blomqvist 64'	40,079	2nd
8 November 1998	Newcastle United	H	0 – 0		55,174	3rd
14 November 1998	Blackburn Rovers	H	3 – 2	Scholes (2) 31', 59', Yorke 43'	55,198	2nd
21 November 1998	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1 – 3	Cole 29'	39,475	2nd
29 November 1998	Leeds United	H	3 – 2	Solskjær 45', Keane 46', Butt 78'	55,172	2nd
5 December 1998	Aston Villa	A	1 – 1	Scholes 47'	39,241	2nd
12 December 1998	Tottenham Hotspur	A	2 – 2	Solskjær (2) 11', 18'	36,079	1st
16 December 1998	Chelsea	H	1 – 1	Cole 45'	55,159	2nd
19 December 1998	Middlesbrough	H	2 – 3	Butt 62', Scholes 70'	55,152	3rd
26 December 1998	Nottingham Forest	H	3 – 0	Johnsen (2) 28', 60', Giggs 62'	55,216	4th
29 December 1998	Chelsea	A	0 – 0		34,741	4th
10 January 1999	West Ham United	H	4 – 1	Yorke 10', Cole (2) 40', 68', Solskjær 81'	55,180	3rd
16 January 1999	Leicester City	A	6 – 2	Yorke (3) 10', 64', 86', Cole (2) 50', 62', Stam 90'	22,091	3rd
31 January 1999	Charlton Athletic	A	1 – 0	Yorke 89'	20,043	1st
3 February 1999	Derby County	H	1 – 0	Yorke 65'	55,174	1st
6 February 1999	Nottingham Forest	A	8 – 1	Yorke (2) 2', 67', Cole (2) 7', 50', Solskjær (4) 80', 88', 90', 90'	30,025	1st
17 February 1999	Arsenal	H	1 – 1	Cole 61'	55,171	1st
20 February 1999	Coventry City	A	1 – 0	Giggs 79'	22,596	1st
27 February 1999	Southampton	H	2 – 1	Keane 80', Yorke 84'	55,316	1st
13 March 1999	Newcastle United	A	2 – 1	Cole 25', 51'	36,776	1st
21 March 1999	Everton	H	3 – 1	Solskjær 55', G. Neville 64', Beckham 67'	55,182	1st
3 April 1999	Wimbledon	A	1 – 1	Beckham 44'	26,121	1st
17 April 1999	Sheffield Wednesday	H	3 – 0	Solskjær 34', Sheringham 45', Scholes 62'	55,270	1st
25 April 1999	Leeds United	A	1 – 1	Cole 55'	40,255	2nd
1 May 1999	Aston Villa	H	2 – 1	Watson 20' (o.g.), Beckham 47'	55,189	2nd
5 May 1999	Liverpool	A	2 – 2	Yorke 22', Irwin 57' (pen.)	44,702	2nd
9 May 1999	Middlesbrough	A	1 – 0	Yorke 45'	34,665	1st
12 May 1999	Blackburn Rovers	A	0 – 0		30,436	1st
16 May 1999	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2 – 1	Beckham 43', Cole 48'	55,189	1st

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Manchester United	38	22	13	3	80	37	+43	79
2	Arsenal	38	22	12	4	59	17	+42	78
3	Chelsea	38	20	15	3	57	30	+27	75

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

[edit] FA Cup

Despite receiving a home draw in each of their first four rounds (3rd – 6th), United were paired against difficult opponents throughout the competition. On their route to the final they defeated five Premier League teams: Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle United. The only non-Premier League team that United played in the competition was Fulham, who, at the time, played in the Second Division, the third tier of English football.

In the Third Round of the cup, United were drawn against Middlesbrough, who had recently beaten them in the league. Andy Townsend gave Middlesbrough the lead at half time, but goals from Andy Cole, Denis Irwin and Ryan Giggs gave United a 3–1 victory.

