No English club had ever won the league title, the FA Cup and the European Cup in the same season. In May 1999, over eleven extraordinary days, Manchester United did all three.
A season of drama
Alex Ferguson's team included the "Class of '92" — David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers — alongside experienced players such as Roy Keane, Peter Schmeichel and the striking pair of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke.
Their path was full of drama. In the FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal, Ryan Giggs scored one of the greatest goals in the competition's history in extra time. In the Champions League semi-final in Turin, United came back from 2–0 down to beat Juventus 3–2, with Roy Keane producing a captain's performance despite a booking that ruled him out of the final.
The first two trophies
On 16 May 1999, United beat Tottenham 2–1 at Old Trafford on the final day of the season to win the Premier League. Six days later, they beat Newcastle United 2–0 at Wembley in the FA Cup final, with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes.
Barcelona
The Champions League final against Bayern Munich was played at the Camp Nou on 26 May 1999 — which would have been the 90th birthday of Sir Matt Busby. United were without both Keane and Scholes, who were suspended.
Bayern scored early through a Mario Basler free kick and controlled much of the game, hitting the woodwork twice. As the match entered stoppage time, United still trailed 1–0.
Two minutes that changed history
From a corner, the ball fell to substitute Teddy Sheringham, who turned it in to equalise. Barely two minutes later, from another corner, Sheringham flicked the ball on and fellow substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjær stuck out his foot to poke it into the roof of the net. United had won 2–1.
Sir Alex
Shortly afterwards Ferguson was knighted. The Treble remains one of the greatest achievements in English football, and the final in Barcelona is still regarded as one of the most dramatic matches ever played.
Watch: United back from the dead in Barcelona
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