Manchester United having lost both the Premiership Crown and the FA Cup to Arsenal last season, would have good reason to want to claim them back during 1998/99 season. Alex Ferguson was certainly not scared to bring-in new faces in his quest for glory signing almost £30 million of talent to Old Trafford at the start the season, including defender Jaap Stam, winger Jesper Blomqvist and striker Dwight Yorke. The Charity Shield was perhaps a match too soon for the new talent as they lost 3-0 to title holders Arsenal, and then found themselves 2 goals down against Leicester in the opening game of the season, but that is where it began to change. September was average for the Red Devils, but then the crunch tie, and FA Premiership holders Arsenal beat them again with a convincing 3-0 defeat. Was Alex Ferguson's side capable of winning the title? BskyB also proposed a take-over of the most successful club this decade, which would prove to drag on for the months to come and although ultimately rules-out by the government the outrage felt by the most loyal followers of the club would not be forgotten so easily. As well as the league the Reds had firm hopes of being successful in Europe this season, and completed the league stages of the Champions League, having had a controversial draw against Barcelona at Old Trafford, they achieved promotion to the quarter-final stages finishing second in their group. They also became the highest scorers in the competition so far. Having gone out of the Worthington Cup in the 5th Round at the hands of Tottenham, the FA cup campaign proved to be much more successful and a semi-final draw against Arsenal resulted in the replay being played at Villa Park. This was to prove to be a corker, after a saved penalty by Schmeichel in the 90th minute the game went into extra-time, in the 109th minute Ryan Giggs took the ball from the half way line, rounded defenders and stuck the ball past Seaman to earn them a place in the final against Newcastle. The FA Premiership went down to the wire. Arsenal were relying on their long time rivals Tottenham to defeat the Reds, but they didn't, and Old Trafford was euphoric as the trophy was lifted. Less than a week later Manchester United were to hold the FA Cup aloft after beating Newcastle 2-0 at Wembley. Then came the real test, the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp in Barcelona, an unbelievable game which looked destined to go the Germans way, when Sheringham scored the equaliser in the 90th minute, and less than a minute later there was Solskjaer's incredible Nou Camp winner. United had won the League Championship, FA Cup and European Cup treble, a feat that was unique in the history of English football. The following day the boys came home to a hero's welcome in the city of Manchester, the streets were engulfed with over 500,000 people, a truly unbelievable sight.
the way we won the treble no one will forget the arsenal semi final when bergkamp penelty was saved by peter and then giggs scored that incredible goal. Then the champions league final in barcelona when we were 1-0 down and we should have been beaten bayern hit the post and the crossbar but then we had a corner and some how teddy put it away and then seconds later we had another corner and ole ole put it away and we had clinched the treble it was brilliant.
I'm not a Man Utd fan, but it's the most incredible feat I've ever seen in football. Not the fact they won it, but the way they won it. It was like a cheap American soap or a rocky film, but it was actually really happening. Bergkamp missing the winning penalty in the FA Cup semi fianl, Giggs scoring an incredible winner straight after. The amazing Semi final with Juventus. 1-0 down in the first leg, about to lose and Giggs equalises. 2-0 after 15 mins in the second leg, surely all over 3-1. Man Utd produce one of their greatest ever performances to win 3-2. Then the final, Man Utd 1-0 down outplayed and totally out of the CL final, Bayern hit the post, the bar, but can't quite finish them off. 2 mins left is all they have, and Sherringham equalises. Solsjkare the ultimate sub then comes on and scores the winning goal to win the champions league. It was amazing, I couldn't believe it actually happened, it was like a fairy tale. It was the only season I was gald Man U won everything, as it was amazing. It rather fizzled away though, like Dwight Yorke, almost as if they completely peaked. Dwight Yorke felt it too and has never recovered.
Ah, yes, the 'treble'. What I wonder is why people act like it's a unique achievement when the same thing (League title, domestic cup, European Cup) has been accomplished by Celtic, Ajax, and PSV Eindhoven. Ajax, in fact, have done it twice.
The Premiership and the FA Cup are considerably harder to win than their Scottish and Dutch counterparts. Couple that with the fact that the Champions League will have provided a much sterner test for Man Utd than any of the teams mentioned and you do have a truly impressive achievement.
Perhaps, but Manchester United had been dominating the Premier League for almost a decade at that point and were already one of the biggest clubs in the world. When Ajax did theirs in the early 70's, they had been virtual unknowns until about four years prior.
Arsenal had just won the Double the previous season, with arguably their best ever side. To win the double from another great side, beating them in the FA cup on the way and defeating 4 former Chmapions League winners on route to lifting the trophy cannot be dismissed lightly. I don't wish to diminsh the achievements of Celtic, Ajax or PSV, but they did not have to go through what MAn Utd did to win the trophies.
Arsenal lost the league by 1 point, and were a penalty away from the FA cup final. Arsenal were inches from a second sucessive double, and Man Utd winning nothing. The manor they won it, fighting back when all seemed lost in 3 successive games against Juventus, Arsenal and finally Bayern, was simply amazing. Strenghth of mind and resolve above all else when all seemed lost. They were minutes away from winning nothing.
That was like in 1995 when Man Utd lost the league to Blackburn on the last day of the season and then lost then FA Cup final to Chelsea a few days later. In fact they came very close to winning the double three years running (94-95-96).