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 Bonded Gary Neville's spirit, fans help lift United through
Posted: Monday May 31, 1999 10:44 AM
BARCELONA (CNN/SI) -- When they needed something to pull them through at the end of the Champions League final, Gary Neville and his Manchester United teammates were able to turn to the people who never desert them -- the legion of Man United fans. Like teammates David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs, Neville -- and his younger brother Phil Neville, who was a substitute -- understood the depth of feeling of the supporters who helped to lift United to its second Champions Cup triumph. But even he was dumbfounded by the finale which delivered two goals in added time to turn the boys who have come through the Old Trafford ranks into men to rank alongside the former greats like George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton. Neville said: "Call it destiny, if you like. But we just refused to lose. We have done it before this season in a lot of games, scored goals and won when it did not look possible. "But tonight we did it in the greatest game, on the greatest stage and in the greatest competition. It shows the heart we have and the spirit of the players, something we all feel." He added: "I just had a feeling about it. When the first goal, for us, went in I had a sense that something was happening. And it happened. It was almost supernatural in a way. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before in football." Then he warned: "I know now that people will say that we've done it and we've reached a peak, but I think we know we've got to come back again next season and do it all over again. But he acknowledged: "I know it is not easy, but that is what we have to do. There are a lot of great sides all over Europe now. We can't sit back and think we have done it. We have got to carry on."
Reuters contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||
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