10 Things You Probably Did Not Know About the 1999 Champions League Final
Everyone knows the basic story. Manchester United were losing 1-0 with seconds remaining. Sheringham scored. Then Solskjaer. United won the treble. Bayern were heartbroken. But the 1999 Champions League final is full of details that never make it into the highlights reel. Here are ten of them.
Fact 1
It was Sir Matt Busby’s 90th birthday
The date of the final, 26 May 1999, would have been the 90th birthday of Sir Matt Busby, the manager who led Manchester United to their only previous European Cup in 1968. Busby had died in January 1994. The symmetry was not lost on anyone connected with the club, and Alex Ferguson referenced it in his team talk before the match. United wore black armbands in Busby’s honour throughout the tournament.
Fact 2
Both teams were chasing the treble — and Bayern lost theirs anyway
This is the detail most people forget. Bayern Munich were not simply trying to win the Champions League that night. They had already won the Bundesliga and were due to play Werder Bremen in the German Cup final two weeks later. A Bayern win in Barcelona would have set up a German treble. Instead they lost the Champions League final, and then — with their squad still emotionally shattered — lost the German Cup final to Werder Bremen on penalties. One defeat triggered two.
Fact 3
Roy Keane and Paul Scholes could not play — and both won player of the tournament
United’s two best midfielders were suspended for the final after picking up yellow cards in the semi-final against Juventus. Roy Keane had been immense in that semi-final, scoring the equaliser and driving United back from 2-0 down. He was named UEFA’s player of the tournament. Paul Scholes, equally suspended, was named in the team of the tournament. The two players most responsible for getting United to the final could not play in it. Ferguson brought in Nicky Butt and used David Beckham in central midfield.
Fact 4
Bayern hit the woodwork twice in the second half
In the second half, with Bayern leading 1-0 and seemingly in control, Mario Basler hit the post with a free kick and Mehmet Scholl hit the bar with a chip that was heading in. Either of those goals would have made the scoreline 2-0 and almost certainly ended United’s hopes entirely. The woodwork saved United before Sheringham and Solskjaer did. This is rarely mentioned when people talk about the drama of the final’s closing minutes.
Fact 5
Bayern had already engraved their name on the trophy
With Bayern leading 1-0 deep into injury time, UEFA officials had begun preparing for a Bayern Munich victory. Ribbons in Bayern’s colours had been attached to the trophy. There are reports that Bayern’s name had been added to the engraving on the base of the cup. When Sheringham equalised and then Solskjaer scored, officials scrambled to reverse the preparations. The trophy United lifted had Bayern’s ribbons hastily removed moments before.
Fact 6
Lothar Matthaus was substituted with ten minutes to go — and it changed the game
Bayern’s substitution of Lothar Matthaus in the 80th minute is one of the most analysed decisions in Champions League final history. Matthäus was Bayern’s most experienced player and a commanding presence. His replacement, Thorsten Fink, was brought on to protect the lead. The withdrawal of Matthäus removed Bayern’s most authoritative figure from the pitch at exactly the moment United were building pressure. Ferguson’s substitutions brought Sheringham and Solskjaer on. Bayern took their best player off. The contrast in management decisions in the final ten minutes is stark.
Fact 7
Peter Schmeichel went up for a corner in the final minutes
With United pressing desperately for an equaliser, goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel — in his final match for the club — went forward for a corner kick. He did not score or directly assist, but his presence in the Bayern penalty area caused confusion and contributed to the scramble from which Sheringham scored. The image of the towering goalkeeper advancing into opposition territory in a Champions League final, in his last game, remains one of the most dramatic moments of that night.
Fact 8
United won the tournament without losing a single match
Manchester United went through the entire 1998/99 Champions League campaign without losing once. Their group contained Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Brondby. They played Inter Milan and Juventus in the knockout stages. Despite this level of competition, they finished the tournament unbeaten. More unusually, they won the tournament with just five victories total — the fewest wins ever recorded by a Champions League winner in that era, a result of the number of draws they accumulated along the way.
Fact 9
More than 50,000 United fans were in Barcelona — with only 30,000 tickets
Manchester United received 30,000 tickets for the final at Camp Nou. An estimated 50,000 United supporters travelled to Barcelona regardless. Fans without tickets gathered in bars and public squares across the city, creating a United-dominated atmosphere throughout Barcelona even outside the stadium. The club travelled to the game on Concorde, which United had chartered for the journey. It was the last major sporting event Concorde was used for before its retirement.
Fact 10
Solskjaer scored with his shin — not his foot
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s winning goal is often described as a tap-in, which undersells how difficult it actually was. Sheringham had just headed the ball back across goal and it arrived at Solskjaer at an awkward height and angle. Solskjaer’s instinctive reaction was to stick out his right shin and deflect the ball into the net. It was not a controlled finish. It was a reflex action from a striker who had been on the pitch for eight minutes. The fact that it went in at all, at that moment, is what makes the image of Solskjaer’s outstretched leg one of the most iconic in Champions League history.
“Can Manchester United score? They always score!” — Clive Tyldesley, ITV commentator, 26 May 1999
The 1999 final lasted 90 minutes plus injury time. United were behind for 89 of them. Both goals came from substitutes. Bayern hit the woodwork twice. The trophy had already been decorated for a Bayern win. And the whole thing happened on what would have been Sir Matt Busby’s 90th birthday. No scriptwriter would have dared to write it.
