MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS

#1 The dream comes true for United – THE TIMES

BY ADRIAN LEE IN BARCELONA
AND JOHN GOODBODY

MANCHESTER UNITED and their manager Alex Ferguson found their Holy Grail in Barcelona last night.

They won the European Cup 2-1 in the most dramatic possible way by scoring twice in the 90th minute after they had trailed 1-0 to Bayern Munich for most of the final.

With the historic victory, they completed a unique treble by an English club, having already taken the Premiership title and the FA Cup.

The 45,000 United supporters stayed in the Nou Camp stadium to celebrate the amazing win as their heroes ran round the pitch, draped in scarves and banners.

Many fans who had been unable to get a ticket so were forced to watch the game on television, began a huge street party in the centre of the Catalan capital to salute their heroes, who had pulled off perhaps the most amazing victory in the 45-year history of the competition.

Their triumph was achieved before a capacity crowd of 90,000 and an estimated global television audience of 500 million people, a record for a club match. This included an estimated 16 million people in England.

United last won the trophy 31 years ago with their celebrated team, including Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best and managed by the late Sir Matt Busby.

Ferguson had made victory in this competition a personal crusade, just as Sir Matt had done after the 1958 Munich air disaster when so many of his first European Cup team - the Busby Babes - died.

Last night Ferguson hailed his players as "incredible human beings" and predicted that their hunger for success would lead to more trophies.

"The future is to keep playing with such pride and the players won't rest on that because they're young. Tonight they just never gave in. We got off to a bad start but kept at them and got our reward."

United went behind to a sixth-minute goal from a free kick by Mario Basler but in the last minute of ordinary time, with their dream seemingly over, both Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored

Lynne Truss on how the chap with the reprieve burst in at one second to midnight

IF ANYONE needed glorious testimony to the truth of that tired adage "It's not over till it's over", Manchester United proved it last night with the most thrilling end to a match involving English players for half a lifetime.

One-nil down after six minutes to Bayern Munich in the final of the European Cup at Barcelona, Manchester United fought on until the 90th minute, with umpteen chances blocked or deflected. The last part of their historic treble seemed dismally beyond all their efforts, and sad to say, their recently acquired status as "gods" was in jeopardy.

In fact, despite Manchester United's larger share of the possession, despite all David Beckham's splendid passing and Jaap Stam's brick-wall defence, it was Bayern who looked much more likely to score in the intervening end-to-end 84 minutes, with strikes bouncing off the post and the crossbar, and all Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke's efforts easily turned aside and defused in the goalmouth by steadfast Bayern defenders. The truth was, if it hadn't been for the posts, United would have been two or three down. And it always makes you feel a bit sheepish when the goalposts save the day. It doesn't seem even demi-godlike, let alone the full Olympian malarky.

So it appeared all up for Man U. The chap with the reprieve who so often bursts in with a one-second-to-midnight message from the governor appeared to have either lost his way in the Ramblas, or got distracted by the Gaudi architecture. Either way, he was very late. In the 90th minute, I put my hands in front of my face and just listened to the commentator reel off the names. Even that was terrible. I wondered if I should put my thumbs in my ears as well. "Giggs," he said. Oh God, it was the same old story; was it time to move abroad? Or kill myself? I was in Amsterdam, after all. Those canals had a certain attraction. "," he continued, with an excited inflection. I refused to look up. These Dutch people probably have a very different speech pattern from us, which implies a goal attack where none is taking place. "!" he yelled. But I'd heard it all before, and was renouncing football for being too wearing on the nerves. "SHERINGHAM!" he bellowed, at which point, unbelievably, Teddy Sheringham equalised.

One all? One all? Can't be. But it was. One all! The chap with the reprieve had turned up after all! His bike got a puncture, and he was attacked by wolves, but he made it none the less! This meant extra time, and with Bayern Munich demoralised by such an astonishing late goal, there was a good chance they might roll over. Of course, the Dutch commentator might be saying this, but I could hardly be expected to follow it. So I was just imagining, with heart in mouth, how it would be if (miraculously) Bayern rolled over in extra time, when the ball turned up in their goalmouth again, and via a very neatly controlled double action from Sheringham (again) and Solskjaer, a second goal was scored and the game was over.

And like millions of other people watching it (except in Munich) I danced and yelled and laughed and laughed. Because it was preposterous and funny, and the happiest turnaround in a football match that I have ever seen. This is a match that should wipe out all the misery of England v Argentina; it certainly crowns David Beckham's brilliant season, and confirms him as a footballing genius. It also proves the supreme value of self-belief in winning at the highest level. Despite everything, United clearly never stopped thinking they could win this match.

I wish I could say the crestfallen looks of the Germans did not add to the enjoyment. But I would be lying. Each morose expression that filled the television screen only enhanced the joy. Had Manchester United led from the start, there would be room for sympathy with those gallant losers, but after 85 minutes of distress, the tension released comes out as pure we-won-it-and-you-didn't ecstasy. We don't have that feeling very often in England. How marvellous to enjoy it while we can

#3 'Worst 90 minutes of my life and the best three' _ THE TIMES

BY ADRIAN LEE IN BARCELONA AND MARK HENDERSON

MANCHESTER United's jubilant Red Army began a huge victory party in the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona last night as the final whistle sounded. At precisely the same moment, the team's home city dissolved into giddy celebration.

As despair turned to ecstasy in a few tumultuous minutes, hardly a soul showed any sign of leaving the Barcelona stadium as the final leg of the historic treble was completed. The end of the match was the signal for the 45,000 United fans who managed to get tickets to go wild. "Champions of Europe" they chanted, as their disbelief faded.

The Nord Gol area of the ground, where the United fans were grouped, became a seething mass of red and white. Victory, snatched from defeat, completed an unbeaten run of 33 games and brought United their third trophy in 11 amazing days.

Long after the game had finished and the opposite end of the stadium had emptied of the 30,000 Bayern Munich supporters, the United players remained on the pitch to receive the deafening acclaim of their fans. As each hero in turn lifted the trophy, there was another huge cheer.

The hundreds of pounds that supporters had spent on the black market to obtain their tickets now seemed like the bargain of the century.

David Wilson, 33, of Salford, summed up the feelings of every United fan: "It's going to be the best night of my life. I thought the treble was gone - I can hardly believe it. We are going to have a massive party." His ticket cost him £275. "It was worth every penny."

Ignoring announcements that coaches were about to leave for the airport, the fans chanted for Alex Ferguson, the United manager. Only when the players finally trooped off the pitch, more than 45 minutes after the game ended, did the first few gaps begin to appear in the stands.

Back home in Manchester, pubs and bars that moments earlier had been mired in gloom erupted into uncontainable joy as victory dawned. Fans streamed towards Old Trafford and the city centre driven by the drama of the night.

Car horns blared, banners flew and every player in turn was serenaded in song. Streets that for the best part of three hours had been almost silent came alive with red-shirted revellers, many of whom simply could not believe the scale of what had just happened. "Amazing, just amazing," said Martin Smith, 26, on Deansgate. "Never seen anything like it. The worst 90 minutes of my life and the best three."

A fan who answered to the name of Keeno said: "We've done it. Ferguson is the greatest ever. He knew how to swing it and he did it."

When the clock ticked to 90 minutes, the atmosphere at the Trafford Centre, where about 5,000 fans had packed in to watch the action on the giant screen, was more wake than carnival. Then pandemonium. Fans who had been urging their team forward with exasperated desperation leapt for joy, jumping into a decorative pool and embracing everyone in sight. Seconds later, it happened all over again.

