Sir Alex Ferguson admits he was not confident Manchester United could beat Bayern Munich in 1999
Speaking to The Guardian, Sir Alex Ferguson has made a surprising revelation regarding what is considered the zenith of his reign at Manchester United.
It came in 1999 when United won their second European Cup (UEFA Champions League) and the first under the Scot. They faced off against a great Bayern Munich side in the final at the Nou Camp.
Both teams went into the game after extremely successful seasons domestically. United for their part had already won the Premier League and the FA Cup.
The Red Devils would go on to win the game in a dramatic finale to win the club a famous treble. As Ferguson now admits, he was far from certain it would happen.
“No chance! I was thinking what I’d say to the players: ‘You had a great season.’ But then we won it.”
The Scot admits that he believed the team had already had a great season until that point. He was forced to take a different stand once Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer turned the tide in stoppage time.
One can not fault Ferguson for his pessimism going into the game. Until that point, United for all their domestic dominance had failed to go all the way in Europa under his guidance.
More so, the Die Roten side led by Thomas Helmer had some of the biggest names in German football in their midst. Thankfully, our boys had different ideas and went on to write a colourful page in the history of not just the competition but also the club.
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The hero of the night, Solskjaer is today the manager of United. He could very well lead the Red Devils to European glory in the Europa League this season.
United take on Spanish side Villarreal in the final in Gdansk later this month. Having made history as a player, Solskjaer will be keen to do so again as a manager.
