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 Wait is over Win ensures United players' place in history
Posted: Sunday May 30, 1999 05:43 PM
BARCELONA (CNN/SI) -- With its win on Wednesday night, Manchester United not only brought home the Champions Cup, but it redeemed its country. For Manchester United, beating Bayern Munich 2-1 with two stoppage-time goals to become European champions for the first time since 1968, ensured the players their everlasting niche in the club's history. On a wider level the victory also re-established an English club as European champions for the first time since 1984 when Liverpool beat AS Roma on penalties in Rome. The following year a riot by Liverpool supporters caused the deaths of 39 Italian fans at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels before the European Cup final against Juventus. Despite the deaths the match went ahead, Juventus beat Liverpool 1-0 and until Wednesday no English side had played in the European Cup final again. The repercussions of the disaster were immense in terms of both human tragedy and England's prestige around the world. In soccer terms it led to a five-year ban from European competition -- but a six-year ban from the European Cup. Liverpool were handed an extra year in exile and were not allowed to compete in the 1990-91 competition despite qualifying for it as 1990 English champions. In the years leading up to the tragedy, English clubs had dominated the competition with seven victories in the previous eight seasons. Liverpool (1977, 1978, 1982 and 1984), Nottingham Forest (1979 and 1980) and Aston Villa (1982) had all been crowned European champions and Liverpool went into the 1985 final against Juventus believing they were about to retain their trophy and win the cup for a fifth time. The fates intervened and, for English soccer, the wilderness years began -- pariahs in the game they had given the world. Inevitably it was Manchester United who took the first tentative steps back. In 1956 Matt Busby had defied the English F.A. who objected to his club taking part in the new-fangled European Cup. Unlike Chelsea the year before, he ignored them, led United into Europe for the first time and kindled a passion for the competition that has burned deep inside the soul of United ever since. In 1990, the English F.A. were only too delighted to see Manchester United lead the way back into Europe in a Cup Winners' Cup first round tie against Hungarians Pecsi Munkas. United won that first game 2-0 and went all the way to the final in Rotterdam, where they beat Barcelona 2-1. Manager Alex Ferguson celebrated in style -- but always had his eye on the big prize -- the European Cup. Since the lifting of the ban England has gradually re-established itself as a force in European club soccer. Arsenal (1994) and Chelsea (1998) both won the Cup Winners' Cup, while United finally made an important breakthrough in the European Cup in 1997. In five seasons from 1991-92 until 1995-96 no English team succeeded in getting into the quarterfinals as Arsenal, Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United (twice) were all outplayed by clubs who advanced in terms of technique and ability while the ban was on. But in 1997 United reached the semifinals, only to lose narrowly to the eventual winners Borussia Dortmund. The following year United reached the quarterfinals, where they lost on away goals to Monaco -- but Ferguson knew he was within touching distance of his dream. "I knew a year ago what I had to do, where I had to strengthen the team and where we could learn from our mistakes and I was lucky enough to be able to do it," he said earlier this week. It might not have looked like that for much of Wednesday's final -- but in the end, his Midas touch returned and United went on to glory with two goals in injury time from substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Their victory re-establishes England alongside Italy at the top of the European honors league with 26 trophies each -- and with nine European Cup wins each. Although the Heysel tragedy will never be forgotten, perhaps now its final sad ripples are receding from the touchlines of the English game.
Reuters contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||
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