Children who had spent most of the second half in tears were grinning. Staff were swallowed up in hugs. Once Manchester has got over its hangover, half a million fans are expected to welcome the heroes home today.

#4 Solskjaer takes Treble chance - GUARDIAN

United shatter Bayern with double strike in injury-time

Manchester United sealed a historic Treble last night. That was predicted. But what could not have been foreseen was the manner of their victory. Two goals in injury-time by substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed them a victory every bit as remarkable as their first European Cup at Wembley win 31 years earlier.

Yet the start for United could hardly have been worse. The game was merely heading towards the fifth minute when Bayern's giant striker Carsten Jancker burst towards the opposing penalty area only to be unceremoniously brought down by Ronny Johnsen's tackle some 19 yards out on the left.

As the Germans loitered over the free-kick, United arranged a long wall into which Markus Babbel infiltrated.

As Mario Basler hammered his shot towards the crimson sentries, Babbel appeared to peel off backwards, taking the end of the wall with him and the ball fizzed around the defensive line with Peter Schmeichel, in his final game for United, left angrily rooted to the spot as it hit the net.

Neither the United players nor the fans could believe they were losing. After all the hope they had invested in this tie, was defeat going to be the reality? About half the giant bowl of the 90,000 capacity Nou Camp wallpapered red by United supporters, a colourful backdrop made even bolder by Alex Ferguson's starting line-up.

In the absence of the suspended Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, the United manager took a huge gamble in this, without doubt the most important game of his life, by risking David Beckham alongside Nicky Butt in midfield.

The player constantly praised as the best crosser of the ball in Europe and prior to the game rated by Pele as currently the third best player in the world behind Rivaldo and Zinedine Zidane, has filled this central role hardly at all in his career and just once this season - in last Saturday's FA Cup final.

But the move did not entail just one risk. To accommodate Beckham's switch, Ryan Giggs was relocated to an equally unfamiliar position on the right wing, and the squad player Jesper Blomqvist brought in on the left.

Going a goal behind so early offered an even stiffer test of the effectiveness of Ferguson's brave redesign. But slowly, as they have done so many times before, United worked their way into the game.

Andy Cole bundled a shot under pressure just wide and Dwight Yorke met Beckham's ball to the near post with a turn and shot which the Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn rushed to punch away. But the difficulty of United's task was frequently exposed. Beckham is great going forward but when, on 29 minutes he was naively dispossessed by Jens Jeremies just inside the Bayern half, the ensuing counter-attack ended with Alexander Zickler shooting just wide of Schmeichel's goal.

Johnsen, preferred in central defence to midfield, proved an unexpectedly wobbly compatriot for Jaap Stam, while Blomqvist was also fitting uneasily into the United reshuffle, not only leaving the left side virtually a cross-free zone but directing too many passes to players in grey.

But Ferguson's team were pressing for the equaliser even if they were not getting very far. The closest to a chance early on in the second half fell, actually, to Blomqvist, whose outstretched foot directed a deep cross from the right over the bar.

But Bayern's well-organised and quick-witted side always remained a danger as United pushed forward. Not for the first time Jancker ran uninterrupted into the area only to see his acute-angled shot shovelled away by Schmeichel and then Basler nearly chipped the keeper from the halfway line before Stefan Effenberg blasted just wide from 25 yards and forced Schmeichel to tip over from close range shortly after.

A United change was inevitable and on 67 minutes the ineffective Blomqvist made way for Saturday's man of the match Sheringham. And twice Bayern could have stretched their lead as shots rebounded from the United woodwork. Bayern would regret those misses as they missed a chance of their own Treble.

Oliver Holt on the moment Alex Ferguson's team passed into footballing legend

A THOUSAND flashbulbs recorded the moment. When the final whistle went last night, they lit up the Nou Camp here as though it was noonday in the Barcelona sun and froze the Manchester United players with their arms in the air. It was the instant they passed into legend.

In two astonishing, almost surreal, minutes at the end of the last European Cup final of the 20th century, the gilded youth of the most famous of clubs left excellence behind them and found the greatness they have been searching for.

The treble is theirs now, as well, something unprecedented, something that even the great English sides of the past have always fallen short of. It is unlikely that it will ever be repeated.

By coming from behind to beat Bayern Munich with two goals in the final minutes, by transforming what seemed like certain defeat into glorious, glorious victory, this United side escaped once and for all from the shadow of Sir Matt Busby and the team that won the trophy in 1968.

The problem for future United teams, for future teams of all nations for that matter, will not be in trying to recreate the magic of George Best and Bobby Charlton, it will be in the impossible task of trying to surpass the unsurpassable, of bettering a finish that could not be imagined.

The game had already entered its final minute of normal time when the comeback began. It had seemed that United had fallen to a tame defeat courtesy of a sixth-minute free kick from Mario Basler. They have developed a reputation for conjuring comebacks in Europe this season, but this time, against the resilience of the Germans, the match seemed to be out of reach.

Instead, Teddy Sheringham, who had been ridiculed this season for being a loser, scored in the ninetieth minute, just as he had scored in the FA Cup Final last Saturday. As Bayern were trying to adjust to that, Sheringham nodded on a Beckham corner and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had only been on the pitch for eight minutes, hooked it into the roof of the net.

A few seconds later, the final whistle went and the Germans threw themselves to the floor as if they had the falling sickness. Carsten Jancker, who had hit the bar for Bayern ten minutes from the end, sobbed uncontrollably. Most of his team-mates looked stunned.

United were, of course, the souls of jubilation and wild celebration. As they stood in front of their supporters, Sheringham mimicked the action of sweeping in his equaliser and Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole danced a samba of delight in the centre circle. If there was any poignancy among the English, it was sympathy for Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, the men who had missed out because of suspension.

Yet the triumph was perhaps sweetest for Alex Ferguson, the United manager. He has suffered in Busby's shadow more than most, but now he can retire in three years knowing he has found the fulfilment that he deserves. It was he who took the gamble of playing Beckham in central midfield, he who risked everything by throwing on Sheringham and Solskjaer. It was his triumph more than anyone's and he admitted afterwards that he could hardly take it in.

"You cannot deny the most important fact of all," Ferguson said, "and that is the spirit and the will to win that exists at this club. That is what won the trophy for us tonight.

"It is the greatest night of my life. I was prepared to risk and if you risk in a game of football you deserve to succeed. Sheringham and Solskjaer are goalscorers and they are good at their job. They are terrific substitutes.

"I am proud of my heritage tonight. I am proud of my family. I was starting to adjust to defeat near the end, I kept saying to myself: 'Keep your dignity and accept it is not your year.'

"It is a fairytale. It would have been Sir Matt Busby's birthday today and I think he was doing a lot of kicking up there in the last couple of minutes. I suppose you could say we have come out of his shadow now, but, with all the team has achieved this year, they could not have had any question marks against them.

"This team plays the right way. They embrace every concept of football that I like. What they have achieved is unprecedented. Nobody has ever done it. They deserve it."

When Ferguson had finished, he got up to leave. The room erupted in applause and the flashbulbs started flashing again

#6 Solskjaer has last word on treble – THE TIMES

MANCHESTER United last night sated the magnificent obsession that has inspired their strivings these past 31 years when they pulled off one of the most astonishing victories in the history of the European Cup and finally emulated the great team of Sir Matt Busby.

In the end, it hardly seemed to matter that they had won the treble. That was almost forgotten in the incredible drama of a match that seemed to have been lost, of a triumph so sudden and shocking that it almost defied belief.

