1999 v. 2008 - A comparison of success
1999 was a great year
By Chris,
December 31 2008
2008 has been another unforgettable year for Manchester United. The last twelve months must surely rank as one of the best calendar years in the club's long and illustrious history. Sir Alex Ferguson's men have won four pieces of silverware and crowned themselves English, European and World champions. So, how does the last twelve months compare with the successes of 1999?
Manchester United finished off the 2007/2008 campaign as champions of England and Europe. A hard-fought win at Wigan in may secured a seventieth league title for the club, whilst a dramatic penalty shoot-out win in Moscow days later tied up a third European Cup crown against filthy-rich Chelsea.
The Community Shield followed in August before United jetted off to Japan in December and beat Gamba Osaka and South American champions Liga de Quito to crown themselves FIFA-recognised champions of the world. To put it mildly, 2008 has been a very, very good year for the football club.
Success brings about comparisons - so how good a year has 2008 been compared to United's memorable silverware-haul back in 1999? United won an unprecedented Treble - adding the F.A Cup to the English and European crowns, before going onto win the Charity Shield and Intercontinental Cup.
The year ended in controversial circumstances with United announcing they would not defend their F.A Cup crown and would instead participate in the newly-established Club World Championship in January 2000. It was a farcical scenario and proved to be a decision that still tarnishes the club some nine years later.
United played 63 games in 1999 - winning an incredible 41times and racking up 15 draws. There were only seven defeats - including weakened side losing in the League Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Champions League. 2008's record is similarly impressive - winning 38 of 60 games, drawing 16 and losing only six.
Both 1999 and 2008 will forever go down in MUFC history. Sir Alex Ferguson has conquered Europe twice and, on both occasions, did it in truly breathtaking fashion. However, the addition of the F.A Cup in 1999, the drama at the Nou Camp that year and the . It would take a 'Quadruple' - an achievement of unlikely and mammoth proportions - to ever top the class of '99.
Happy New Year everybody!
What the fans say: the following comments were put forward on our messageboard.
"Personally I think '99 was a better year, not just because we won more trophies but in the fashion we done it and with the squad we had. Our squad had depth in '99 but there wasn't quality in depth like we had this year so we didn't have the excuses for not doing well this year..."We lost our central midfield pairing in '99 and still triumphed. Everything kept getting stacked against us but we came out on top and to claim a historic Treble was monumentous for the club....'99 and '08 will both go down as fantastic years for the club but for me personally '99 wins because even today I still get a chill up my spine every time I hear 'And Solskjaer has won it'." - Mick_MUFC
"Both Champions League finals will live forever in the memory but 1999 will take some beating as a season - especially the semi final at Villa Park with 10 men...." - Rogero
"I think 2008 has to go down as a better year as we've officially crowned ourselves as the best in the world in a FIFA-nodded competition. We've travelled to Japan and seen off opposition from Asia and South American to cap off an amazing year." - Mr.Ben