United were drawn at home to rivals Liverpool in the Fourth Round. Liverpool took the lead from a Michael Owen header after three minutes. United created plenty of goalscoring chances and had a shot cleared off the line by their former player Paul Ince but did not equalise until the 86th minute when Dwight Yorke finished off from a David Beckham free-kick. In the second minute of stoppage time, Ole Gunnar Solskjær hit a shot which sent Liverpool's goalkeeper David James the wrong way to give United a 2–1 win.

Andy Cole scored the only goal as United knocked out Fulham in the Fifth Round. United then played Chelsea in the Sixth Round at Old Trafford. Although there were no goals, Paul Scholes and Roberto Di Matteo were both sent off and missed the replay at Chelsea's ground, Stamford Bridge. In the replay, Dwight Yorke, who had scored both goals in United's 2–0 win over Internazionale a week earlier, repeated the feat, scoring both of United's goals in another 2–0 win.

United also played Arsenal in the semi-final replay at Villa Park. Although the semi-final finished with no goals and a debatably disallowed Roy Keane goal (Keane was given offside after Ryan Giggs had knocked the ball past a defender, run on to collect the ball himself and then pulled it back into the area), the teams could not be separated after 120 minutes and the game had to be replayed three days later.

The replay included a goal by Ryan Giggs, a disallowed goal, a red card, and a penalty. The game's first goal was scored by David Beckham, a long range effort from outside the penalty area. After chances for both teams, Dennis Bergkamp drew Arsenal level with a shot that deflected off United's centre back Jaap Stam. Arsenal then thought they had taken the lead when Nicolas Anelka put the ball in the back of United's net. Just as in the first game though, the goal was ruled out for offside, albeit correctly this time. United's captain Roy Keane was red-carded for two bookable offences and United played the last thirty minutes of normal time with ten men. In injury time at the end of the second half, Phil Neville fouled Ray Parlour in the penalty area and Arsenal were awarded a penalty. Peter Schmeichel parried away Dennis Bergkamp's resultant spot kick and the game went into extra time.

Part way through the second half of extra time, Ryan Giggs scored. He picked up possession on the halfway line after a loose pass from Patrick Vieira. Giggs ran away from the halfway line, dribbling past the whole Arsenal back line, before scoring a left-footed strike just under David Seaman's bar and beyond him. Giggs ran celebrating towards the United fans and Man United held on to beat the Gunners 2–1 after extra time. The goal proved to be the last ever scored in FA Cup semi-final replays, which were abolished the following season.

United met Newcastle United in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, the penultimate FA Cup final to be held there before it was closed for rebuilding. Newcastle had lost the 1998 FA Cup final 2–0 to Arsenal.

Less than 10 minutes into the match, United's captain Roy Keane was injured and replaced by Teddy Sheringham. He and Paul Scholes both finished with a goal apiece in the 2–0 win. United had now completed their third "Double"

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
3 January 1999	Round 3	Middlesbrough	H	3 – 1	Cole 68', Irwin 82' (pen.), Giggs 90'	52,232
24 January 1999	Round 4	Liverpool	H	2 – 1	Yorke 88', Solskjær 90'	54,591
14 February 1999	Round 5	Fulham	H	1 – 0	Cole 26'	54,798
7 March 1999	Round 6	Chelsea	H	0 – 0		54,587
10 March 1999	Round 6 Replay	Chelsea	A	2 – 0	Yorke (2) 4', 59'	33,075
11 April 1999	Semi-final	Arsenal	Villa Park	0 – 0		39,217
14 April 1999	Semi-final Replay	Arsenal	Villa Park	2 – 1	Beckham 17', Giggs 109'	30,223
22 May 1999	Final	Newcastle United	Wembley	2 – 0	Sheringham 11', Scholes 52'	79,101

[edit] Worthington Cup

As in the previous four seasons, United rested many of their first-team players in the League Cup, instead using the competition to provide first team experience to the club's younger players and reserves. In the third round of the competition United required extra-time to defeat Bury, eventually winning 2–0 with goals from Erik Nevland and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. In the fourth round, two more goals from Solskjær gave United a 2–1 victory over Nottingham Forest, earning them a place in the quarter-finals for the first time since they reached the final in 1994. However United were beaten in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur; two goals from Chris Armstrong and one from David Ginola gave Spurs a 3–1 victory, with ex-Spurs striker Teddy Sheringham scoring the consolation for United on his return to White Hart Lane.