It had seemed that United's attempt to win the trophy for the first time in 31 years had slipped to an anticlimactic failure, that they had fallen to a sixth-minute free kick from Mario Basler, that Bayern Munich had maintained the hold that German football seemed to have established over its English counterpart.

But as the red digital clocks at either end of the Nou Camp here showed that 90 minutes were up and Alex Ferguson began to prepare for the misery of defeat and the brave words of congratulation for the Germans, the unbelievable, the unthinkable, began to unfold before his eyes.

United's desperation had already forced them to rely on a huge chunk of good fortune as they saw shots from Carsten Jancker and Mehmet Scholl rebound off the woodwork. With injury time beckoning, Peter Schmeichel joined the rest of the United team in the penalty area as Beckham prepared to take a corner.

It was cleared only to the edge of the box and when Ryan Giggs volleyed it back in, Teddy Sheringham, a second-half substitute, side-footed it into the corner of the net. United went wild; Bayern could not believe it.

Yet two minutes later, the match lapsed into surreality. Beckham took another corner, Sheringham flicked it on and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had been on the pitch for only eight minutes, hooked it into the roof of the net.

The Bayern players stood disbelieving as United fell into ecstasy. A few seconds later, the final whistle went, the Germans flung themselves to the floor in utter despair and the victory was complete.

Even United could scarcely believe it, but, when they wake this morning, they will know that they are the first English team for 15 years to lift the European Cup and that they have finally dragged themselves out of the shadow of Busby, George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton.

They are their own men, now, they have gone from excellence to greatness, they will be fêted as the most resilient, adventurous English side of all time. They have developed a reputation for coming back from the dead, but this was beyond anything we could have expected.

Now, we will talk about the moment when Sheringham scored, about the disbelief at Solskjaer's strike in the same breath as we talk about Best's goal against Benfica at Wembley all those years ago. Nothing could equal the drama of what United achieved here.

From before the start, the atmosphere surrounding the game had been laden with the weight of history and expectation. Eric Cantona sauntered around the white marquees that ringed the stadium, Charlton sat nervously in the stands with the rest of the United directors.

In the opening minutes, in particular, it all seemed like a crushing burden on Alex Ferguson's players. They looked as though they were frozen with tension, with the realisation of how close they suddenly were to the prize that they had sought for so long.Schmeichel, playing in his last game for the club, appeared to be particularly badly affected. Usually the epitome of decisiveness and urgency, he twice fell into the grip of hesitation before his team had had time to settle and was forced into hasty, inelegant clearances that hinted at panic.

The United goalkeeper was also partly to blame when Bayern took the lead in the sixth minute. Passes from Jens Jeremies and Michael Tarnat had split the United defence and forced Ronny Johnsen into making a clumsy foul on Carsten Jancker, but Schmeichel arranged a long wall of red shirts on the edge of the area that should have been unbreachable.

Basler took the kick. He did not do anything fancy or attempt to bend the ball over the wall and under the crossbar. Instead, as Marcus Babbel dragged Nicky Butt out of the way, he clipped it round the side of the United players so that it arrowed straight into the right-hand corner of the net. Schmeichel stood rooted to the spot.

It was then that attention began to focus on Ferguson's bold experiment of playing Beckham in the centre of midfield, with Ryan Giggs switched to the right wing and Jesper Blomqvist stationed on the left. In the first half, it simply did not work.

It was not Beckham's fault. When he did get possession, he used it wisely and well, spraying passes right and left towards Andy Cole, Giggs and Blomqvist, but far from being discomfited by the sight of Beckham occupying his unfamiliar role, Bayern seemed to be encouraged by it.

When United had possession, Bayern pushed Lothar Matthäus forward into midfield, where Beckham was already facing the formidable twin obstacle of Stefan Effenberg and Jeremies.

It was simple enough, but it had the effect of swamping Butt and Beckham and denying them the time or space to operate. When the German champions chose to counter-attack, United missed the doggedness of the suspended Roy Keane and Paul Scholes and Bayern sliced through them.

Oliver Kahn was forced to make a save for the first time midway through the half, when he punched Yorke's flick away at the near post, and Beckham nearly created a chance for Cole with a raking, 50-yard pass that split the Bayern defence.

Still Bayern seemed the more dangerous side, though, still it was their counter-attacks that carried the most penetration. From one of these on the half-hour, Jeremies burst into great expanses of space, but, when Jancker back-heeled his pass to Zickler on the edge of the box, Zickler dragged it wide.

The start of the second half did not bring any change of fortune or incisiveness for United. Nine minutes after the interval, Babbel could have put Bayern farther ahead, but, under pressure from Johnsen, he glanced his header from a corner by Basler just wide. Two minutes later, Blomqvist wasted an excellent chance when he scooped a cross from Giggs over the bar from six yards.

Nothing was working for United. Giggs tried to sell a dummy to Basler and saw it intercepted, Cole tried an audacious overhead kick and almost missed it completely. The Germans were proving far more resilient opponents than any other of the teams that United have played so far this season.

Midway through the half, Ferguson bowed to the inevitable and introduced Sheringham for Blomqvist. Yet that did not turn tide immediately, either. The more they pressed forward, the more desperate and vulnerable United became. In the 73rd minute, Schmeichel made an outstanding save from Effenberg after Jancker's first-time pass had put him clear. A few minutes later, after Basler's run had turned Johnsen inside out, Schmeichel was powerless as he watched Mehmet Scholl's delicate chip float over him. To the relief of the United section of the crowd, the chip rebounded off the post.

United had another lucky escape a few minutes later, when Jancker's overhead kick crashed off the underside of the crossbar. They forced a couple of opportunities of their own through Solskjaer and Sheringham, but the Germans remained defiant and resolute - until United's desperate last assault.

BAYERN MUNICH (3-5-2): O Kahn - T Linke, L Matthäus (sub: T Fink, 79min), S Kuffour - M Babbel, J Jeremies, S Effenberg, M Basler (sub: H Salihamidzic, 89), M Tarnat - C Jancker, A Zickler (sub: M Scholl, 70).

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): P Schmeichel - G Neville, R Johnsen, J Stam, D Irwin - R Giggs, D Beckham, N Butt, J Blomqvist (sub: E Sheringham, 67) - A Cole (sub: O G Solskjaer, 81), D Yorke.

Referee: P Collina (Italy).

#7 112 seconds that made history – The Times

Manchester United's fortunes were transformed in the space of 112 dramatic seconds in injury time at the Nou Camp. A match that seemed destined to be settled by Bayern Munich's early goal erupted into a sensational climax.

90.25: With goalkeeper Schmeichel having joined the attack, Beckham swings over a corner from the left.

90.35: Ball has bobbled around the area and Giggs has miscued a shot that finds Sheringham lurking in front of him. The substitute swivels and drills home the equaliser. There is no time for celebration as the stunned Germans kick off in search of the winner.

92.15: With 45 seconds officially to play, Solskjaer wins another corner and Beckham attempts to work the oracle again.

92.17: Sheringham latches on to Beckham's delivery and glances a header towards Solskjaer, who sticks out his right boot and gets a solid touch. Ball flies into top left-hand corner of Kahn's goal and United have won

#8 True champions of human spirit – THE TIMES

Rob Hughes

How can we explain it? Should we even try to put what happened in those final seconds in the tempest of the Nou Camp last night into any reasonable kind of perspective? Manchester United had waited 31 years; they had, if we are honest, suffered 89 minutes in which the drama was always greater than the performance.

They had been second-best in all but the one characteristic that had taken both these two sides through to the final of theEuropean Cup . . . the absolute refusal to lie down when there was still a hope that adversity could be overturned.

