When I woke up on 22nd May 2008 I pinched myself to be sure that last night wasn't a dream. Manchester United were indeed crowned the Champions of Europe on a dramatic night in Moscow. I could barely watch the proceedings after Cristiano Ronaldo missed his spot kick in the penalty shoot out. Edwin Van Der Sar came close to saving two Chelsea penalties but it wasn't to be. But then John Terry slipped, I had a feeling that trophy is in touching distance. Ryan Giggs, making a record 759th appearance for United, calmly struck his penalty and then the long awaited moment followed. Nicolas Anelka, former Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City player, saw his penalty saved by the big Dutchman and ecstasy followed. I don't remember what crazy things I did to celebrate the victory but surely that night will remain etched in my memory forever. The victory took a long time to sink in but when it eventually did, I thought, what next? Winning a trophy is hard but to keep it is even harder. Also, no team has successfully defended the Champions League since the format changed in 1992.
The dream season was followed by intense speculation of Ronaldo leaving for Real Madrid but he stayed at Old Trafford to give himself a better chance of winning more silverware. United completed the high profile signing of Dimitar Berbatov to bolster the already lethal attacking line. There were departures as well in the form of Louis Saha, Mikael Silvestre and Gerard Pique but the team looked strong to start the defence of the Premier League and the Champions League.
As always, United were slow to start and their cause was not helped by injuries and a strange fixture list. United had to face all the top teams away from home in the first half of the season. A draw at Old Trafford in the first game of the season was followed by loss in the European Super Cup final and a loss at Anfield. A draw at high flying Chelsea was considered as a good result but United had a lot of catch up to do so early in the season. Then, Ronaldo returned from injury and provided momentum along with Wayne Rooney to kick start a series of good results.
In Europe, United were put in a tricky group with Villarreal, Celtic and Aalborg. Good form at Old Trafford carried United through to the knockout stages of the competition without much fuss.
Sir Alex likes to give young players a run in the first team in the Carling Cup to give them some experience. This strategy backfired in the last two seasons as United were knocked out by Championship sides. But, this time the youngsters grabbed their chance. Players like Rafael, Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson, Rodrigo Possebon, Nani and Anderson improved with every game and took the team to the final of the Carling Cup.
In December, United had to travel to Japan to take part in the FIFA World Club Championship. It was expected that hectic schedule and travelling will take its toll on the players and United, who were already trailing Liverpool and Chelsea, will fall apart. The tournament in Japan brought the first piece of silverware this season for United and they earned the right to be called the World Champions. This proved to be a huge morale booster for the players and their fortunes changed after coming back to England.
Liverpool and Chelsea failed to take advantage of United's absence as they dropped points. A resurgent United put together a string of 1-0 wins and more importantly solid defensive performances that were absent at the start of the season. There were injuries to key defenders like Ferdinand, Evra and Brown at this point but Nemanja Vidic held the defence together along with Edwin Van Der Sar. As a result, United put together an amazing string of 14 consecutive Premier League clean sheets that saw them smash plenty of records. As United blossomed, Liverpool and Chelsea faltered. Chelsea were demolished at Old Trafford and Anfield while Liverpool drew too many home games to hand the advantage to Man United. Chelsea sacked Scolari, their manager, after a series of poor results.
Yesterday's draw against Man City left Liverpool 7 points adrift of Man United while Chelsea lie third in the table trailing United by 10 points. Arsenal haven't been involved in the title race at all and they are struggling to break into the top four due to their inconsistency. Aston Villa have been superb this season and are looking set to break the Big Four monopoly.
United have progressed to the quarter final of FA Cup after beating Southampton, Tottenham and Derby County. With the Red Devils marching on all fronts, talks of improbable quintuple have surfaced in the tabloids. I think it is a bit early to speculate what will happen in the next three months and we'll get a clear picture at the end of March. The Carling Cup is only one game away and United have established an healthy lead at the top of the Premier League table. But the two other trophies are a long way away. The most difficult of the lot is the Champions League. United have a big test coming up against Internazionale, the Champions of Italy, with Mourinho factor adding spice to the intriguing tie. It is make or break time with big games coming thick and fast.
Come May, we'll know how United progressed after a dream season. The signs have been positive. The squad was pushed to the limits in January but the players came out with flying colours and are still in contention for all the trophies. The way old warhorses Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have performed in recent months goes to show that they still have the hunger and desire to win trophies even now. Ryan Giggs has been deployed in the central midfield this season which has proved to be an ace from Sir Alex. Giggs has been one of most influential players in the United side so far and his display against Chelsea, when he overshadowed Lampard and Ballack, was majestic. Scholes has been running the show single-handedly as well in recent weeks. The defense has been watertight with Vidic at his best. He certainly is in the running for Player of the Year award. Van Der Sar, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra have played their part in the amazing run of successive clean sheets. Captain Neville returned from a major injury this season and his presence in the side is inspiring. The emergence of Rafael and Johnny Evans has been wonderful to watch and it seems that United's future is secured with quality young players. Carrick and Fletcher have cemented their positions in the squad in the absence of Owen Hargreaves. It was always going to be difficult for Cristiano Ronaldo to replicate the success of last season and it certainly has been the case. But, the Portuguese winger is still United's top scorer this season. Wayne Rooney has been scoring tap ins for a change and Carlos Tevez still possesses the knack of scoring crucial goals. Dimitar Berbatov was slow to start his United career but he has gelled in really well now. He has scored and created many crucial goals for United in the last couple of months. Nani, Anderson, Park, O'Shea, Gibson, Welbeck, Fabio and Brown have done their job and this United side looks set to break a few more records before May.
