4 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 EUROPE'S FINEST MEN'S TEAMS CHAPTER 2 CLUBS AROUND THE WORLD CHAPTER 3 CLUBS ON THE RISE CHAPTER 4 16 28 CONQUERING THE WORLD 36 GLOSSARY 46 INDEX 47 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 47
6 5 9 1 CHAPTER 4 SHARP SHARP SHARP SHARP SHARP SHARP SHARP SHARP SHARP EUROPE'S FINEST MEN'S TEAMS Manchester United was so close The Red Devils were trying to achieve something no other club from England had ever done win three championships in one year This is known as winning the treble The final step in this quest took place on May 26 1999 By then United had already
1 0 SHARP Manchester United players pose for a team photo before the 1999 Champions League final won the Premier League which is the top men's league in England Shortly after the team claimed victory in the Football Association FA Cup That famous tournament includes teams from all levels of English men's soccer Over many months they face off in a knockout-style competition Now to clinch the treble United had to beat Bayern Munich in the European Champions League final Each competition for the treble has unique challenges In the Champions League the best clubs from across Europe compete to become European champion These teams are often the best in the world And Bayern Munich had long been the dominant team in Germany Bayern Munich scored in the first six minutes The game remained 1 into stoppage time United's treble appeared doomed Then in the 91st minute Teddy Sheringham tied the game for United Two minutes later Ole Gunnar Solskjær added another goal Both strikers had come into the game as substitutes Now they were the heroes as United held on to win 2 and claim the first treble for an English team It was a historic moment in English soccer For United it was the next great accomplishment in the team's rich history Soccer had been invented in England in 1863 and men's club teams began forming soon after United played its first season 5
