Manchester United’s 1998-99 season began with defeat at Wembley to defending Premier
League champions Arsenal. That day, at the beginning of August in the Charity Shield,
there was no suggestion that Alex Ferguson was about to lead his club to the most successful
campaign in British footballing history and an achievement yet to be matched.
But that’s exactly what happened.
By the mid-1990s Alex Ferguson had grown frustrated with Manchester United’s recruitment.
The club were a PLC and obliged to balance their on-field ambition with obligations to
shareholders, and it meant that United, who had spent just £12m the summer before and
just £10m the summer before that, were being routinely outspent by Liverpool, Arsenal,
Newcastle, occasionally Blackburn Rovers, and nearly all of the European heayweights.
The summer of 1998 broke that trend. Dutch centre-half Jaap Stam was signed for £15m
from PSV and Swedish winger Jesper Blomqvist joined from Parma for £6m.
Ferguson’s main target was Aston Villa forward Dwight Yorke and nothing better illustrates
the restrictions of the era than the fact that United had to delay the completion of that deal
until mid-August, at which point its cost could be deferred to a different accounting period.
But this wasn’t just about strengthening the first team. United had suffered in
Europe throughout that decade, the experience of which left Ferguson with two main conclusions.
One, that continental sides kept the ball far better than English teams. Two,
that the best teams were tactically flexible and comprised not just starters,
but squad players capable of multiple roles.
By the end of that summer, he had four forwards capable of playing in several combinations,
a midfield combining world class players and specialists and – behind
them – a newly-strengthened defence and an outstanding goalkeeper in Peter Schmeichel.
It was enough to snatch the Premier League back from Arsenal by a single point.
They began the season carelessly, but would remain unbeaten between December and May.
Their football was exhilarating and diverse. They could still counter-attack,
their delivery and threat from wide areas was lethal,
and – in Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole – they had a rare first-choice strike pairing.
Cole was a superb finisher, blessed with great pace and skill. Yorke was even more rounded.
He was also a first-rate goalscorer and terrific in the air, but with great vision also.
In the FA Cup, which they’d win after a processional final against Newcastle, United’s
progress foreshadowed qualities they’d need later in the year. They eliminated Chelsea with Phil
Neville man-marking Gianfranco Zola, a tactical sleight of hand that Ferguson had acquired.
And that came after they’d knocked out Liverpool in the fourth round with two late goals from Yorke
and Solskjaer. In a semi-final replay, they’d conquer Arsenal at the end of 120 minutes which
had seen them a man-down for an hour and having a stoppage-time penalty given against them.
United were ahead of the British footballing curve.
Eric Cantona’s success, for instance, owed much to other Premier League teams not
really understanding how to defend a deeper lying forward. In Europe, there was no such advantage.
While the English game also emphasised speed and power, European competition privileged the ability
to retain possession and nullify opposition strengths. United had built towards 1998-99,
they’d reached the semi and quarter-finals of the Champions League in previous years, but
that season saw them redress the shortcomings that had derailed their European campaigns of the past.
In the group stage, United would contest a pair of exhilarating draws against Bayern Munich and
Barcelona. The two Barcelona games finished 3-3 and the second of which provided a famous
signature of United’s cosmopolitan class. For their second goal of that night, Yorke stepped
over a pass allowing it to run to Cole, received a ball back from his strike partner that he
immediately returned, and Cole then carved in one of the finest goals in the competition’s history.
In the quarter-final, United would take a two-goal lead over Inter Milan to Italy and
Ferguson would throw one of his tactical curveballs, pushing Ronny Johnsen into
midfield to help subdue Ronaldo. They’d survive and advance, and face Juventus.
In the first half of the first leg at Old Trafford, Juve were comfortably the better
side and might have been more than one-goal up. Ferguson’s wide midfielders – Beckham
and Giggs – really operated as wingers, leaving Manchester United’s midfield badly outnumbered.
This time, they had the capacity to adjust and reclaim control:
Beckham was moved inside and played more conservatively after the break,
while Giggs was given the more aggressive role – and he’d equalize right at the death.
The semi-final second leg might be that team’s defining performance.
Two-nil down within the blink of an eye, Roy Keane and Dwight Yorke would score to bring United
level by half time. Keane would also collect the yellow card that left him suspended for the final.
By the time Andy Cole tapped into an empty net to finish the tie, Paul Scholes had also been booked
and would be missing in Barcelona as well, denying Ferguson his first-choice midfield.
On to the famous night at Camp Nou, against Bayern Munich. Teddy Sheringham’s late equaliser and
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s last-gasp winner are part of footballing history today, so too is
the image of Sammy Kuffour pounding the turf in frustration as the trophy slipped Bayern’s grasp.
But that night was about the subtext. Sheringham and Solskjaer were perfectly used substitutes.
Ferguson had also constructed a makeshift centre-midfield pairing out of Nicky Butt
and David Beckham, with Giggs moved to the right and Blomqvist down the left.
It was team football, not just a case of sending out the eleven
best players with a rigid gameplan, as had previously been the English way.
Manchester United were able to reach the mountain top that year,
but because they’d learnt to climb in a different way.