Going Back to 1999

Manchester United: Treble Champions in 1999

Manchester United are peaking at the right time and there is really no better time.  The latest display was a commanding performance against Schalke 04 in the Champions League Semifinal Tuesday in Germany.  United never looked like conceding and always looked likely to score in this game.

It was truly a Giggsy masterclass on Tuesday.  How he is able to play at such a high level at the age of 37 is beyond me.  I go out and play with my U14 Gallagher team and my speed of play is about right with that age group.  I am 27 years old!!! A mere 10 years behind Ryan Giggs.  What really gets me about Giggs is the fact that he adjusted his style to keep playing at a high level.  The younger and energetic Giggs is being replaced by the older and wiser Giggs.  He is so versatile in that he can now pass the ball much better and spring the younger Hernandez to latch onto balls.  He still can take you on one on one to get service in.  On top of all of that, he provides the leadership and mentality to help United win games.  And that to me is the most important one!

Two very nice goals helped to ensure that barring a disaster back at Old Trafford, United will be playing in the Champions League Final on May 28 against what looks like Barcelona.  The first goal was all Rooney...bobbed and weaved a little after picking the ball up outside.  He faked a shot and slide a ball against the grain into the on running Giggs who slotted underneath Neuer (Schalke Goalie who had an unbelievable game by the way).  The second goal was a slotted ball into Rooney from Hernandez where Rooney slide it past Neuer.

The thing that strikes me most about this Manchester United team is the fact that they have the right balance.  You look at every position in the United team and they have the right mix of players to get the job done.  I look back to 1999 which was the year that they won the Treble and that team reminds me a lot of this United team.  The team this year might even be better?!  But we will not know that until they can show that they can get the final results.

The 99 team had Stam, Johnson, Neville, and Irwin in the back.  Stam and Johnson were the two rocks at centerback.  Both were very big and mean.  The two wingbacks in Neville and Irwin were good at getting forward in the attack and providing good service.  The 11 team has Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, and a selection by committee right back.  Many times the right back is one of the Brasilian twins or John O'Shea.  I think if you compare the 99 Centerbacks to the 11 Centerbacks, the 11 team wins.  Both Vidic and Ferdinand are a nasty combo.  They are big, athletic, good in the air, and tough in the tackle.  They provide stability in the heart of defense.  Evra is fantastic at left back and he has to be one of the best left backs in the game right now.  He is a good defender and he is really smooth on the ball.  He gets forward to support attack and he can effectively take on wide players like a wing midfielder would.

The 99 midfield group consisted of Scholes, Giggs, Butt, Keane, and Beckham.  It is really hard to find a better combination of midfielders than that group.  My all time favorite player, Paul Scholes, in 1999 was rated one of the top midfielders in the world.  He got forward much more than he does now and many runs into the box resulted in more goals for Scholes.  Nowadays, Scholes sits in more and he trys to distribute and spray balls out to the wings.  Giggs was much younger in 99 and he was able to run at guys more and beat them with pace.  We know the new Giggs is much smarter and outsmarts his opponents.  David Beckham was absolutely brilliant back in 99.  His free kicks were deadly and he had pin point accurate crosses for the likes of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole to finish.  Butt and Keane provided the grit and strength in midfield.  I have never seen two defensive midfielders like them.  Keane was the heart and soul of the team and when Keane went, so did Manchester United.

The 11 midfield group consists of a dynamic group of midfielders.  Although Sir Alex switches up his formation many times, typically Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia, Anderson, Nani, Giggs, Scholes and Ji Sung Park are many of the names picked by Sir Alex.  All of them provide something different to the midfield.  There really is not a true holding midfielder for Manchester United like Roy Keane but Michael Carrick is trying to fill those shoes.  Carrick needs to be much tougher in defending but his range of passing is very good.  Many times, Carrick and Scholes will operate as the two holding mids but there is not a whole lot of ball winning there.  The wingers are very good in Nani and Valencia.  Both are super fast and do a good job most times at taking their mark on and getting serves into the box.  One of my new favorite players for Manchester United is Ji Sung Park.  He provides so much to United.  He is fit and runs all day, good on the ball, makes good runs, and scores some timely goals.  Sometimes Sir Alex will play Park right underneath the front runner and he looks to create as much as possible.  The Brasilian Anderson also sees many minutes from United but he still lacks the creativity of a good central midfielder.

And finally the front runners.  The 99 group had Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.  What struck me the most about these three guys is that they score goals.  It is kind of a given that forwards score goals but all three of these guys did just that.  And many of these goals were so timely like Solskjaer's goal in the last minute of the final against Bayern Munich.  Or how about Andy Cole scoring against Tottenham on the last day of the season to secure the Premiership title. 

In a very similiar fashion, the 11 group has Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, and Dimitar Berbatov.  Like the 99 group, this group scores timely goals too.  Who could forget the goal of the year by Wayne Rooney...a bicycle kick against Man City in the local derby.  Or how about Javier Hernandez scoring a late goal against Everton over the weekend to secure 3 points.  Or how about Dimitar Berbatov scoring a late goal against Bolton to secure 3 points too.  There have been lots of goals this year and most of them have been provided by this trio.

It will be interesting to see how this year ends up for United.  At the end of the day, it is about what you win.  If this United team does not win trophys, they might as well be forgotten.  I suspect that United will end up going all the way to win their record 19th Premiership title and I think they might just beat Barcelona in the Champions League Final on May 28.

We will see...until then "Glory Glory Man United!!!!"

Manchester United vs. Schalke 04