On 26 May, 1999 Manchester United were crowned kings of Europe in dramatic fashion.
In doing so they did what no English side had ever done – win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in one season.
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Manchester United completed the Treble by defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 in the 1999 Champions League final
The Queen then recognised manager Alex Ferguson’s greatness by making him a knight of the realm, however, the men in charge at Old Trafford had their reservations about him ahead of the 1998/99 season.
They wondered if he’d taken his eye off the ball – maybe he was more interested in horse racing than taking United to the next level?
“At the time we felt we’d slipped a little bit, having won the double two years before,” the former chief executive Martin Edwards told talkSPORT as part of a special documentary called ‘Football, Bloody Hell! How United won the Treble’, adding that Ferguson was even asked to return from his holiday early for crisis talks.
Arsene Wenger had arrived at Arsenal in October 1996 and, by 1998, had won the league and cup double in his first full season at the club.
Only one team could halt their quest for total domination and that was the Gunners. The threat was very real, though Fergie was outraged at the mere suggestion he had lost his drive.
And it would take more than that to rattle the determined Scot. He was made of the type of steel that would put any White Walker to sleep.
“That was shown by the way he responded,” Edwards added, explaining the club was right behind their manager and pointed to the significant backing in the transfer market that saw Jaap Stam, Dwight Yorke and Jesper Blomqvist arrive for a combined figure just shy of £30m.
“At the end of the day, these things happen in businesses and in football clubs, but as long as you come out on the right side it’s justifiable,” Edwards said.
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Martin Edwards told talkSPORT there were concerns Ferguson had taken his eye off the ball in 1998, but the club backed the manager, who then led Man United to the Treble
Fergie also happened to possess a group of players who demanded nothing less than the best, as Steve McClaren found out when he left Derby to become Fergie’s assistant midway through the 1998/99 season following Brian Kidd’s departure.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he explained nothing could have prepared him for life on the training pitch with Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Peter Schmeichel among others.
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Dwight Yorke arrived from Aston Villa in 1998 for just over £12m
“The first five months between January and May were the toughest five months of my life,” he recalled.
“The environment was tough, the players were tough – if a cone was out of place, if a decision was wrong, if a drill wasn’t right or training wasn’t going well, they’d let you know.
“They wanted the best. They wanted teaching, they wanted training, they wanted toughness, they wanted discipline, they wanted competitiveness – the players demanded that, it didn’t come from the manager.”
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McClaren became Ferguson’s assistant during the 1998/99 season and said the first five months were the toughest of his career
In the end Manchester United and Arsenal – two of the Premier League’s greatest rivals – fought a breathtaking battle for domestic superiority, which United won by a point on the final day of the season.
They kept Alan Shearer quiet to wrap up the FA Cup final and saw off both Inter and a very strong Juventus team en route to the Champions League final – the first time an English side had reached European football’s most prestigious match in 14 years – before staging a dramatic stoppage time comeback to beat Bayern at the Camp Nou.
The message was clear: nobody puts Fergie in the corner.
You can listen to a special talkSPORT documentary called ‘Football, Bloody Hell! How United won the Treble’ featuring contributions from Teddy Sheringham, Andy Cole, Steve McClaren and Martin Edwards here.
How United won the treble
Under Sir Alex, Man United ruled at home and abroad
PREMIER LEAGUE – WINNERS
Played: 38
Won: 22
Drawn: 13
Lost: 3
Points: 79
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – WINNERS
Group D: Runners-up to Bayern Munich
Quarter-finals: Inter
Semi-finals: Juventus
Final: Bayern Munich
FA CUP – WINNERS
Third round: Middlesbrough
Fourth round: Liverpool
Fifth round: Fulham
Quarter-final: Chelsea via replay
Semi-final: Arsenal via replay
Final: Newcastle
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