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 'Greatest 2 Minutes in History of Sport'
Posted: Thursday May 27, 1999 10:03 PM
LONDON (AP) -- Manchester United has lifted English soccer back to the summit of Europe after a long, hard climb. And with their historic triple crown season, the Reds are being hailed as possibly the greatest English team ever. United etched its place in English soccer folklore by beating Bayern Munich 2-1 in Barcelona on Wednesday night to win the European Champions Cup -- the world's most prestigious club title. In one of the most dramatic finishes in cup history, United came from behind to win with two goals in the final 90 seconds of injury time by substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The victory completed an unprecedented sweep by an English club of the domestic league, F.A. Cup and European Cup titles in the same season -- something that even the great Liverpool teams of the late 1970s and early '80s never accomplished. British newspapers hailed the win as one of the greatest moments in English soccer history, with the Daily Mirror headline even calling it "The Greatest 2 Minutes in the History of Sport." Thousands of fans poured into the streets of Manchester to celebrate Wednesday night, and the city was turned into a sea of red -- the team's color -- Thursday night as men, women and children turned out to greet their heroes. Fans climbed lamp-posts and any available vantage points along the route to get a better view as manager Alex Ferguson and his players rode through the city in an open-top double-decker bus. It took nearly four hours for the bus to wind its way through the masses on its seven-mile route from the outskirts of the city to the downtown Manchester indoor arena. Car horns, whistles and the "Glory Glory Man United" anthem filled the air. The size of the crowd was estimated at anywhere from 400,000 to 750,000. Ferguson and the players stood atop the bus, waving to the crowds and holding up the three trophies. The European Cup was propped up front like a huge hood ornament. By the time the bus neared the city center, the route of the parade along the shopping street of Deansgate was packed. So many red-shirted supporters were waiting to welcome the team that police appealed for fans to stay away from the center. Ferguson's team became the first United club to lift the European trophy since since 1968, when Matt Busby was manager and George Best and Bobby Charlton were the stars. That triumph came 10 years after the Munich air crash which killed eight players of the United team known as the "Busby Babes." In a powerful piece of symbolism, United's triumph Wednesday came on what would have been Busby's 90th birthday.
Charlton, who survived the Munich crash and is now a senior director of the club, wiped away tears as he watched the team's celebrations Wednesday night from the stands of the Camp Nou stadium. The victory also helped erase some of the memories of another dark chapter in English soccer history. In 1985, 39 people died when English hooligans rioted before the Liverpool-Juventus European Cup final at Brussels' Heysel stadium. The tragedy resulted in English clubs being banned from European competition for five years. Since the ban was lifted, Manchester United (1991), Arsenal (1994) and Chelsea (1998) won the Cup Winners Cup. But, until this season, no English club had managed to progress to the Champions Cup final. The win over Bayern means English clubs are now tied with Italian sides with the most European Cup victories (9). "English football has been in the wilderness for a long time and now we're back on the world stage," Charlton said. "It's been all right saying English football is the healthiest and the best to watch, but you really need to have something to show for it and to win the Champions League, there's nothing bigger in world club football." Debate is already raging on whether this Manchester United team, which has won the Premier League title in five of the past seven seasons, is the greatest English club of all time. Comparisons are being made to the 1958 and 1968 United teams and to the Liverpool teams which won the European Cup four times (1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984). Bob Paisley was the Liverpool manager during that era and his star players included Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness. "I always said we would never be judged as a great team until we had won the Champions League," winger Ryan Giggs said. "We've done that now and I think we deserve to be ranked along with the Liverpool teams of the 80s." Much of the credit goes to Ferguson, the 57-year-old Scot whose achievements rank alongside those of Paisley, Busby, Bill Shankly and Jock Stein. Ferguson has claimed 12 major trophies since taking over at United in 1986 -- five league championships, four F.A. Cups, one league Cup, one Champions Cup and one Cup Winners Cup. That total puts Ferguson only one behind Paisley, who won 13 trophies at Liverpool. Ferugson also won 10 major trophies with Aberdeen, bringing his career total to 22. Ferguson may soon become "Sir Alex." It's now widely expected that he will receive a knighthood -- an honor that also went to Busby.
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