What was once a masochistic passion is now a project, a pursuit of domination on a scale the game has never witnessed. Their presence brings a nostalgia for a more precarious age.įor the club they survey now is unrecognisable. You can still hear Paul Dickov, scorer of the famous equaliser against Gillingham, offering punditry for the in-house TV station. You can still find Shaun Goater, cult hero of that benighted era, working as the youth coach.
It is not as if City have disowned this chapter, when they had to claw their way back up from the third tier. Seriously, their club, masters of tragicomic haplessness, would be the envy of the world? They were barely even the envy of Didsbury back then. Had you prophesied this to a City supporter in the late Nineties, you would have drawn hoots of derision. About the closest to a shock result was the 1-1 draw in Leipzig, an aberration soon corrected in the return leg with a 7-0 pulverising.
For City, the story has been one of bludgeoning power, with those twin behemoths Bayern Munich and Real Madrid simply bulldozed aside. In United’s European campaign, there were multiple instances where you detected the glory ebbing away: not just in the Champions League final, which they trailed for 85 minutes, but also in the semi-final, which required Roy Keane’s totemic, self-sacrificing display against Juventus to send them to Barcelona in the first place. If there is one fundamental contrast between this all-conquering City team and Manchester United’s class of 1999, it is the absence of jeopardy. Now here they were, chanting “two down, one to go”, zeroing in on the Treble as if it were a fate divinely decreed. Twenty-four years earlier, some of these fans had made the same pilgrimage for the less alluring spectacle of a League One play-off final, when they only squeaked past Gillingham on penalties. This - is Manchester United and their campaign.for the glory.Walking back along Wembley High Road last Saturday, through Manchester City’s designated drinking zone after the FA Cup final, the thought occurred as to whether any club had advanced so far, so fast. Witness the full story, as we look throughout the eras focusing on the turning points, the best players and their greatest historic achievements. With over 650 million fans world wide, they are also one of the biggest brands in the industry with a truly recognisable image. Winners of 20 Premiere League Titles, 3 UEFA Champions Leagues and 12 FA cups, Manchester United are one of the most award winning Football Teams in the sport. Manchester United: For the Glory Synopsis
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