It was astonishing that two substitutes, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, should be the marksmen that secured the final glory. Astonishing, yet somehow in keeping with a night when 90,000 spectators enjoyed surely the most magnificent footballing stadium on the Continent and as many as 30,000 people waited in the streets - waiting and hoping for the tumultuous roar that came from the United following, by far the greater inside the Barcelona arena.

To see at the finish the red shirts lining up to be hailed by their throng and to see, spread out on the turf, the grown men of Bayern Munich crying leaves an indelible memory. Not only had the ten Germans and their one African scored first, they had dominated and blanketed United's spirits and tattooed the United woodwork.

Of course, the times have been many when the Germans have enjoyed the celebrations while the English have been left lying in their own tears on the turf. Now, we wondered what to feel when we saw those images of Carston Jancker, a brute of a man, unashamedly sobbing like an infant because, when he least expected it, when his self-image was two blinks of an eye away from fulfilling a lifetime's achievement, it was snatched away.

What we can say is that this ability of sport to turn despair into ecstasy is what makes sport such an addictive highlight of our existence. If we could bottle the sheer tenacity, the belief and the will by which United turned this game around, it would be the most valuable commodity on this earth.

Alex Ferguson, his face appearing to shed a dozen years, knew that this had been his great escape. He is the equal now of the late Sir Matt Busby and has achieved every managerial quest in club football. How fitting it was that Ferguson acknowledged the moment by seeking out Roy Keane, his captain, who had been forced to sit out the occasion through suspension and whose leadership qualities were sorely missed until those last, climactic moments.

The night itself, balmy and wonderfully Mediterranean, had started fearfully. Outside, the police made a dreadful hash of the organisation. Tens of thousands of supporters, those with tickets and those without, were forced into a bottleneck, the hot breath of people's beery preparations mingling with the sweat.

No one escaped. Dignitaries were forced to leave their cars, three separate checkpoints marshalled by riot police appeared intent on adding to the pandemonium and, for this and many other visitors spectators from England, it had the dreaded portents of Hillsborough.

Thankfully, it appeared that the good sense of the people prevailed. Then, after Basler's early goal, we waited, we hoped and, towards the end, we ran out of belief. This was because the German champions had, at times, passed the ball with greater finesse than those of England. It was because German tackles, seldom rash, always brusque, were being timed to a near-perfection that drummed their apparent superiority into the night.

David Beckham was the exception. Sometimes his passes, angled, long and perceptive, transcended his team and, indeed, most of the opposition. But not until that fevered finale did United even look like emerging as equals, let alone winners.

When the pulse is allowed to rest, when the pleasant shock of this magnificent victory seeps into the consciousness, we might begin to ask how this United compares to the team of 1968. In matters of merit, we might have to question it, but for sheer human spirit, that will never be in doubt.

This was a triumph reflecting the personality of the team builder, no doubt one day to be knighted Sir Alex. I could not help watching this man among his players, some reared at Old Trafford, some bought at enormous, and now justified, expense. I know that Ferguson would have paid anything he had for this moment in history.

Instead, offering the old Scottish warhorse £350,000 as a bonus for something he had spent 25 years dreaming of achieving seems like bribing a young stud to spend a night with Claudia Schiffer. Dream on, for sometimes, despite everything our eyes tell us, it becomes reality

#9 Beckham runs for glory – The Guardian

Lap of honour for the long-distance sprinter

At the end he ran and he ran and he ran. If, as Manchester United's assistant manager Steve McClaren calculated, David Beckham covered nine miles of the Stadio Delle Alpi in the semi-final against Juventus in Turin, then how much ground did he cover last night in the vastness of Nou Camp? Only this week Beckham revealed that he was the Essex 1500m champion four years running at school, but football, especially at this level, requires sprint after sprint after sprint.

And yet no matter what part of the pitch Beckham filled - the centre circle, his area, the Bayern penalty box, the right-wing and all four corners - no United player seemed to be on his wavelength.

Then Teddy Sheringham appeared. The mood shifted, Beckham shifted. In injury-time he turned up on the left wing, rounded a silver grey shirt and flicked the ball to Denis Irwin, whose cross was booted out for a corner, probably a last corner.

All those years of practice, all those extra hours in training when Alex Ferguson had to drag Beckham away from The Cliff, were boiling down to this. A poor corner and the trophy was Bayern's. But it was not poor, it was typically fast and accurate, Peter Schmeichel's not so jolly green giant presence told and suddenly, a couple of half-hit shots from Ryan Giggs and Sheringham later, the ball was in the Munich net.

That was one thing, but then to have a near repeat with injury-time transforming into extra-time was astonishing. Then again, though, Beckham was demonstrating the archer's art of the corner kick and under the most intense scrutiny. Now Sheringham met this one almost as thrillingly as Roy Keane met another Beckham corner in the semi-finals. Sheringham's header did not billow the net as Keane's did but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's volley did.

The Germans had said that they feared Beckham's crossing. How realistic those fears proved as Sammy Kuffour, the only non-German in the team, was left showing Teutonic angst as he pummelled the Nou Camp turf. Kuffour, in particular, was deserving of his distress because he, along with Bayern's caveman of a midfielder, Jens Jeremies, did most to nullify the Beckham threat.

Jeremies was his shadow for long spells but then for 67 minutes, until the introduction of Sheringham, so were a few of Beckham's team-mates. Beckham may have displayed the emotional maturity and natural ability to dictate a European Cup final, but that does not mean he is a replica Roy Keane. Far from it, in fact. But he does complement Keane in a way that Nicky Butt did not complement Beckham last night.

That was a symptom of United's problems: a domino effect caused by Keane's suspension. Beckham may be the genuine article as a top-class playmaker but Giggs is no replacement for him on the right. On the opposite flank Jesper Blomqvist is no Giggs and in the 67 minutes United maintained this formation there was little of the fluid attacking that has characterised their season.

Instead there was frustration typified on the half-hour when a swerving Beckham corner from the right evaded four static red shirts when surely Keane would have met the ball on the run. Beckham was left cursing the Barcelona night air just as earlier he had cursed Ronny Johnsen for not anticipating aninswinging free-kick.

When Kuffour and Jeremies headed away second-half corners Beckham must have sworn again. But at last Sheringham came on to give Beck ham's passes a point and to change the night.

If only the footballers and journalists of England could make a similar change. Both put pen to ballot paper for the respective player of the year awards when the season's silverware issues are yet to be settled and the denouement is often far from clear. A sudden glorious run from Christmas to Easter can clinch them for one player over another who has shown regular excellence since August. Hence David Ginola.

But, put all the players and writers in a room last night at the end of the 44-week marathon and a show of hands would have revealed a sizeable majority for David Robert Beckham. It is 331 days since his red card in St Etienne and he has played in all United's 29 away games. He has taken the abuse; now he should be given the glory

#10 Hitzfeld magnanimous in defeat THE TIMES

Kevin McCarra says even German resilience could not cope with two such hammer blows.

So this is what it takes to break the spirit of the Germans. When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored his winning goal, half the Bayern Munich side fell to the ground and only reluctantly responded to the pleading of Oliver Kahn, their captain, to restart the European Cup final. For once, this formidable race of footballers could not be persuaded that any hope remained.

The Germans, rightly renowned for their powers of recovery, accepted that time had run out on them. As with any contest that is so hard-fought, an entirely different course might have been taken. Had Mehmet Scholl, a substitute, or Carsten Jancker added to the lead instead of hitting the frame of the goal, ecstasy would have taken root at the other end of the Nou Camp.

