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
7 8 SHARP 93 93 6 Teddy Sheringham celebrates his game-tying goal in the 1999 Champions League final in England's First Division in 1892 In 1968 the Red Devils became the first English team to win a European title Then in the 1990s the team from northwest England became a global force United achieved so much that their home stadium Old Trafford became known as the Theatre of Dreams The Premier League was founded in 199 Under manager Alex Ferguson United won 13 Premier League titles through 2013 The Red Devils also won two Champions League titles Those United teams featured some of the biggest names in the sport including David Beckham Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo When put together all of this led to Manchester United becoming not just a dominant team but also one of the most popular teams in any sport in the world
04 ENGLISH TRADITION Manchester United set a new standard for English soccer during the 1990s and early 2000s By then the sport had roots in the country going back more than a century Clubs such as Arsenal Aston Villa Everton Nottingham Forest and Sunderland enjoyed periods of success But no team was more dominant than Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s From 1976 to 1990 Liverpool won the English league title 10 times The Reds didn't just dominate in England though They also won the European Cup four times during that run in 1977 1978 1981 ARSENAL'S INVINCIBLES English club Arsenal has enjoyed periods of success over its long history Its best season was in 2003 The London team went an entire Premier League season without a loss It was the first time since 1889 that a team from England had gone undefeated That Arsenal team became known as The Invincibles 7