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
28 October 1998	Round 3	Bury	H	2 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Solskjær 106', Nevland 115'	52,495
11 November 1998	Round 4	Nottingham Forest	H	2 – 1	Solskjær (2) 57', 60'	37,337
2 December 1998	Round 5	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1 – 3	Sheringham 70'	35,702

[edit] Champions League

[edit] Qualifying round

United began their UEFA Champions League campaign against ŁKS Łódź in the qualifying round. Goals from Ryan Giggs and Andy Cole in the home leg gave them a 2–0 win, and a goalless second leg ensured their qualification for the group stage. This gave Łódź the distinction of being the only side to keep a clean sheet against the eventual champions (as well as being the only opponents not to score at all against United).

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
12 August 1998	Second qualifying round First leg	ŁKS Łódź	H	2 – 0	Giggs 16', Cole 81'	50,906
26 August 1998	Second qualifying round Second leg	ŁKS Łódź	A	0 – 0		8,000

[edit] Group stage

In the group stage, United were drawn together with Barcelona, German champions Bayern Munich and Danish side Brøndby.

Both games against Barcelona ended 3–3. At Old Trafford, Beckham scored a free-kick while the visitors had to rely on Luis Enrique and Giovanni penalties to earn them a point. In the return game at Camp Nou, Man United achieved another 3–3 draw.

United were denied victory by Bayern Munich twice home and away. In Munich, the home side equalised with two minutes to go with United leading 2–1, after Schmeichel failed to hold a throw-in, which was tapped in from a few yards out. In the return leg, Bayern came back from behind again when Roy Keane's goal was cancelled out by Hasan Salihamidžić.

United inflicted two heavy defeats on Brondby, beating them 6–2 in Copenhagen and 5–0 at Old Trafford.

Results in other groups meant that the second place finish was enough for United to progress to the quarter-finals. Bayern Munich finished top of the group and went through to the quarter-final stage as well.

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance	Group position
16 September 1998	Barcelona	H	3 – 3	Giggs 17', Scholes 25', Beckham 64'	53,601	3rd
30 September 1998	Bayern Munich	A	2 – 2	Yorke 30', Scholes 49'	55,000	3rd
21 October 1998	Brøndby	A	6 – 2	Giggs (2) 2', 21', Cole 28', Keane 55', Yorke 60', Solskjær 62'	40,315	1st
4 November 1998	Brøndby	H	5 – 0	Beckham 7', Cole 13', P. Neville 16', Yorke 28', Scholes 62'	53,250	1st
25 November 1998	Barcelona	A	3 – 3	Yorke (2) 25', 68', Cole 53'	54,213	2nd
9 December 1998	Bayern Munich	H	1 – 1	Keane 43'	54,434	2nd

[edit] Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, United played two Italian sides in the quarter- and semi-finals; Internazionale and Juventus respectively. Prior to 1999, United had never won on an Italian pitch.

In the quarter-final, David Beckham was playing against Diego Simeone for the first time since the 1998 World Cup. In the first leg at Old Trafford, United beat Inter 2–0 with two almost identical goals from Yorke, both from crosses by Beckham, while Simeone's second half goal was disallowed for pushing. In the San Siro, Paul Scholes scored a late, away goal to level the game at 1–1. United advanced 3–1 on aggregate but still hadn't won in Italy.

Juve's captain Antonio Conte met Zinedine Zidane's pass to give Juventus an away goal in the semi-final first leg. United, as they did so many times in the season, scored in the 91st minute to equalise through Ryan Giggs who converted a Beckham cross, after a Teddy Sheringham goal a few minutes earlier had been disallowed. United were happy to take a draw but to qualify for the final, they would either have to win in Italy, or get a score-draw of 2–2 or greater.

At the Stadio delle Alpi, Filippo Inzaghi scored twice in the first 11 minutes to give Juve a 3–1 aggregate lead. However Roy Keane headed a Beckham corner into the net. Sir Alex Ferguson wrote in his autobiography about Keane's Turin performance: "I felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player".