In practice, it is the Bundes-liga's finest who will have to lie awake and torment themselves with the thoughts of what might have been. English glee must be forgiven. The wait for the role-reversal has been a long one and the only trick still beyond Manchester United may be the gift of uniting the entire country. Their power and wealth will continue to irk some and cause envy in others, but, at Old Trafford, England's "30 years of hurt" have been avenged.

"It was inconceivable for us," Ottmar Hitzfeld, the Bayern coach, said of the climax to the match. "You can lose a goal and expect that you might have to play extra-time, but what happened was a tragic loss for us. Manchester United never gave up. The equaliser came as a shock to my team, but they can go home proud of their performance. We were a little unlucky, but United deserve to be champions."

His magnanimity was all the more laudable, given the lack of practice. The World Cup may have gone badly last year, but Germans, at club or international level, have not adjusted to inadequacy. Their powers are depleting only slowly and it took stoppage time to bring to them to complete collapse. Instead of being a hallmark of excellence, Lothar Matthäus, the veteran, had to epitomise the exhaustion of gifts. He had been encouraged, at 38, to be forthright, to work in midfield as much as he did behind the defence as a sweeper. His capacity for such a performance is much smaller than his lingering legend and, eventually, he signalled that he would have to be substituted. "I wanted him to play constantly, but he was not fit enough to do so," Hitzfeld said.

The trauma of the night will prove all the greater for its unexpectedness. Bayern's training ground is on Under Sabener Strasse, but the players seemed to think they were on Easy Street as they prepared there. Even if it would be wrong to deem them complacent, the visitor to their premises a fortnight ago could not mistake the poise of Hitzfeld's team. On the open day held for the international press, bland compliments to United were rolled out along with the red carpet.

None of that respect, however, was paid at a cost to trust in themselves. At the Nou Camp, United had to contend with a side that is absolutely convinced of its capacity to accomplish a given task. Where Bundesliga footballers are concerned, the term arrogance is often bandied around, but it is a poor fit for the true mental state. Arrogance rests on miscalculation, whereas the Germans have thrived on being absolutely correct in their calculations.

Ferguson's squad is hardly tremulous, but the players began the European Cup final as if they hoped they might be given a spell to settle. In that period, by contrast, Bayern were concerted in their work. The Bundesliga champions possess less talent than the serial winners of the FA Carling Premiership, but, this season, they have, until now, made every ounce of their gifts tell.

There were no grand performances to stretch across an entire evening, just significant touches in the merest shavings of time. Still, the parings of quality could glimmer, as when, early in the second half, Stefan Effenberg's pass, delivered with quicksilver touch, took play into the path of Matthäus. The move continued and Basler forced a corner.

Matthäus's doomed search for the one winner's medal that he has craved and so far lacked was a romantic quest, but it was couched in a team dedicated to pragmatism. At the beginning of the week, Hitzfeld had announced that Markus Babbel, a centre back, would play on the right instead of Thomas Strunz, an adventurous wing back.

The precautions did not save them from anguish. "My players will need days and weeks to recover," Hitzfeld said. United have other plans for the summer

#11 Ferguson savours night of drama – The Guardian

Manager of the decade lets his emotions do the talking

Vivek Chaudhary in Barcelona

The history maker strolled in with a gentle smile on his face, a gold medal proudly hanging over a sombre grey waistcoat, and appeared as stunned as the rest of us at what had just passed.

Alex Ferguson, the manager of the decade, stared at the scores of journalists assembled before him and for once was a man of reflective rather than fiery words.

"It's hard for me to take it all in," he said, winking at a journalist he recognised and giving him a clenched fist salute.

"It's hard to take in what's happened," he repeated. "But I'm very proud tonight, of my players, of my family and my heritage, for what they have given me. It's the greatest moment in my life tonight."

If the match itself was not for faint hearts, then Ferguson's post-match press conference was not for the hard- hearted. It was difficult not to feel the emotion gushing through his words and the sense of pride beaming from his face was almost infectious.

On reaching the 90-minute mark of the match, with the score at 1-0, Ferguson said: "I was stunned, I was starting to adjust to losing the game, I kept saying to myself keep your dignity and that it's not going to be your year.

"It's a fairy tale really, on Sir Matt Busby's birthday. Perhaps he's doing a little kicking for us," said Ferguson, giving a quick glance up to the sky.

Like the rest of us in Nou Camp, Ferguson said he had few words to describe how he felt when the final whistle sounded. "I just could not take it in. It happened so quickly."

The man who last night made history confessed that as his players danced around Nou Camp he was completely lost for words for the red sentries who clinched the unique treble.

"I have not said anything to anyone. I have just hugged and kissed them. They know my feelings, they know what I feel for them.

"I feel for Roy Keane, I have watched him walking around, he was gutted."

Ferguson said that in the end his team deserved the victory but he never quite expected it to be achieved in that way.

He added: "I was prepared to risk. If you risk you deserve to succeed in football. I felt with Sheringham and Solskjaer they were always liable to score goals. They are goalscorers, that's what their job is. We rode our luck in the last 15 minutes but that was a lot to do with the way we were playing."

When asked if he could ever top last night's achievement, Ferguson replied candidly: "You can't top that, it's the pinnacle. You can equal it, you can maintain your standards and pride, but you can't top that."

The fiery Scot even had a smile and a few words for a Manchester United fan who had managed to sneak into the press conference. Describing the team's followers as fantastic, Ferguson gave a thumbs-up salute to the fan and said: "This guy is unbelievable. How do you do it? Well, you deserve it."

On the game in general Ferguson said: "We never really created the chances that we normally create but we did try to win it. I thought that Bayern Munich, once they scored, tried to shut the shop up. That's a dangerous game to play."

As United's fans made their way out of Nou Camp and the players returned to the dressing room to begin the post-match celebrations, Ferguson confessed that he still had not decided how he would mark the historic occasion.

He said: "I don't know how I'm going to celebrate. I just want to relish the evening. I want to let it sink in and understand what happened out there. I am enjoying what is happening."

With a gentle smile he clinched his medal and rose from his chair thanking those present for their support. Some journalists rushed forward to shake his hand while others applauded as Ferguson left the press room to join his players. The sense of history was felt by all those present, and the man who had just made it had left his mark on those who had heard him.

If Ferguson appeared stunned by the events, then spare a thought for his German rival of the night. Ottmar Hitzfeld, manager of Bayern Munich, said after the match: "I think I will be able to understand this after I have slept a couple of days.

"It's really difficult to digest this kind of blow but we can be proud because we have performed. We were totally surprised, it was inconceivable for us but this is football and things like this happen. The future will show how quickly we can recover."

As the two managers rejoined their players, one was left feeling that it was not a night for words but just pure emotion

#12 Fans spill out to dance at the feet of Sir Matt - The Guardian

Thousands of jubilant supporters turned the centre of Manchester into a huge street party amid a sea of emotion last night.

The remarkable finale to Manchester United's unprecedented Treble sparked scenes of mass delirium with the realisation that the 31-year quest for the European Cup had finally been fulfilled.

Fans poured out of pubs and clubs to converge on the city centre for a carnival more accustomed to Rio than Rusholme. During the match the streets had been deserted.

Traffic was brought to a standstill as fans young and old danced in the streets to the unrelenting accompaniment of sounding car horns.

The most innovative street vendors were selling the first merchandise bearing the words "European Cup Winners - 1999".

At Old Trafford the poignancy of the occasion was not lost as supporters draped their assorted paraphernalia over the statue of Sir Matt Busby, who was born 90 years ago to the day.

Police were forced to close off the surrounding streets as the hordes made the Theatre of Dreams the focal point for their celebrations, queues of traffic stretching for miles around.

