Manchester United legend

Chapter 175 The Last Moment

In the 81st minute, Ferguson replaced the exhausted Cole with Sheringham, and the formation of three forwards continued to attack frantically.

In the previous 80 minutes, Bayern replaced Matthaus with Fink.

Many players and fans are puzzled by Hitzfeld's substitution.

The winner is the king and the loser is Kou. Compared with Ferguson's later wide acclaim, Hitzfeld's substitution was naturally questioned after the game. Many people even thought that replacing Mateus with Fink in the 80th minute was the biggest failure.

But should this pot of "dirty water" really be poured on Heathfield?In fact, it was Matthaeus himself who signaled to the coach bench to ask for a substitution, and Hitzfeld had to replace him with Fink.

Effenberg later published his autobiography "Doing My Way" and said, "I still can't understand why Matthaus voluntarily left the field in the 1999 Champions League final. If it was me, I would not go down unless my leg was kicked off."

Effenberg believes that Matthaus himself asked to go off, and Hitzfeld had to replace him with Funk.Bayern Lions blamed the responsibility for the subsequent loss on Mateus's "no seed", "no guts", "external strength but internal ability" and "perseverance until the end"; after many years, Effenberg still refused to forgive Mateus, "He was an inspiration to us after he left Bayern. I am very happy to lead a team without him to win the Champions League!"

The situation of Matthaus is indeed very strange. This so-called Germany's best midfielder after Beckenbauer often has some behaviors that are difficult for outsiders to understand.

In the 1990 World Cup final, Wöller won a penalty kick for West Germany, but Matthaus, as the team's first free thrower, refused to take the penalty.

As another footnote, a few days after the Champions League final, Bayern and Werder Bremen played in the German Cup final. In the end, Bayern used another tragic way-the penalty shootout and the championship passed by again. The most deadly thing was that Matthaus missed the last penalty!
The substitutions of the two teams were almost the same as last time. Manchester United strengthened their offensive. This time, Bayern got a good chance to score: Ryan Giggs sent a corner kick from the left, and Bayern's defense cleared the ball out of the penalty area.

Manchester United's offense and Kahn's defense have all played a very high level at this moment!After being suppressed, Bayern also started to attack the frontcourt. Sauer once again found a chance outside the penalty area.

Afterwards, Bayern launched several attacks. Basler's right-sided corner kick caused chaos in the Manchester United penalty area. In the melee, Jankel showed a dexterity that was not commensurate with his tall stature. He turned his back to the goal and shot a barbed shot.

It was the 84th minute at this time, and the game was coming to an end, and then Janker had another chance to lead the ball into the penalty area, leaning on Stam and turning around to shoot. Fortunately, the ball hit Stam's body and popped out.

After withstood Bayern's counterattack, Manchester United launched another attack.The fierce attack was getting closer and closer to the goal. Solskjaer made a wonderful pass from the back heel, and Sheringham followed up with a shot, but was blocked by Kahn sideways. Solskjaer also got an excellent chance to score when he received a cross from the right in the penalty area.

Are Manchester United going to lose?Ferguson stood on the edge of the court, no longer pacing, no longer yelling, wearing a silver-gray suit and wearing glasses, he no longer needed to order the players, nor did he need to command the players.

During the nearly 90-minute game, his flushed face has gradually calmed down.Ferguson's eyes were deep. He looked at the fierce battle on the pitch, and his sight had already crossed the pitch, connecting countless games where Manchester United came back from behind.Ferguson's expression was calm, but it was definitely not the depression of accepting defeat sadly.

"All Sports" senior reporter Robert Chalmers later recalled, "In the Champions League final between Bayern and Manchester United, I was sitting behind Ferguson. I remember his face had a Buddhist tranquility. At that time, there was only 3 minutes of stoppage time on the field, and Bayern was still leading. I couldn't understand why he was not excited, why he kept stinging, why didn't he growl? Could it be that he was unable to turn on the hair dryer? But I didn't see him admitting defeat. I can only say that he was indeed very calm. storm."

After Manchester United won the championship, Robert Chalmers interviewed Ferguson: "McLaren asked you how to arrange tactics in extra time after Jost equalized. Your answer was 'There is no extra time, we will win in 90 minutes! Believe me'. How do you make this judgment? Is it instinct?"

Ferguson's answer was very straightforward, "Everything has its own rules, but it is deeply hidden. Bayern's position was already chaotic before we scored a goal, and our striker had scored many times. Bayern players are also human, and they will collapse at any time under pressure. Jost's hit was too great for them. It was like pricking the ball with a needle. Their physical strength reached its limit, and the will to support them was broken by us!"

"That means you feel that psychologically Bayern..."

"They broke down."

After witnessing his team being manipulated by the opponent for 85 minutes, George Best, who was watching the game, couldn't bear to watch any more.He made one of the stupidest decisions: leaving early.

Best missed goals from Jost and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as did those fans who left early, and United did not see United toast.

Regarding the message sent by his friends after the game saying that the team won the championship, Best also thought that the friends made fun of him maliciously.After a long time he said: "I'm such a nasty person. I actually betrayed the tradition of Manchester United and gave up my trust in Manchester United..."

Another Manchester United legend, Bobby Charlton, held on until the end.UEFA President Johansen offered his condolences to Charlton as he left to present the award.Charlton opted for "an indifferent response" and did not accept Johansen's "kindness".

Charlton said: "I firmly believe that Manchester United will fight back and fight to the end.That mistake in the first half is not worth paying for Manchester United with a defeat.On the contrary, Manchester United's offensive is worthy of a goal. I have always believed that Manchester United will reverse, and I firmly believe in it to the end. "

Charlton's expression was always firm: "I used to be a member of this team, and I have felt the greatness of this team. I firmly believe that we will win the final victory. Even if we fail in the end, I am still proud of their hard work."

After Manchester United finally reversed, Charlton in the stands grinned like a child and stuck out his tongue mischievously, as if to say silently, "See, this is Manchester United!"

Yes, this is Manchester United!

(End of this chapter)