Dwight Yorke scored a header just before half time to level the match and the overall tie at 2–2 and 3–3 respectively. Denis Irwin had struck the post twice before Yorke's equaliser but United now had a result that would send them through to the final.

In the second half, Andy Cole put United ahead for the first time in the match and the tie, although Yorke was brought down by the Juve keeper in the area as he rounded him off, the referee played the advantage and Cole tapped in from an acute angle. United held on for their first victory in Italy and booked their place in the Camp Nou for the final against Bayern Munich.

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
3 March 1999	Quarter-final First leg	Internazionale	H	2 – 0	Yorke (2) 6', 45'	54,430
17 March 1999	Quarter-final Second leg	Internazionale	A	1 – 1	Scholes 88'	79,528
7 April 1999	Semi-final First leg	Juventus	H	1 – 1	Giggs 90'	54,487
21 April 1999	Semi-final Second leg	Juventus	A	3 – 2	Keane 24', Yorke 34', Cole 84'	60,806
26 May 1999	Final	Bayern Munich	N	2 – 1	Sheringham 90', Solskjær 90'	91,000

[edit] The final

Main article: 1999 UEFA Champions League Final

The FA Cup, Champions League, and Premier League trophies on display

Schmeichel (C)

Neville

Stam

Johnsen

Irwin

Giggs

Beckham

Butt

Blomqvist

Cole

Yorke

1999 UEFA Champions League Final starting lineup.

United's line-up for the final was as follows:


GK	1	Peter Schmeichel (c)
RB	2	Gary Neville
CB	6	Jaap Stam
CB	5	Ronny Johnsen
LB	3	Denis Irwin
RM	11	Ryan Giggs
CM	8	Nicky Butt
CM	7	David Beckham
LM	15	Jesper Blomqvist	67'
CF	9	Andy Cole	81'
CF	19	Dwight Yorke
Substitutes:
GK	17	Raimond van der Gouw
DF	4	David May
DF	12	Philip Neville
DF	30	Wes Brown
MF	34	Jonathan Greening
CF	10	Teddy Sheringham	67'
CF	20	Ole Gunnar Solskjær	81'
Manager:
Alex Ferguson

United were without their first-choice central midfielders, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, as both had received yellow cards in the previous match against Juventus and were suspended for the final, so Ferguson reorganised the team. Jesper Blomqvist and Nicky Butt replaced Keane and Scholes, with David Beckham moving from right-wing to centre-midfield and Ryan Giggs moving from the left to the right wing. United lined up in their normal 4-4-2 formation.

Bayern Munich opened the scoring, Mario Basler scoring a free-kick after six minutes. Bayern then had the chance to extend their lead with Mehmet Scholl hitting the post and Carsten Jancker the crossbar, and forcing Peter Schmeichel to make numerous saves.

Needing a goal, Alex Ferguson substituted in Solskjær and Sheringham. As the game went to injury time, referee Pierluigi Collina indicated that three minutes would be played.

In one of the last attacks of the game, United gained a corner, which Beckham took. Keeper Schmeichel went up front for it. After the ball had been partially cleared, it was played back in to the feet of Ryan Giggs who sent a low volley into the path of Sheringham, who sent his scuffed shot low inside the post. A sense of relief and jubilation flooded the players and fans, and extra-time was now looking inevitable.

Almost immediately after the equaliser, United won another corner, again taken by Beckham. He landed the ball on the head of Sheringham who nodded it to Solskjær who toe-poked it into the roof of the net. Oliver Kahn, the German goalkeeper was motionless on the line. United had completed the come-back. The Bayern team barely managed to restart the game, which referee Collina brought to a close just a few seconds later.