There will be a lot of twists and turns before the season comes to an end. But, with the squad that United have, it is safe to say that United will add a few more trophies to their bulging trophy cabinet. It has been a wonderful experience to watch golden oldies performing at their best at one hand and youngsters not showing any sign of pressure at the other. These surely are exciting times at Old Trafford. Winning the quintuple seems next to impossible but if anyone can do it Manchester United can do it.
The dream season was followed by intense speculation of Ronaldo leaving for Real Madrid but he stayed at Old Trafford to give himself a better chance of winning more silverware. United completed the high profile signing of Dimitar Berbatov to bolster the already lethal attacking line. There were departures as well in the form of Louis Saha, Mikael Silvestre and Gerard Pique but the team looked strong to start the defence of the Premier League and the Champions League.
As always, United were slow to start and their cause was not helped by injuries and a strange fixture list. United had to face all the top teams away from home in the first half of the season. A draw at Old Trafford in the first game of the season was followed by loss in the European Super Cup final and a loss at Anfield. A draw at high flying Chelsea was considered as a good result but United had a lot of catch up to do so early in the season. Then, Ronaldo returned from injury and provided momentum along with Wayne Rooney to kick start a series of good results.
In Europe, United were put in a tricky group with Villarreal, Celtic and Aalborg. Good form at Old Trafford carried United through to the knockout stages of the competition without much fuss.
Sir Alex likes to give young players a run in the first team in the Carling Cup to give them some experience. This strategy backfired in the last two seasons as United were knocked out by Championship sides. But, this time the youngsters grabbed their chance. Players like Rafael, Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson, Rodrigo Possebon, Nani and Anderson improved with every game and took the team to the final of the Carling Cup.
In December, United had to travel to Japan to take part in the FIFA World Club Championship. It was expected that hectic schedule and travelling will take its toll on the players and United, who were already trailing Liverpool and Chelsea, will fall apart. The tournament in Japan brought the first piece of silverware this season for United and they earned the right to be called the World Champions. This proved to be a huge morale booster for the players and their fortunes changed after coming back to England.
Liverpool and Chelsea failed to take advantage of United's absence as they dropped points. A resurgent United put together a string of 1-0 wins and more importantly solid defensive performances that were absent at the start of the season. There were injuries to key defenders like Ferdinand, Evra and Brown at this point but Nemanja Vidic held the defence together along with Edwin Van Der Sar. As a result, United put together an amazing string of 14 consecutive Premier League clean sheets that saw them smash plenty of records. As United blossomed, Liverpool and Chelsea faltered. Chelsea were demolished at Old Trafford and Anfield while Liverpool drew too many home games to hand the advantage to Man United. Chelsea sacked Scolari, their manager, after a series of poor results.
Yesterday's draw against Man City left Liverpool 7 points adrift of Man United while Chelsea lie third in the table trailing United by 10 points. Arsenal haven't been involved in the title race at all and they are struggling to break into the top four due to their inconsistency. Aston Villa have been superb this season and are looking set to break the Big Four monopoly.
United have progressed to the quarter final of FA Cup after beating Southampton, Tottenham and Derby County. With the Red Devils marching on all fronts, talks of improbable quintuple have surfaced in the tabloids. I think it is a bit early to speculate what will happen in the next three months and we'll get a clear picture at the end of March. The Carling Cup is only one game away and United have established an healthy lead at the top of the Premier League table. But the two other trophies are a long way away. The most difficult of the lot is the Champions League. United have a big test coming up against Internazionale, the Champions of Italy, with Mourinho factor adding spice to the intriguing tie. It is make or break time with big games coming thick and fast.
Come May, we'll know how United progressed after a dream season. The signs have been positive. The squad was pushed to the limits in January but the players came out with flying colours and are still in contention for all the trophies. The way old warhorses Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have performed in recent months goes to show that they still have the hunger and desire to win trophies even now. Ryan Giggs has been deployed in the central midfield this season which has proved to be an ace from Sir Alex. Giggs has been one of most influential players in the United side so far and his display against Chelsea, when he overshadowed Lampard and Ballack, was majestic. Scholes has been running the show single-handedly as well in recent weeks. The defense has been watertight with Vidic at his best. He certainly is in the running for Player of the Year award. Van Der Sar, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra have played their part in the amazing run of successive clean sheets. Captain Neville returned from a major injury this season and his presence in the side is inspiring. The emergence of Rafael and Johnny Evans has been wonderful to watch and it seems that United's future is secured with quality young players. Carrick and Fletcher have cemented their positions in the squad in the absence of Owen Hargreaves. It was always going to be difficult for Cristiano Ronaldo to replicate the success of last season and it certainly has been the case. But, the Portuguese winger is still United's top scorer this season. Wayne Rooney has been scoring tap ins for a change and Carlos Tevez still possesses the knack of scoring crucial goals. Dimitar Berbatov was slow to start his United career but he has gelled in really well now. He has scored and created many crucial goals for United in the last couple of months. Nani, Anderson, Park, O'Shea, Gibson, Welbeck, Fabio and Brown have done their job and this United side looks set to break a few more records before May.
There will be a lot of twists and turns before the season comes to an end. But, with the squad that United have, it is safe to say that United will add a few more trophies to their bulging trophy cabinet. It has been a wonderful experience to watch golden oldies performing at their best at one hand and youngsters not showing any sign of pressure at the other. These surely are exciting times at Old Trafford. Winning the quintuple seems next to impossible but if anyone can do it Manchester United can do it.
