|
|
 |
MAN UTD Vs JUVENTUS |  |
 Daz Coupland Ltd. |
United |
News |
Latset Scores |
United Photos |
Player Profiles |
Player Profiles 2 |
Player Profiles 3 |
Player Profiles 4 |
Eric Cantona |
Super Match |
More United Photos |
Goalscorers |
1999/2000 Review |
Custom2 Page |
|
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 1999 |
||
 |
The first leg of this Champions Cup semi-final at Old Trafford had ended 1-1 thanks to a late Ryan Giggs goal in the 90th minute.In the first half of that game Juventus had been awesome and many expected them to repeat the performance in Turin.United had no hope they said, the Italians were all but home and dry,just a formality before going to Barcelona. However, the truth was that Juventus had played above themselves that night and would not be able to play that well again. The second leg, was full of fireworks- and we're not talking about the hundreds exploding all around the Stadio delle Alpi at kick-off. By the end of the evening, no crackers nor flares could be seen. Indeed,except for the 6,000 celebrating United supporters, Turin had fallen into a stunned silence.Then, as the United players left the pitch the remaining Italian fans met them with rapturous applause. Acknowledging perhaps,that the baton had been passed to the worthy opponents from Manchester, who,were one hell of a good team. For Alex Ferguson's side, defying the odds,provided another stunning example of their resilience, character and, above all, world class talent against the 'Old Lady', beforehand rated the best side on the continent. No wonder the manager had a smile as wideas a mile. United were back in Europe's most prestigious European club final, 31 years since their only previous appearance, when Sir Matt Busby's side, including greats such as George Best and Bobby Charlton, blew away the cream of the game to lift the trophy.They had given themselves the chance to emulate that feat of 1968, by beating Bayern Munich in Barcelona on May 26, the modern-day men can lay claim to being at least as good as the legendary line-up of yesteryear. No Ryan Giggs, the injured Welsh winger did not even make the bench. If the loss of Giggs, seven days after his wonder strike against Arsenal sent United to Wembley and into the FA Cup final, was deemed a severe blow to the Reds' Champions Cup cause, the two goals that hit the back of their net, inside the opening 11 minutes in Turin, looked positively catastrophic. Both came from the boot of lethal Filippo Inzaghi. The Juventus striker firstly sneaked in behind Gary Neville at the far post after only six minutes to fire in Zinedine Zidane's unstoppable, inswinging cross. Things went from pretty dreadful to downright appalling almost immediately as Inzaghi turned Jaap Stam and struck a shot which, off the Dutchman's leg, looped over the head of despairing Peter Schmeichel. At that point, the millions watching around the globe must have felt it was another year of so-nearly, yet so-far, for United, who were in the last four for the second time in three years.After all being 3-1 down on aggregate to this Italian team, aiming to reach their fourth successive final, was surely one mountain too large to scale. That, though, was to ignore the astonishing, steely strength running throughout the side. Because back came United like only they can.Andy Cole had a superb overhead effort saved on the goalline and, then,Dwight Yorke was hauled down on the edge of the penalty area - a clear foul, somehow missed by the incompetent referee. Unpeturbed by their lack of luck, the treble-chasers continued to pour forward. And their reward soon followed when skipper Roy Keane rose brilliantly to direct a 24th minute header into the far corner following one of those Beckham specials from the flank. It was the Irishman's third goal of the European campaign, and, by far the most important, cancelling out the away goal snatched by the Italians in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford a fortnight earlier. Now United were on fire - and ten minutes on, they were level on the night and on aggregate - but, crucially, ahead for the first time in the entire tie,courtesy of a second strike on their travels. It was a truly wonderful move too. Cole, back to his best after the recent barren patch, produced a pin-point chip into the six-yard box where his strike partner-in-crime Yorke loomed large indeed. The £12.5million Trinidad and Tobago man had not scored in eight games,if you include the blank 90 minutes against Jamaica at the end of last month.But there was no mistake this time with Yorke rising to plant a beauty into the same corner Keane found - the striker's 27th of a prolific season. The one sour incident of an otherwise fantastic 45 minutes of action was the booking of Keane. His trip on Zidane in the middle of the park warranted a yellow card, and, sadly ruled the midfield inspiration out of the Nou Camp final were he would be orely missed.Keane, like a true proffesional did'nt let it bother him and selflessly got on with getting his teammates to the final even though he would not be there. Stam was magnificent, so too Irwin. On the odd occasion the Serie A side did find a way behind the rearguard, they were confronted by the huge frame of Schmeichel. Never more so than midway through the second half when his long right leg prevented Inzaghi's low drive squeezing inside the near post.Far from being one-way traffic, United kept up the pressure at the other end. Cole should have done better with Beckham's superb cross, mis-controlling with only the keeper to beat, while Irwin could have done little more as he watched his right-foot drive cannon off the upright. When Paul Scholes was sadly booked barely a minute after replacing Jesper Blomqvist - joining Keane on the suspension list for the final - one wondered if United might be about to come unstuck with the finishing line in sight. We should have shown more faith. For in the 84th minute Yorke went for the Juventus jugular. Bursting into the area, he side-stepped Peruzzi and, although sent crashing, his great pal Cole was on hand to tap in the loose ball before the referee could blow for the penalty.Game, set and match to United. Only the men from Munich, who they drew with twice in the Group stages, could now halt Fergie's high-fliers from landing the holy grail. |
|
 |
THE TEAMS JUVENTUS:- Peruzzi, Ferrar, Di Livio, Conte, Inzaghi, Liliano, Deschamps, Birindelli, Davids, Zidane, Pessotto, (Amoruso, Fonseca, Montero) MANCHESTER UNITED:- Schmiechel, Irwin, G.Neville, Stam, Johnsen, Beckham, Blomqvist, Keane, Butt, Yorke, Cole (Scholes) |
|
 |
|
|