Man Utd's Treble winners are still benchmark for greatness, not Pep's Man City
Pep Guardiola orchestrated the best performance I've ever seen from an English club in Europe – but Manchester United's Treble winners of 1999 still set the benchmark for greatness.
Manchester City didn't just beat Real Madrid to reach the Champions League final – they absolutely destroyed the European Cup holders. Took them apart. Maybe this isn't the finest Madrid team of recent vintage, but take nothing away from City's breathtaking quality.
They will be overwhelming favourites to beat Inter Milan in the final – but they were expected to beat Chelsea in Porto two years ago, when Guardiola was criticised for his tactics in some quarters and they came up short. And they should have beaten Real in the semi-finals last year before it all unravelled in two minutes of madness right at the death in the Santiago Bernabeu.
There has been a lot of talk about City being so dominant now that they are on the verge of leaving United's Treble winners in the shade.
Yes, I expect City to win the title this weekend, and I've already tipped them to win the Treble, so I'm not going to jump ship now.
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But when you look at the path United had to take to win those three trophies in 1999, compared with City sweeping all before them in 2023, it does not support the argument that City are the most powerful side of modern times.
Manchester City destroyed Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final (Getty Images)United won the title by a single point from Arsenal, losing only three of their 38 games and they were easily top scorers in the Premier League in the 1998-99 season.
That Arsenal team contained the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp – Arsene Wenger had assembled one of the greatest sides we've ever seen in this country.
When City complete their fifth title triumph in six years, it will feel a bit like the year Leicester were champions... because so many of the big guns, especially Chelsea, Liverpool and even Manchester United, have been off the pace.
In 1999, United's FA Cup run accounted for Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Fulham, Chelsea (after a replay) and that epic semi-final with Arsenal, culminating in Peter Schmeichel saving Bergkamp's penalty and Ryan Giggs' sensational winner in extra time. Although they were drawn at home in every round, that's hardly an easy ride to Wembley.
Manchester United celebrate winning the 1998-99 Champions League trophyThis season, City had to see off Chelsea and Arsenal, but since then they have beaten three Championship sides – Bristol City, Burnley and Sheffield United – to reach the final.
And in the Champions League 24 years ago, United had to come through a qualifying round before remaining unbeaten in a group containing Bayern Munich – whom they would meet again in the final – and Barcelona. They also beat Inter Milan and Juventus in the knockout stages. Roy Keane was absolutely immense as United came back from 2-0 down in the semi-final in Turin until suspension ruled him out of the final.
And of course, United had to pull a rabbit from the hat with those injury-time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to beat Bayern in the Nou Camp.
This season, City were always likely to qualify from a group containing Borussia Dortmund, Seville and Copenhagen before blowing away Leipzig, Bayern and Real Madrid in the knockout stages.
So to win each trophy in 1999, United had to overcome fierce opposition. City, meanwhile, were scrambling to get out of the third tier in a play-off final shoot-out with Gillingham.
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With respect, given those parallel routes to glory, Manchester United's Treble winners still set the bar for me. Let's see if City can emulate them before we rewrite history.
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