During the celebrations United captain on the night – Peter Schmeichel – and manager Alex Ferguson both lifted the trophy together to the crowd. Normally, the captain alone lifts the trophy for the first time. Despite being suspended for the final, both Roy Keane and Paul Scholes received winners’ medals on the rostrum. Keane claims that to date he has not looked at the medal, feeling that his absence from the final had tainted the accomplishment to the extent that he didn't earn the medal.^{[citation needed]} Substituted Bayern legend Lothar Matthäus removed his runner-up medal as soon as he received it and later asserted that United were "lucky" to win the final.^[3]

Manchester United became the first English team to win the European Cup/Champions League since Liverpool won the European Cup in 1984, defeating Roma on penalties.

The date of the final would have been Sir Matt Busby's 90th birthday, the only Manager before Sir Alex Ferguson who has won the European Cup with Manchester United.

[edit] Three is the Magic Number

3 was a common number in relation to United throughout the season as a whole.

Being victorious in the League, FA Cup and Champions League – coupled with a loss in the Charity Shield – meant that United ended the season with 3 trophies.
United lost only 3 league games all season – to Arsenal, Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough, strangely conceding 3 goals in each defeat and scoring a total of 3 goals over the three games that they lost.
United played Bayern Munich 3 times over the season. In the two draws in the Group Stages of the Champions League United scored (and conceded) a total of 3 goals. In addition, there were a total of 3 goals in the Final.
United scored (and conceded) 3 goals in both games against FC Barcelona in the Champions League group stages.
United scored 3 goals in total against Inter Milan, and scored 3 goals in the win over Juventus.
United brought in 3 players in the Close season before the start of the 1998–99 season.
There were 3 minutes of injury time in the Champions League Final.

[edit] Close season

United paraded the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League trophies through the city of Manchester on an open-topped bus. A crowd of over 500,000 people lined the streets to cheer them on.^[4] That summer, David Beckham finished second in the European Footballer of the Year award and United's manager Alex Ferguson was knighted.

During the 1999–2000 season, United, as champions of Europe, were invited to play in the Intercontinental Cup against Brazilian side, Palmeiras – a game won 1–0 thanks to a Roy Keane goal. In a controversial move, United – under pressure from the FA, UEFA and the British Government (all for different reasons) – withdrew from the 1999–2000 FA Cup, the first time that the holders had not attempted to defend their trophy. Instead, they played in the inaugural Club World Championship, this time a group competition, including teams like Real Madrid, amongst others. However, United struggled in the tournament, failing to reach the latter stages of the competition.

[edit] Squad statistics

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		Worthington Cup		Europe		Other		Total
No.	Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Peter Schmeichel	34	0	8	0	0	0	13	0	1	0	56	0
2	DF	Gary Neville	34	1	7	0	0	0	12	0	1	0	54	1
3	DF	Denis Irwin	26(3)	2	6	1	0	0	12	0	1	0	45(3)	3
4	DF	David May	4(2)	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	7(2)	0
5	DF	Ronny Johnsen	19(3)	3	3(2)	0	1	0	6(2)	0	1	0	30(7)	3
6	DF	Jaap Stam	30	1	6(1)	0	0	0	13	0	1	0	50(1)	1
7	MF	David Beckham	33(1)	6	7	1	0(1)	0	12	2	1	0	53(2)	9
8	MF	Nicky Butt	22(9)	2	5	0	2	0	4(4)	0	1	0	34(13)	2
9	FW	Andy Cole	26(6)	17	6(1)	2	0	0	10	5	1	0	43(7)	24
10	FW	Teddy Sheringham	7(10)	2	1(3)	1	1	1	2(2)	1	0(1)	0	11(16)	5
11	MF	Ryan Giggs	20(4)	3	5(1)	2	1	0	9	5	1	0	36(5)	10
12	DF	Phil Neville	19(9)	0	4(3)	0	2	0	4(2)	1	0(1)	0	29(15)	1
13	DF	John Curtis	1(3)	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	4(3)	0
14	MF	Jordi Cruyff	0(5)	2	0	0	2	0	0(3)	0	0(1)	0	2(9)	2
15	MF	Jesper Blomqvist	20(5)	1	3(2)	0	0(1)	0	6(1)	0	0	0	29(9)	1
16	MF	Roy Keane (c)	33(2)	2	7	0	0	0	12	3	1	0	53(2)	5
17	GK	Raimond van der Gouw	4(1)	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	7(1)	0
18	MF	Paul Scholes	24(7)	6	3(3)	1	0(1)	0	10(2)	4	1	0	38(13)	11
19	FW	Dwight Yorke	32	18	5(3)	3	0	0	11	8	0	0	48(3)	29
20	FW	Ole Gunnar Solskjær	9(10)	12	4(4)	1	3	3	1(5)	2	0(1)	0	17(20)	18
21	DF	Henning Berg	10(6)	0	5	0	3	0	3(1)	0	0(1)	0	21(8)	0
22	FW	Erik Nevland	0	0	0	0	0(1)	1	0	0	0	0	0(1)	1
23	DF	Michael Clegg	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
24	DF	Wes Brown	11(3)	0	2	0	0(1)	0	3(1)	0	0	0	16(5)	0
28	MF	Philip Mulryne	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
29	FW	Alex Notman	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0
30	DF	Ronnie Wallwork	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0
31	GK	Nick Culkin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF	Mark Wilson	0	0	0	0	2	0	0(1)	0	0	0	2(1)	0
34	MF	Jonathan Greening	0(3)	0	0(1)	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3(4)	0
38	DF	Danny Higginbotham	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