"It's been the most amazing night of my lifetime," said Simon Clementson, a restaurateur and lifelong fan, who could not get his hands on a cherished ticket for Stretford-on-Sea 2,000 miles away.

"I've never seen celebrations like it but then again I've never seen a match end like that."

Later today the scenes will be repeated when the United team parade all three trophies on an open-top bus parade organised at short notice after initially being cancelled because of safety concerns.

An estimated 500,000 people are expected to continue the party.

#13 United's sheer marvels prove Ferguson wrong – THE TIMES

FROM MATT DICKINSON

SHAME on the Manchester United supporters who sneaked out before the dramatic denouement. They should have known that, in this year of living dangerously, Alex Ferguson's team would conjure their most extraordinary comeback yet.

Their fightback against Juventus in Turin was classed among the greats, most people assumed that it would prove unique and even the United manager believed that his side had run out of luck.

"My players never give in," he said. "I always expect that they can do something, but this time I thought we were beaten. It is fantastic. The players are incredible human beings."

Just as they had in the semi-finals against Juventus, United appeared to have been outfought before the match had even begun and they quickly found themselves chasing the game. "You can talk all you like about tactics," Ferguson countered, "but the spirit is unbelievable."

Ferguson was forced into throwing on Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer more in hope than expectation and the weight of United attackers eventually paid off. "I had to gamble," Ferguson said. "It's a European final, so why not do it? I brought on Teddy and Ole and it paid off. We didn't play as well as we can, but I feel we were the better team over 90 minutes. We had a bad start and had a bit of luck in the last 20 minutes, but we deserved it."

The finale to the game also witnessed the closing moments of Peter Schmeichel's eight-year career at Old Trafford and he can never have anticipated it concluding with him in an opposition penalty area and contributing to a winning goal. Schmeichel, 35, admitted that he had no hope of touching the ball when he charged forward, but a glancing header played a part in Sheringham's equaliser. "I went up to create chaos and confusion and, at 6ft 4in, I probably did it," Schmeichel said. "They had been very strong at set-pieces, so we had to try something different. Maybe that was the thing that worked.

"It is not very often that I get to be in the penalty area when all the players are celebrating, so that was different and great."

Schmeichel is expected to announce shortly where he will move to this summer, but last night he was too carried away with emotion to even think about packing his bags. "You'll have to ask me about this game again in two weeks because I cannot even think of summing it up now," he said.

"I said back in November when I announced that I would retire from English football that I would work until my last day to help United win trophies and now we have lifted all three. It is a fantastic feeling.

"Even though time was running out, I thought we might get something because we played the game as we have this whole Champions' League campaign by being positive.

"Obviously you can feel sorry for Bayern after being 1-0 up for so long, but that is the beauty and cruelty of football

#14 Champagne, Champagne and Shanks pain – The Guardian

"Football… bloody hell!" - Alex Ferguson, 26th May 1999.

#15 BIG CUP, BIG VIEWING FIGURES – The Guardian

#16 'Can football really be so brutal?' - The Guardian

German reaction to Manchester United's late, late show

Rheinische Post

"Can football really be so brutal? I cannot find the words.. I find it hard to describe." Steffen Effenberg was speechless after Bayern Munich's 2-1 defeat by Manchester United in the Champions League Final. So were his team-mates.

Up to the 90th minute, Bayern had done the job and their dream was almost a reality... Then came what had to come: Manchester United created the incomprehensible and turned it around in injury time. Within 102 seconds, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer destroyed Bayern's dreams. Whilst the English rejoiced, the Bayern players were distraught and in tears.

Suddeutsche Zeitung

Franz Beckenbauer, usually so optimistic, said that the shock of this 1-2 defeat would not evaporate on Thursday: "The worst day," said Beckenbauer, "is the day after." It was written all over the players' faces, as if they had received an enormous blow: their trophy taken away.

"Football can be so cruel. I did not experience such a cruel defeat ever. The game was almost over, the Cup was almost ours."

Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld reflected on missed chances: " Had we not twice hit the post, we would have gone home as winners from the stadium. Manchester earned the victory exactly like Bayern. We can leave with our heads raised high from the stadium. But I am bitterly disappointed."

Bundesliga (TV Today)

Approximately 40,000 fans of Bayern were left speechless and shocked in the streets of Munich, after the defeat of their team in the last minute of the Champions League Final in Barcelona. With free beer and almost cloudless evening sky on Wednesday, the Bayern fans had watched the game on the big screen at the Olympic Stadium.

The fans witnessed Manchester United score two injury-time goals. "That was unfair", was the unanimous tenor. Numerous fans had tears in their eyes or struck their hands on their faces.

By Paul Hayward

By Henry Winter

THIS magnificent Manchester United side simply refuse to give up. Yesterday, when all seemed lost, when the German jinx again appeared to hold sway over an English side, United scored twice in the final seconds through Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to lift the European Cup on the day that marked Sir Matt Busby's 90th birthday. Amazing.

United have this alarming habit of making life difficult for themselves in Europe. Scarcely five minutes had elapsed when the champions of England conceded the sloppiest of goals, the devastating early blow emanating from the confusion between Ronny Johnsen and Jaap Stam. Communication and positional sense, the staples of central defensive pairings, appeared minimal as Carsten Jancker, Bayern's burly striker, muscled down the inside-left channel.

The area appeared Stam's zone of responsibility but there was Johnsen diving in and fouling Jancker. Bayern eyed up the situation, 20 yards and with promise writ large. United realised the danger and quickly gathered in a wall. Germans, though, are past masters at opening walls through run or tug.

Jancker and Markus Babbel made the key moves. Jancker was first to peel away, taking Stam chasing after him. Then Babbel went, nipping behind the wall itself and applying a slight tug to Nicky Butt's shirt on the way. The cover was blown, the hole opened.

Basler, having bided his time, stepped up and sent his free-kick curling into the space vacated by Babbel and Jancker. Peter Schmeichel, captain on his last appearance for United, stood helpless as the ball swerved in to his left, sending the Germans into paroxysms of delight.

A brutal lesson unlearned, United still struggled defensively. Still the mix-ups came, most notably between Schmeichel and Johnsen, although Bayern failed to press home an unexpected advantage.

Lacking Roy Keane's midfield drive and leadership, United desperately sought for one of their rank to stand up and lift them from this mess of their own making.

David Beckham picked up the gauntlet. As United's faithful ran through their song-book, Beckham ran through his passing repertoire. This was his stage, his hour but the experienced Germans refused to buckle.

The strivings of England's finest midfielder were watched and assessed by the great and the good of the global game, Pele even taking time out to describe Beckham as one of the world's great players just behind Rivaldo and Zinedine Zidane.

Of Alex Ferguson's decision to hand Beckham the central play-making role, Brazil's most famous son said: "With a player like David Beckham, you must give him his freedom." Now it was United who needed liberating from of Bayern's cold clutch.

Beneath a sea of banners, one of them proclaiming "Spirit of 68. Class of 99", Beckham kept trying to release a low-key Jesper Blomqvist down the left, Ryan Giggs down the right and Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole through the middle. One clever ball saw Yorke flicking goalwards only for Bayern's excellent goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn, to punch clear.

Beckham's first-half promise foundered on the rock of German determination and organisation. Whenever Beckham gained possession, Jens Jeremies powered in, making control and composure even more crucial assets.

Bayern's tactics were so clever, so efficient. When Schmeichel had the ball, only one grey-shirted striker stayed up while the other two fanned towards the flanks, filling the space that the English love to exploit.

