Three Times A Winner

I enjoyed The Straits Times’ article today with regard to the debate on which is the best Manchester United team of all-time? A great debate, I must say. The 1994 version, led by the inimitable Eric Cantona, with powerful swagger, upturned collar & all? I know I won’t forget his goal celebration of ‘did you the *uck see that’ after his lavish, chipped goal against Sunderland. Perhaps the best goal celebration of all-time. They also had defensive bedrock Gary Pallister and ex-Everton player Andrei Kanchelskis flying down the wing for them.

How about the 1999 version? The team that won the treble, absolutely amazing in any case and any generation. The team with many top players at the peak of their powers: Schmeichel, Stam, Keane, Scholes, Beckham. Giggs, Yorke, Cole…… scary team that was. Can you imagine that team had the best goalkeeper in the world (Schmeichel), best defender (Stam, yes he was) and best striker in the world (Yorke, without a doubt) in the same line-up? No wonder they won the treble. Add to that the worldly midfield of Irish doppelganger Keane, a young Paul Scholes, a long-fringed David Beckham (who was at his peak) and a flying, youthful Ryan Giggs. Phew…..

The 2008 team was characterised by a strong spinal core of the side and the Ronaldo-Rooney combination. The central defensive pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic was rated one of the best in the world.

And of course the modern-day, 2013 version; spearheaded by the irrepressible Robin van Persie and supplemented by an entire squad of competent players, such as pass-master Michael Carrick, wing engineers Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young and Nani, full-backs Rafael da Silva and Patrice Evra and ‘insane’ mover Shinji Kagawa.

But my vote goes to the 1999 team. Pretty easily, actually. The fact that they won the treble is proof in the pudding. You need an extremely powerful team to even have any hope of smelling the treble. Who can forget the way they beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, scoring two goals in the dying stages to conjure out a miraculous triumph. That team was not just good, they were cohesive, determined and they played with a chemistry that would have made Nirvana feel bad. They worked hard for one another and never gave up. And I loved their four strikers: let’s not forget that apart from Yorke and Cole, they had Teddy Sheringham, perhaps the most intelligent striker of all-time and a damn-good header of the ball, and No. 1 Smiling Assassin Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, who was as razor-sharp a striker as you would have hoped to see. With a defence of the ‘Great Dane’ Schmeichel, Stam and Ronny Johnsen; and a midfield of Beckham, Giggs, Keane and Scholes, the world didn’t stand a chance.