BOW DOWN TO THE KINGS OF EUROPE!

 

(Image taken from Manutd.com)

The year was 1999. For me it was the day of a GCSE German exam...and something much bigger. United were up against Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp in the Champions League final. It was a chippy for dinner that evening, not because of the big match but because it was the final day in the UK for a mate of Dad's we had lodging in our Tedington home. Anyway, things didn't start well, Mario Basler opened the scoring for the German side but we all know how the match ended, United completing the Treble that season thanks to Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer! And my whole street knew about it!

This time round, well we were up against Chelsea. Well we knew this lot almost too well. We'd been Premiership title race rivals for the previous four seasons! We had never faced them in European competition before, to be honest, despite the all-Premiership ties that have become a regular occurence in continental competition we haven't been involved in any of them so this was definately a new experience. And it was the first all-Premiership Champions League final.

It was also a long way from home for both sides. Time difference made it a very late night at the Luzhniki Stadium but the fans from both sides were always going to get there one way or another. Arvan Grant shot his mouth off pre-match, Fergie didn't care. The Premiership counted for nothing at this point, all bets were off given the way Chelsea had taken us down to the wire. Scholes, Carrick and Hargreves were playing together in midfield and as nerves set in it was time for United's biggest match this side of the Millenium!

The match opened with both sides having chances and though United had the slight edge, Chelsea were well in business as well. Which didn't help the nerves. What did help the nerves was when Scholes and Brown played a 1-2 in the 26th minute. Wes then found Ronaldo in the box and Chelsea just had no answer for him! After that, it was United's show and we really should have gone 2-0 up. What happened instead though was Frank Lampard running through the United defence to equalise in the 45th minute. Back to square one.

Furthermore, after their equaliser it was Chelsea who were getting the big ideas. For the Reds it was all hands to the pump and the question soon became not "can we win the game" but "can we force extra time?". United had hardly any chances to speak of and despite throwing on some fresh legs we didn't really look like getting a winner till the last few minutes but even then it was the Blues that looked to have the last word though. They couldn't hit the net though and there was no deja vu on our end so it was extra time.

Extra time started with Chelsea picking up where they left off, firing shots at our woodwork and generally making United fans wonder if we were going to have to hold on for penalties. There will always be some hope though and Giggsy had come on before the end of the 90 and sent a header over the bar to remind Chelsea that we still needed to be dealt with. Still, neither side could find the net in this period so it was 15 minutes to go to avoid the biggest penalty shootout in either club's history.

In the second period of extra time, neither side looked interested in a shootout . Players from both sides began to fall down with cramp though. Those that stayed on their feet were certainly playing with a lot of energy but possibly were a little too fired up. As I said before, these sides know each other a little too well, there had been various ugly incidents throughout the match and eventually the Slovakian ref felt he had to send Didier Drogba off! Both managers made subs in the dying minute with only one thing in mind - penalties!

Well I have seen a lot of shootouts, never one involving my team in a Champions League final though. Tevez scored, Michael Ballack replied for Chelsea. Carrick scored, Juliano Beletti replied for the Blues. OK so far. Ronaldo....misses, and Lampard makes us pay. Uh oh, we needed that like we needed a hole in the head. Hargreves scores...Ashley Cole replies. Now our back are against the wall. Nani, an extra time sub. United's fate is in his hands. They're solid hands. It's only a stay of execution though, now we're at John Terry's mercy...and the Chelsea captain blows it! It's do or die for every kicker from here on in. Anderson scores. Soloman Kalou replies. Giggsy scores. Up comes Nicolas Anelka. I fire off an old Arsenal chant to try and calm my nerves. The Frenchman misses! And I jump around like a nutcase!

So, Manchester United are the 2007/08 Champions League winners, the first Premiership side since the Scousers in '05 to claim that honour! It means that we'll be heading to Japan at some point next season to take part in the Club World Championship. Till then, well this has been an awesome season for United let me see...Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Evra, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Carrick, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney. All these players can now call themselves Champions League winners(other players being veterans of '99 and not forgetting Van de Saar's winners medal with Ajax in '95 or Hargreves one with Bayern in '01). Fergie can call himself the first United manager to win the biggest trophy in Europe twice!

So if United look to be on their way to greater to greater things then what of Chelsea? Oh dear, it appears a certain moronic Russian has sacked Avram Grant! Could he not get you any trophies Roman? Oh I'm sorry...I thought you started the season with someone who could do just that! What happened to him? Oh I remember, you fired him after just a few bad matches. Credit to Grant, he actually did a lot better than I expected of him at the start of his reign and best wishes to him wherever he may go. From here on in though, Chelsea are going to self-destruct. Few of the allstars are going to want to hang around much longer. Chelsea are not going to be in the Champions League next season, no manager with half a brain will want to work with Roman Abramovich and the rats will desert this sinking ship over the summer!

North of the border, Aberdeen finished their SPL season with a match against Rangers at Pittodrie. Rangers may have had the opening chance but the Dons certainly have the Old Firm side a match and 0-0 at half time would certainly have made Gers fans nervous with the title still up for grabs. As it was, Walter Smith's current Gers side turned out to to be an invincible against the Dons as his early 90s side was! Lee Miller and Mackie hit the net to leave the Reds ending a very up and down season on one last high!

Elsewhere, Dundee United faced Celtic at Tannadice Park. THe home side had the better play early on but it was Celtic that were soon running the show, hoping to wrap up the title. The Tangerines stayed in the match in the early stages of the second half but the Celts were clearly the stronger side and Jan Venegoor of Hesselink hit the winner on the night. That allowed the Dons to finish fourth in the SPL which in theory means they qualify for the UEFA Cup for the second season in a row which would be a great result!

So, rounding up the SPL season, we have Celtic as champions who are garunteed a spot in the Champions League group stages next season! Rangers finish in second place and have to survive two preliminary rounds before they join their Old Firm rivals. Motherwell are garunteed a spot in the UEFA Cup and the Dons should be there as well. Gretna, well they were always the dead men walking and are heading back whence they came with Clyde replacing them, having won SD1.

The one other natter to tidy up was the Scottish Cup final between Rangers and SD1 side Queen of the South at Hampden Park. Kris Boyd and DaMarcus Beasley put the Gers two up by half time. However the Queens have proven to be a stubborn side and Steve Tosh and Jim Thomson quickly levelled the match. Boyd hit the winner though to at least give Walter Smith a second trophy this season despite losing the ones he's have really wanted to grab.

Back south of the border and concentrating on the domestic game, Hull faced Bristol City in the Championship playoff final at Wembley! The early stages of the match were certainly messy but Hell were the first to get their act together and took the lead through 90s Dons assasin Dean Windass, now 39! Bristol City went all out in the second half looking for an equaliser but couldn't find one and so it was Hull that takes the glory, allowing them to lose their tag of being the biggest city in Europe never to have a top flight football team!(I didn't think Hull was that big but anyway!)

So that's the domestic season over, now it's time to concentrate on the international scene!

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