[edit] Transfers

[edit] In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
1 July 1998	DF	Jaap Stam	PSV Eindhoven	£10.75m
8 July 1998	GK	Russell Best	Notts County	Free
21 July 1998	MF	Jesper Blomqvist	Parma	£4.4m
3 August 1998	DF	John O'Shea	Waterford Bohemians	Undisclosed
28 August 1998	FW	Dwight Yorke	Aston Villa	£12.6m
17 February 1999	MF	Bojan Djordjic	Brommapojkarna	Undisclosed

[edit] Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
3 July 1998	MF	Ben Thornley	Huddersfield Town	£175k
4 July 1998	MF	Leon Mills	Wigan Athletic	Undisclosed
4 July 1998	GK	Adam Sadler	Unattached	Free
17 July 1998	DF	Gary Pallister	Middlesbrough	Undisclosed
8 October 1998	GK	Russell Best	Unattached	Free
4 November 1998	DF	Chris Casper	Reading	£300k
24 March 1999	FW	Michael Ryan	Wrexham	Undisclosed
25 March 1999	GK	Paul Gibson	Notts County	Undisclosed
25 March 1999	MF	Philip Mulryne	Norwich City	£500k
16 April 1999	MF	Terry Cooke	Manchester City	£1m
30 June 1999	DF	Gerard Gaff	Released
30 June 1999	FW	Jason Hickson	Released
30 June 1999	GK	Peter Schmeichel	Sporting CP	Free
30 June 1999	MF	John Thorrington	Bayer Leverkusen	Undisclosed
30 June 1999	MF	Lee Whiteley	Salford City	Undisclosed

[edit] Loan out

Date from	Date to	Position	Name	To
1 August 1998	10 March 1999	FW	Michael Twiss	Sheffield United
17 September 1998	1 November 1998	DF	Chris Casper	Reading
30 October 1998	9 January 1999	MF	Terry Cooke	Wrexham
1 November 1998	30 June 1999	DF	Danny Higginbotham	Royal Antwerp
7 November 1998	7 December 1998	GK	Paul Gibson	Hull City
14 January 1999	14 April 1999	MF	Terry Cooke	Manchester City
14 January 1999	31 May 1999	FW	Erik Nevland	IFK Göteborg
15 January 1999	31 May 1999	MF	Jordi Cruyff	Celta Vigo
27 January 1999	5 May 1999	DF	Ronnie Wallwork	Royal Antwerp
27 January 1999	5 May 1999	FW	Jamie Wood	Royal Antwerp
10 February 1999	1 May 1999	FW	Alex Notman	Aberdeen

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

Treble1999

[0] ttp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001206/ai_n14360863

[1] As of December 2007.

[2] BBC News | Football | Matthaus: United were lucky

[3] ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7410000/newsid_7411000/7411075.stm

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]