IT WAS late on Wednesday evening and the Nou Camp's giant
clocks indicated that time was running out for Manchester
United, who were trailing 1-0 to Bayern Munich. Some of the
German players even thought they were home and lederhosed.
Mario Basler certainly did.
"With 25 minutes to go, Basler was in the corner waving to
his fans," said Teddy Sheringham. "I was warming up and
standing right next to Basler as he was doing it. I couldn't
believe what he was doing. It gives you a sweeter incentive
to get on and get a result out of it. I was looking for
Basler at the end, just to give him a little wave."
Sheringham equalised and then another substitute, Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer, hooked in the winner as United's players
displayed their indomitable streak. "We have shown this
season that we never give up," said Ryan Giggs. "We did it
against Arsenal and Liverpool in the FA Cup. We have done it
again against Bayern. Liverpool used to score in the last
minute. Truly great sides do that."
Giggs and Sheringham were talking after emerging from
United's champagne-soaked dressing-room. As they relayed the
tales of the unexpected, David Beckham strode past with the
European Cup. Gary Neville, shortly to be Beckham's best
man, laughed at the suggestion that the trophy had been on
the wedding list before returning to the theme of the team's
determination.
"We've shown that this team never dies," Neville said. "It
keeps going right until the end and we've shown it on the
greatest stage. We didn't play to our best ability-wise or
skill-wise. It was something else that won us the game. We
were not going to lie down. Our guts took us through.
"There is a refusal to give in, a will that we've got to win
because nothing else is accepted at this club. It mirrors
the manager's thoughts, the manager's ambitions. He has got
that into the players' heads. Come the first day of pre-
season, the manager will be at us again. When you see your
manager, who has been there, seen and done everything in the
game, and you see his motivation and determination, how can
I fail to have it at 24?
Sheringham agreed. "It stems from the manager," said the
England striker. "He gave a great speech at half-time,
telling us, 'you are yards away from the European Cup. I
know you are 1-0 down but don't just come back in here
without giving your all.' We certainly gave our all."
Dwight Yorke has been at United less than a season but is
fully versed in the dressing-room camaraderie. "It's all
down to the good management, the good team spirit," said the
Tobagan forward. "My private life has been published a few
times and my team-mates and manager supported me. That has
made me stronger. There is a close togetherness of the team.
We have proven that over the season when people have written
us off and we bounce back every time."
Yet for a long period of the game resilience seemed
insufficient to overcome a tactically smart Bayern side. "I
told the players in the dressing room afterwards that it
looked like a German team were going to do us again," said
Neville. "I remember Euro 96. I remember Borussia Dortmund
when we missed all those chances. Bayern were unlucky. To
win three trophies, you need an element of luck and we've
had that this year in Europe. In the past, we hadn't."
Giggs was less sensitive to Teutonic sensibilities. "The
Germans have been so lucky in the past against us that I
think we deserved this bit of luck," said the Wales
international.
Giggs observed that he never felt the weight of history
hanging heavily upon him. "Matching the team of '68 wasn't a
pressure," said the winger often compared to George Best.
"It has always been rammed down our necks as it was before
we won the League.
"There was this expectancy about 'are United ever going to
win the league again?'. We did do and have done so
consistently. We have dominated domestically. We now want to
dominate Europe. We want to emulate great teams like
Juventus and the Liverpool of the Eighties."
Neville echoed Giggs's sentiments about the obsession with
Sir Matt Busby's European Cup-winners. "Sixty-eight was
never a burden," said the England right back. "The '68 team
were a fantastic team. People will probably say we've
surpassed the '68 team but I wouldn't agree with that. We've
just won the same competition. It's nice that people will
look upon us in the same way. They had world-class players.
"We have said all season that we don't have a priority, that
we play each competition as it comes along. But the European
Cup has always been the big one for us."
Yorke was overcome with the emotion of it all. "It is
unbelievable," he said. "I grew up as a kid thinking of
these matches. Lothar Matthäus is a hero in my eyes, a
legend. To play against him in the Champions' League final
shows what a life I've had. I was close to tears just
thinking about it."
It was stand-in captain Peter Schmeichel's last match for
United. The Danish goalkeeper is now pondering a move to the
Continent, possibly to Udinese, Roma, Bordeaux, Monaco or
Marseilles. When asked where he might end up, however, he
replied: "Now is a time for champagne, not thinking about
the future."
The final word must go to Gary Neville, such a proud
spokesman for the dressing-room. "We have given people so
much entertainment. We've done it with style. People have to
admire us even if they don't like us."
United winning the European Cup was the last leg of many
season-long accumulators which had been going well because
of the domestic title wins by fancied sides Sunderland,
Fulham and Brentford, as well as United's Premiership
success. There were also some optimistic souls celebrating
having backed United at 100-1 last August to complete the
Treble.
The sheer weight of small-stakes bets involving United's
European Cup victory means bookmakers could be facing a pay-
out of several million pounds, although the figure will only
became clear when the majority of winners have returned to
the betting shops to pick up their money. United are 5-1
with Ladbrokes to retain the European Cup and a desperately
short 11-10 to retain the Championship, which with all their
fixture requirements next season as European champions will
be a tough order. Hill's offer 66-1 against a repeat Treble.