Erik ten Hag’s first season as Manchester United manager can be considered as a success, despite the club going through a lot of ups and downs this season. At the end, they managed to win the Carabao Cup and secure Champions League qualification after finishing 3rd in the Premier League. The manager has to be given immense credit, as his first few months as United boss saw him deal with several issues like the De Jong transfer saga and the Cristiano Ronaldo incident. Even though the club enjoyed a fine season, it ended on a sour note as United failed to defeat Arch-rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final. It was not only a golden opportunity for the Red Devils to win the FA Cup but also stop the Citizens from achieving a potential treble. Speaking of treble, let us now go back and take a look at how Manchester United achieved their historic treble in 1999.

The Manager

No surprises here, as Sir Alex Ferguson was the Manchester United manager during this period as well. It was his 12th year with the club, and he won 4 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups, European Cup Winners’ Cup, and a European Super Cup by this time with the Red Devils.

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Transfers

In terms of outgoings, the 2 major players who left the club during that period were Brian McClair and Gary Pallister. Both of them were long-serving players of the club. It was the loss of Pallister that made Sir Alex Ferguson bring in a major defensive signing that season, as Manchester United paid a then-record £10 million to bring in Jaap Stam from PSV Eindhoven.

Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert was supposed to sign for United at the time as well, but the deal fell through in the end. Ole Gunnar Solskjær was also on the verge of leaving to Tottenham Hotspur for a £5.5 million, but the player turned down the transfer proposal.

1998-99 Manchester United team

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United team played the classic 4-4-2 formation at the time. Peter Schmeichel was the goalie, and he had the centre-back pairing of Jaap Stam and Ronny Johnsen ahead of him. The full-backs were Gary Neville and Denis Irwin. United’s 4-man midfield a the time included club-captain Roy Keane and Paul Scholes as the central midfielders, while David Bekham and Ryan Giggs were the wide-midfielders. The forward line had the duo of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole.

A free-flowing attacking style football was played by United at the time, with the team being fluid and brilliant in terms of link-up play. A high-pressing system that gave players the freedom to showcase their creative prowess was followed by Sir Alex Ferguson.

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The 1998-1999 season

Manchester United were entering the season after their disappointing previous campaign, which saw them finish the season trophy less. The season began in similar disappointment as well, with the club losing against Arsenal in the Community Shield.

The Premier League saw Manchester United come up with a disappointing start, as they failed to win their first 2 matches. However, thd club went on to pick momentum as the season kept progressed. Towards the end of the season, Manchester United went on to have the final laugh over Arsenal, as the Red Devils won the Premier League with a 2 point lead over the Gunners.

Coming to the FA Cup, United went on to beat the likes of Liverpool and Fulham in the early stages. Chelsea were beaten as well after a 6th round replay, and Arsenal were yet again left heart broken as United overcame them in the semi-finals. The final took place between Manchester United and Newcastle United, which ended in a 2-0 win for the Red Devils.

Manchester United’s Champions League journey that season already began with huge obstacles, as they were in the group of death with Bayern, Barcelona, and Brøndby. They still managed to qualify to the group stages after finishing second in the group.

The knockout stages saw United face the likes of Inter Milan and Juventus, with the Red Devils also having an unfavorable history of never winning on Italian soil. Manchester United however, overcame all the odds and beat both the teams.

Manchester United and their group rivals Bayern Munich met again, this time in the Champions League final. Bayern Munich went on open the scoring in the 6th minute and they held their lead till injury time. What followed was one of the most historic moments in football history, as Manchester United went on to score 2 goals at the death of the game. Sheringham and Solskjær were the 2 goal scorers, who were brought as substitutes by Sir Alex Ferguson. Manchester United won the match 2-1 and became the first ever English Club to win the treble.

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