Giggs looked ill at ease on the right, adding to Bayern's sense of control. When United did break through, Kahn was there to quell the danger. One quickfire link-up between Yorke and Cole did release Giggs, ripping United's supporters from their seats in fevered anticipation. Yet there was Kahn, so calm and canny, advancing to seize the ball. As United themselves have done across Europe this extraordinary season, Bayern threatened on the break.

After 28 minutes, Lothar Matthäus showed his enduring class, taking the ball away from the hard-tackling Jeremies and sweeping forward, brimming with intent.

Having driven deep into United's half, Matthäus slipped the ball to the ungainly but effective Jancker, who found Alexander Zickler. The ensuing shot scarcely worried Schmeichel, sliding apologetically into the hoardings, but United had again been reminded of the need to re-gather when their own attacks broke down. At least the half finished on a promising note with Irwin and Cole combining to create a header for Giggs, which proved too weak to alarm Kahn.

The second half beat to the same rhythm: United pressuring and Bayern parrying. Jancker sent Schmeichel into a slithering save and then Babbel misjudged a header with United's goal gaping. Giggs fashioned chances for Yorke, whose header was blocked, and then Blomqvist, who could not keep his shot down. As the clock ticked ever louder, urgent action became essential.

Sheringham came off the bench for Blomqvist, yet it was Bayern who threatened, Jancker turning the ball into the path of Stefan Effenberg, whose attempted lob was pushed over by Schmeichel. Then Mehmet Scholl chipped Schmeichel but the ball rebounded into the 'keeper's arms.

But then a miracle. Beckham's corner swung over and there was Schmeichel, up from the back, pressuring Bayern's proud defence. Yorke headed back, Giggs shot in and there was Sheringham playing the poacher. In added time, Beckham swung in another corner, Sheringham headed on and there was Solskjer to hook the ball in. The Treble was complete. Amazing.

Manchester Utd: Schmeichel; G Neville, Stam, Johnsen, Irwin; Giggs, Beckham, Butt, Blomqvist (Sheringham 66); Yorke, Cole (Solksjaer 80). Subs: Van Der Gouw (g), May, P Neville, Brown, Greening.

Bayern Munich: Kahn; Matthäus (Fink 80); Linke, Kuffour; Babbel, Effenberg, Jeremies, Tarnat; Basler (Salihamidzic 89), Jancker, Zickler (Scholl 70). Subs: Dreher (g), Helmer, Strunz, Daei. Booked: Effenberg.

Referee: P Collina (Italy).

By David Miller

Matt Dickinson on the player who made light of his heavy burden

DAVID BECKHAM was given so many responsibilities last night that they might as well complete the set this lunchtime and ask him to pilot Concorde home. After this triumph of the human spirit, the boy from Leytonstone would probably shrug his shoulders, grab the joystick and take Manchester United on another flight of fantasy.

United's matchwinner may have been Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but it was Beckham who ensured that his team approached the final, mad minutes with an air of hope rather than resignation. Beckham has played better games, but never has he displayed such indomitable will.

Apart from taking the corners and free kicks, governing a congested midfield, overlapping Giggs on the right flank where possible and prompting most of United's attacks - all of it while outnumbered by some of the most dogged competitors even Germany has produced - Beckham must have wondered if he should disappear early to brew up the half-time tea.

Such was the ridiculous scale of his task for much of this game that United found themselves overrun in the heart of the pitch where games are won and lost. That it was Lothar Matthäus who was spoiling the fun, as he appears to have been doing for Englishmen for all of his 38 years, was even more frustrating and, at times, it appeared that Beckham would suffocate. Where opportunities should have been opening, doors were slammed in his face. Most footballers would have turned away, but Beckham, as he and the rest of his team-mates have been taught by Alex Ferguson, the United manager, did not know when to stop.

The lack of numbers in midfield was a familiar experience for United, but one they had overcome in the past. In the semi-final first leg against Juventus, they had become preoccupied with Zidane and, as a consequence, had diluted their own attacking verve. This time, it was the roving Effenberg who dominated their thoughts, with Nicky Butt given the shackling job. The result was that Beckham was faced with a brick wall to penetrate and it was only in those final moments, when reinforcements had arrived, that the strength was there to topple it.

There were those who had fretted even before kick-off that pitching Beckham into central midfield would prove to be less a blessing than a curse, but they did not include Pelé. "The thing with a player like Beckham," the Brazilian mused, "is that you must let him free." Last night he ran with abandon, but too many of his colleagues appeared to be under lock and key.

It was a potentially crushing responsibility for Beckham, but he soldiered on manfully against the odds. On only one occasion this season had the 24-year-old trod the middle ground for club or country from the start and that was in Luxembourg, which hardly counts. He had switched to the middle on Saturday in the FA Cup Final, but, on that occasion, Gary Speed, of Newcastle United, was his adversary. Matthäus, despite having the mobility of an old tank, would prove a far tougher adversary.

The pivotal importance of Beckham was emphasised by one spread betting company's offer of a Beckham Factor. Points were amassed for everything from shots on target to shots of Posh Spice on television, but it was mileage that he clocked up in staggering fashion.

He played with an astonishing urgency throughout, which is more than can be said for all his team-mates. Yorke, in particular, appeared to have allowed his mind to drift at times back to West Indies beaches, and he treated possession like loose pesetas.

That was an accusation that could never be levelled at Beckham, who is approaching 60 games this season but who played as if he could carry on running right through his summer holidays. That was despite the tweak in a thigh muscle that had necessitated a late fitness test. With Keane and Scholes absent through suspension, it would presumably have taken amputation to have stopped Beckham from appearing.

Having won the final, one can imagine it being the first of several for Beckham and his colleagues. For Peter Schmeichel, though, this was the end of the line and it was a farewell that he cannot have dreamt of as he all but finished the match in the Bayern penalty area. Flat-footed for Basler's free kick that had given Bayern an early lead, he made up for it by contributing to United's attacks, appearing at the other end of the field as Beckham lined up his sights from the corner flag.

He will return to Cheshire today when the removal men will start to pack his possessions. Pickfords will have to take special care of a European Cup winning-medal that he thought had slipped from his grasp

#21 Pele offers final accolade – THE TIMES

FROM ROB HUGHES

If David Beckham needed any further evidence, on top of his medals won in the field, that his annus horribilis is finally over, then he should listen to Pelé. In Barcelona yesterday, before the European Cup final, the Brazilian, who knows just a little bit about the pleasures and the pressures of football, selected Beckham as "one of the very great players of this year".

Beckham intrigues him. Pelé saw the petulant kick by Beckham that damaged England's prospects of advancing further in the World Cup last summer. Since then, he has watched Manchester United in the flesh five times and seen many moments on video that convince him that Beckham has not only recovered manfully from the criticism levelled at him then, but has developed his game to an outstanding level.

"From my point of view, he is a very important player for the team," Pelé said. "He works very hard, he has good vision, good movement and good delivery."

Beckham should have been at the lunch table with us. He would have heard the old maestro lament that players of today risk losing their identity, losing the rapport that he enjoyed between performer and audience. He was referring to players shifting their ground, losing the thread of continuity and the basis of loyalty and support from their admirers. Yet he singled out Beckham from this dehumanising process and added that the youth policy at Manchester United is something that he admires.

"But you must give him freedom," Pelé said. "Some coaches might try to put him in one position, I would not. I would organise the team and let him free. He knows what to do, where to go to make things happen

#22 United's year of beating the clock – THE TIMES

IT WAS obvious that Manchester United would win the treble with some eleventh-hour dramatics last night - right from the kick-off this season, they have been pulling points and cup-ties out of the fire. Bill Edgar and Gary Jacob recall those squeaks and scrapes.

