FC Barcelona: Top 5 games played at the Camp Nou
1. Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich (1998-99 Champions League)
Surprisingly, the best match played at the Camp Nou does not involve Barcelona. It does not even involve a Spanish club. Without doubt, it is the 1998-99 Champions League final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
Manchester United had won the domestic treble by lifting both the Premier League and the FA Cup. The squad’s core was the ‘Class of 92’ – Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. But it also consisted of other top players like Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, Jaap Stam, Jesper Blomqvist, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. But Scholes and Keane were suspended for the game. On the other hand, Bayern had most of their squad intact.
Bayern took the lead through a Mario Basler free-kick in the 6th minute. And they held on to that lead throughout the game. Manchester United’s young team could not break down Bayern’s 5-man defence consisting of Lothar Matthäus, Markus Babbel, Thomas Linke, Samuel Kuffour and Michael Tarnat.
But Sir Alex Ferguson showed how good a tactician he is in the second half. He brought on Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Teddy Sheringham, and they changed the game. After the referee announced 3 minutes of added time, Manchester United began to step on the pedal.
United won a corner and Peter Schmeichel came up for the set-piece. David Beckham floated it in, and Dwight Yorke diverted the ball into the path of Ryan Giggs, whose shot was weak. But Teddy Sheringham was there to pick up the ball and he blasted the ball into the back of the net.
Then, both sides were gearing up for extra time when United won another corner. Schmeichel did not come up for this one. But he was not required this time. Beckham whipped in an inch-perfect cross and it found the head of supersub Teddy Sheringham. Sheringham changed the direction of the ball and it fell to the feet of Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who put in into an empty net.
Next: Barcelona, Espanyol and Girona join hands for Catalonia
Camp Nou went berserk. The two sides meant nothing to the crowd. But they loved football, and this was football at its best. The Camp Nou showed its true spirit that day, as Alex Ferguson led Manchester United to its first ever treble.