page_title: History of the European Cup and UEFA Champions League
section_title: 1999 – Manchester United return
hierarchical_section_title: History of the European Cup and UEFA Champions League / Timeline / 1999 – Manchester United return
caption_attribution_description: English: Manchester United's players celebrate winning the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League after their victory over Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final at the Camp Nou, Barcelona, on 26 May 1999.
context_page_description: The history of the European Cup and UEFA Champions League spans over sixty years of competition, finding winners and runners-up from all parts of the continent.
context_section_description: 1998–99 is remembered for the upset of Ottmar Hitzfeld's Bayern by Manchester United's treble success. United had already forged a reputation for late comebacks in England as they picked up the Premier League and FA Cup en route to the Champions League final. Having succeeded in both the league and FA Cup, the omens appeared to be with Manchester United for the Champions League. With Paul Scholes and captain Roy Keane suspended, goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel – playing his last match for the club – captained the team on the night, which was the 90th anniversary of the birth of Sir Matt Busby. Their opponents, Bayern Munich, were also chasing The Treble, and took the lead after just six minutes through a clever Mario Basler free-kick. It appeared to be enough for Bayern as Manchester United failed to find a way through, although Schmeichel was in inspirational form to keep his team in the game. With referee Pierluigi Collina signalling three minutes of stoppage time, the English club sent everyone forward (including Schmeichel) for a David Beckham corner, and were rewarded when substitute Teddy Sheringham turned home the equaliser after Ryan Giggs mis-hit a shot at goal. Just over a minute later, another Beckham corner again provided the danger as Sheringham headed it on to fellow substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who flicked out a boot to send the ball into the roof of the net and win the European Cup for Manchester. United's manager, Alex Ferguson, memorably summed the experience up in a post-match interview when he said: "Football, bloody hell." It was the club's first success since 1968 and marked the first English winner since Liverpool in 1984.
caption: Manchester United's players celebrate after the game.
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