· August 15: On the opening day of the FA Carling Premiership, David Beckham shrugs off a summer of national criticism to score last-minute equaliser from a free kick against Leicester City.

· January 24: Two goals in the last three minutes from Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer give United a 2-1 win at home to Liverpool in an FA Cup fourth-round tie.

· January 31: With the Premiership title race hotting up, Yorke gives United victory at Charlton in the 89th minute.

· March 17: Internazionale become United's first Italian victims in European competition after their quarter-final second leg in Milan ends 1-1, Scholes equalising in the 88th minute.

· April 7: Trailing 1-0 in the home leg of their European Cup semi-final with Juventus, a last-minute goal from Ryan Giggs keeps United's assault on three fronts going.

· April 14: United's struggling ten men face defeat in their FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal until Peter Schemichel saves Dennis Bergkamp's last-minute penalty and Ryan Giggs's goal of the season in extra time earns a 2-1 victory.

· April 21: United recover from 2-0 down in Turin to win 3-2 against Juventus through goals from Roy Keane, Yorke and Andy Cole.

· May 16: United come from a goal down at home to beat Tottenham Hotspur and clinch the championship.

· May 22: United complete their third Double in six seasons by beating Newcastle United in the FA Cup Final.

· May 26: An historic first treble is claimed in injury time in the European Cup final by Teddy Sheringham and Solskjaer.

#24 Wilderness years put United in the shade – THE TIMES

Richard Whitehead provides a fascinating insight into the ups and downs of clubs in Europe

WHEN Manchester United ended their 26-year wait to win the championship in 1993, Alex Ferguson permitted himself no more than a few hours to glory in the present. If his players retained their hunger, he said, there was no limit to what they could achieve. Six years later, we know that he succeeded in ensuring that they remained ravenous.

Now that United's domestic dynasty is established, Ferguson can turn his attentions to the Continent and the task of achieving something that has so far defeated the politicians - a United Europe. However, just how far they have to go to join the real elite is revealed today in The Best European Table in the World . . . Ever!

The table - a companion to The Best League Table in the World Ever! (an exhaustive survey of English clubs at home and in Europe, published in The Times at Christmas) - is our way of marking the end of the era of three European competitions by analysing who have been the most successful clubs.

Amid the euphoria and the hangovers recrimination in Barcelona this morning, it will make sobering reading for Ferguson and the United board. Having four different kits and selling David Beckham duvet covers to "supporters" who have never seen the team play may make for an impressive balance sheet, but it is not a substitute for years of consistent success on the field.

Even the victory in the Nou Camp last night - and the 200 points gained from it - has not been enough to push United into the top ten achievers. It will take years of winning trophies and appearing in finals to haul back the lead established during their European wilderness years from 1969 to 1991.

The first task in compiling the table was to agree on a points system that would reflect the importance of the three competitions. The European Cup has always been the most coveted so it was obvious to award more points for that and, furthermore, to recognise that the trophy has become more difficult to win since the advent of the Champions' League in 1991-92. Below that, the relative merits of the Cup Winners' and Uefa Cups have long been debated, but we felt that it would be unfair to distinguish between the two.

It soon became obvious that we would not be able to include every team that had progressed to the quarterfinals of the tournaments so it was decided to limit the qualifiers to the top fifty. As a result, there are one or two notable absentees - St Etienne, Dynamo Moscow, Werder Bremen and Dynamo Zagreb, for example, while Aston Villa earned the dubious distinction of being the only European Cup winners not to make the top fifty.

The identity of our champions was not exactly a surprise - Real Madrid's towering achievement of winning the first five European Cups with the fabled team of Puskas and Di Stefano has stood them in good stead, along with the sensible precaution of winning it again last year.

Popular predictions for second place probably would have included one of the other multiple winners of the European Cup - Liverpool, Bayern Munich or Ajax - but Juventus showed the advantage of earning points from the other two competitions to secure the position.

Bayern eased into third place thanks to their exertions last night, leaving Barcelona, with only one European Cup but six other trophies, fourth. Next came AC Milan and Internazionale.

Liverpool would have been higher than ninth, but for the ban that followed their defeat in the 1985 European Cup final and recent failures. Nevertheless, and no doubt to their quiet satisfaction and United's chagrin this morning, they remain comfortably England's leading team. Fergie had better sharpen his appetite

David Powell says that ITV's coverage of the match was enlivened by the commentary team

Half an hour before kick-off, Jeff Farmer, ITV's executive producer, showed no nervousness in his voice, but the need to put on an entertaining performance was undeniable. "From a professional point of view, this is what we have been involved in the Champions' League for," Farmer said. "It is why we have signed an expensive new contract for another four years, beginning next year, and they do not come much bigger than this." ITV could not afford to make a hash of it.

"We have been waiting seven years for this night, since we started covering the Champions' League from its inception in 1992-93, and we are waiting for the match as eagerly as the most avid Manchester United fan," Farmer continued. "We all become Manchester United fans tonight." By the climax of the evening, the evidence was in place. You could not see the red flags in the commentary box, but you knew they were there.

The outpouring began three minutes from time. Until then, the bias had been gentle. Now everything changed. "Of all the people you wanted that chance to fall to, Dwight Yorke was that man," Clive Tyldesley, the match commentator said, by way of getting the ball rolling. "If they can equalise, I think they will go on to win this," Ron Atkinson responded. "Oh yeah?" the pessimists among us thought.

Anxiety grew. "We are in the last of the 90 minutes," Tyldesley said. "What we need now is the fourth official to hold the board up with about 20 on it." We got three. Immediately Tyldesley responded: "Can Manchester United score? They always score." Tyldesley should know. He has statistics at his disposal that would make John Motson jealous. More of that in a moment.

As we were saying. Or rather, as Tyldesley was saying: "They always score." As he said it, the ball went for a corner with 90 minutes up on the clock in the corner of the screen. Beckham's corner, to Yorke, to Giggs, to Sheringham. Goal. Then, almost before Tyldesley could say golden goal, Solskjaer had scored the winner.

On the sidelines, Lothar Matthäus, having been substituted with Bayern Munich holding one hand on the cup, looked stunned. "What is Matthäus thinking?" Tyldesley asked. "With the greatest of respect, who cares?"

Tyldesley and Atkinson celebrated with every United jig as the players took their applause around the pitch. A camera cut to a Bayern fan, whose face told the story. "Five minutes before the end of the game, that was the face of a Manchester United fan," Tyldesley noted. And how right he was.

One could forgive Tyldesley if, occasionally, he got bogged down in minutiae, such as: "The Bayern Munich coach is bidding to become only the second man to win the trophy with two clubs . . . there has only been one game this season in which Manchester United have failed to score . . . Solskjaer has got 17 goals this season, he would be the leading scorer at 14 Premiership clubs."

Yet detailed research can be more the just a crutch for a commentator. It can help illuminate the most dramatic of moments. "Not everybody is smiling," Tyldesley said. "It is going to cost the bookmakers about £10 million. They were 80-1 for the treble at the start of the season."

Somewhere between England's World Cup defeat by Argentina and last night, football lost some eight million viewers. The average viewing figure for that England game on ITV was 23.7 million, more than double the 9.7 million who saw the FA Cup Final on ITV last Saturday.

"This is the biggest club game in the history of British football and we are hoping for 15 million plus, peaking somewhere between 15 and 18 million," Farmer had said. "We have got our first team out with Clive Tyldesley and Ron Atkinson, Bob Wilson, Terry Venables and Ruud Gullit." Long may Tyldesley be playing at centre forward.