The Manchester United 1998-99 Champions League Winning Kits

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for over a decade you’ll know that Manchester United managed to bring the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League trophies to Old Trafford in 1999. The squad was one of the Premier League’s greatest ever teams, constructed by legendary manager Alex Ferguson. The Red Devils wore four outfield kits in the 1998-99 season. Here we’ll take a look at the ones that were worn in the Champions League winning run. The final trophy of the season which sealed The Treble.

 

The 1998-99 Champions League

Man United Champions League Home Kit 1998-99

The European home kit was first introduced by Umbro in the 1997-98 Champions League campaign. A European campaign that ultimately ended, once again, in disappointment. After a 0-0 draw against French Champions AS Monaco in France, a David Trezegeut goal at Old Trafford sent the French side into the Semi-Finals on away goals. The wait went on for a first European Cup since 1968.

 

The following season Manchester United went into the tournament as Premier League runners up meaning they dropped into pot 3 for the group stage draw. They were drawn with German champions FC Bayern, Spanish giants Barcelona, and Danish side Brondby. That really was a group of death!

At this point we think it’s worth talking about the away kit worn this season. We all remember the FA Cup goal scored by Ryan Giggs against Arsenal which this shirt is most famous for, however, in the Champions League campaign we witnessed Man United wearing the white away kit in both home and away ties against Barcelona. Both matches finished 3-3. The pick of these goals were David Beckham’s trademark free-kick at Old Trafford and the combination of Yorke and Cole in the Nou Camp. The kit worn in the Champions League was all white with Sharp Viewcam sponsor and red and black stripes to the lower front and shoulders.

 

 

Although Man United finished second in the group behind FC Bayern the side went through to the knockout stage having gained more points than teams in other groups. Despite finishing second the side had scored 20 goals in the group phase and not lost a game.

 

First up was Inter Milan. The main talking point of this match was the reunion of David Beckham and Diego Simeone after the World Cup 1998 red card in Saint-Étienne. Over the two legs it was Beckham who won the battle, setting up two goals for Yorke in a 2-0 win at Old Trafford. Even Inter’s Ronaldo, best striker in the world at the time, couldn’t pull the game back at the San Siro and Man United went through to meet another Italian side in the form of Juventus.

 

Juventus had an extremely strong squad in 1998-99. The side consisted of Conte, Davids, Inzaghi and Word Cup winners Deschamps and Zidane. Having said this, the Old Lady unbelievably finished 7th in Serie A this season. Maybe that shows how strong Serie A was at the time. The first leg at Old Trafford finished 1-1 with Man United behind for a large period until a stoppage time goal from Ryan Giggs earning a draw. Not the first or last time they would score a last minute goal this season! The second leg at the Stadio delle Alpi is one of the greatest games of all-time. After Pippo Inzaghi scored two early goals it seemed the tie was over, 3-1 to Juventus on aggregate. Manchester United needed at least two goals to go through. Roy Keane managed to score a header from a corner and the tie turned on it’s head. Goals from Yorke and then Cole sent Manchester United into the Champions League Final. “Full speed ahead Barcelona”.

The UCL Final was played at the Nou Camp in-front of 90k fans. The opponents were from the same Champions League group, German giants FC Bayern Munich. Both teams wore special European kits in this final, Man United in their European home kit by Umbro and Bayern in a silver and burgundy adidas shirt. Bayern had the better chances and were 1-0 up until the last 4 minutes of the match. Two Beckham corners later Man United had won the game 2-1 with goals from Sheringham and Solskjaer. A truly remarkable victory. One that will never be forgotten by all football fans.

 

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