2003 Man Utd 4-3 Real Madrid

Despite this famous victory for Manchester United, Madrid won the two-legged round 6-5 on aggregate, mainly thanks to this all-time great perfomrance from Ronaldo.

1999 Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal

The FA Cup, Semi-Final Replay, 14th April 1999

Manchester United achieved an unprecedented "Treble" in 1999 but were living dangerously towards the end of their FA Cup Semi-Final replay with Arsenal at Villa Park. The first match, also at Villa Park, had failed to produce a result - or a goal - in two hours of football.

Three days later, the legendary David Beckham broke the deadlock with a United opener on 17 minutes, although Arsenal’s Dutch master, Dennis Bergkamp, cancelled it out midway through the second half.

In a pulsating last few minutes of normal time United battled to hold on after Roy Keane’s red card. Right at the death Arsenal were awarded a spot-kick but Peter Schmeichel amazingly dived full-length to his left to beat away Bergkamp’s shot.



Then, as if we hadn’t seen enough drama already, Ryan Giggs scored an extra-time winner of breathtaking brilliance. The Welshman drove a left-footer past Seaman after a classic, mazy run that had begun near the halfway line.

Manchester Utd 7-1 Roma

Some nights in football are golden. "In European terms that has to be my greatest moment at Old Trafford," said Sir Alex Ferguson, casting his mind back over the way Manchester United had blown a gaping hole in Italy's reputation of having the world's most accomplished defences. "The quality of our game was so high that once we scored the second and third goals I was in the dugout thinking 'this could be something really big here'. But even so, I wasn't expecting that."

From The Guardian, 10/07/2007



Let's not mention the semi final!

- The Portuguese Wonder

Ronaldo was named after former US President, Ronald Reagan, who was greatly admired by Ronaldo's dad. His full name is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro. When Cristiano Ronaldo was a kid, he once hit a teacher with a chair because she made fun of his Madeiran accent.

Here he is in action...

- Where are they now?

From the BBC:

Manchester United and Chelsea, the Premiership top two, go head-to-head on Saturday in a mouth-watering first FA Cup final at the new Wembley.

The only time the two sides have contested a Wembley final was the FA Cup final of 1994 which United ended up winning 4-0, thanks to two Eric Cantona penalties and goals from Mark Hughes and Brian McClair.

BBC Sport looks back at the line-ups from that final on 14 May 1994 and also speaks to BBC pundits Gary Pallister and Gavin Peacock, both of whom played that day.

Read the rest of the article here.

- Giggs, Ryan: The Premierships greatest ever

Let's get into the swing of things with the greatest goal ever scored...

There's a nice article in the Guardian this week celebrating the legend that is Giggs:

It is all very well noting that Ryan Giggs has just won his ninth League title, breaking the record held by Phil Neal and Alan Hansen, and will become the most decorated player in English football should he add a fifth FA Cup winner's medal to his collection at Wembley on Saturday. But slightly meaningless.

Statistics such as that make the head spin and the medals belong in a public collection, which happens to be where all the Giggs gongs reside anyway - at Manchester United's museum. 'I wouldn't spend time looking at them now,' he says. 'Maybe when I retire I will.' What gives a better impression of the Giggs years of overachievement at Manchester United is his blase, throwaway remark about Arsenal and Chelsea's success in the past three seasons. 'I was beginning to get worried,' he says. 'I've never gone three seasons without winning the title before.'

Click here to read the full article.

- 1994 Revisited

The first game, seconds away from disaster before this unforgettable Mark Hughes volley...



Let's start the replay with this Dennis Irwin beauty



Kanchelskis' classic...



They couldn't even stop a 37-year-old Bryan Robson...