United history: 1990 to 1999
The dawn of the 1990s saw Alex Ferguson collect his first silverware as Manchester United manager, and Liverpool winning their last League title with an ageing team. The tide was turning…
Ferguson's first FA Cup, achieved after a replay against Crystal Palace, at the time seemed to be a stand-alone success, one that possibly saved his job after another poor season in the League. But nine years later, it seemed that Lee Martin's winning goal against Palace lit the fuse for an explosion of unprecedented success.
First and foremost, winning the FA Cup in 1990 allowed United to make a return to European competition after an absence of five years following the Heysel disaster. Far from being rusty, the Reds went all the way to the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in Rotterdam where the opponents were Barcelona, the former club of United striker Mark Hughes. Two goals by Hughes sealed the match 2-1 in the English side's favour in May 1991, 23 years after the club's previous triumph in Europe.
The other long wait, for that elusive League championship, very nearly ended in 1992. The Reds had already won the manager's third trophy in March, the League Cup, and were in a two-horse race with Leeds. Liverpool were out of the running, but still had a say in the destiny of the title, beating United 2-0 at Anfield to end their arch rivals' challenge.
The 1991/92 title would be remembered in Manchester as the title that United lost, rather than the one that Leeds actually won. Leeds, after all, were not the greatest of football powers in the 1990s and their star quality was further reduced when they allowed one of their best players to cross the Pennines in December 1992.
In selling Eric Cantona to Old Trafford, the Yorkshire club practically handed over the keys to the League championship. The Frenchman brought the little extra bit of magic and confidence that had been missing from United's previous campaigns and was an instant hit with the Mancunian faithful, scoring nine goals to help the Reds win their first title in 26 years.
In the following season, 1993/94, the team virtually picked itself en route to an historic League and FA Cup Double, with Cantona sporting the number seven shirt that had beenBryan Robson’s property for so long. The number one, meanwhile, was undoubtedlyPeter Schmeichel, arguably the best goalkeeper ever seen in the English game.
Cantona’s eight-month absence from January 1995, following his clash with a fan at Crystal Palace, proved to be United’s undoing as they tried to defend their Double. The Reds surrendered the title by one point to Blackburn Rovers and then lost the FA Cup final by one goal to Everton. The former champions were hampered at Wembley by an injury toSteve Bruce, the brave captain who was a defensive rock in the early 1990s, and his replacement at half-time, Ryan Giggs, was also not fully fit.
Bruce also missed the following year's FA Cup Final, at the end of the 1995/96 season, but this time the result was rather different. Liverpool stood between United and a first-ever ‘Double Double’ and were holding out for extra-time, when Cantona struck home a sublime shot in the 86th minute. The French skipper had throughout the season been an inspiration to the talented young players in the team, including David Beckham and Gary Neville.
In May 1997, Cantona helped the club to its fourth League title of the decade. It was to be his last, as he surprisingly retired from football later that same month. The shock waves of Eric’s decision seemed to last for a whole year, as the Reds went empty-handed in 1997/98 while Arsenal won the Double. Again, injuries to key players, especially Giggs and Roy Keane, were cited for United’s downfall.
The influence that Giggs could have on results was never more apparent than in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay, when he scored perhaps the goal of the decade – a solo run and finish that left Arsenal's defenders grasping at thin air. It booked United's place in their fifth FA Cup final of the 1990s, and this time Ferguson's men won it, beating Newcastle United 2-0 with goals by Paul Scholes and substitute Teddy Sheringham.
That result clinched United's third Double, six days after the Premiership title had been wrapped up by Andy Cole's goal against Tottenham at Old Trafford. But still there was more to come from a remarkable campaign. After an epic Champions League semi-final against Juventus, when Keane inspired the team to fight back from 2-0 down in the second leg, United marched into an epic final against Bayern Munich in Barcelona.
United's attempts to win the European Cup for the first time since 1968 looked to be doomed when Bayern took an early lead through Mario Basler and defended it with typical German resilience. But then, in injury time, the Reds produced one of the most stunning revivals in sporting history – Sheringham equalised and, moments later, his fellow substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fired in the winner to make the score 2-1. United clinched the Treble; manager Ferguson was subsequently knighted as fans around the globe basked in the glory.
The Treble became a Quadruple later in the year when Sir Alex's men travelled to Tokyo to compete for the Inter-Continental Cup. Keane's goal against Palmeiras of Brazil bestowed upon United the title of World Club Champions. Officially, at the end of the Millennium, the biggest football club in the world had also become the best in the world!