It was a day many Manchester United fans waited for so long. After a difficult and disappointing season the team has had in the last 10 months, the fans wanted to smile. And smiled they did, much more than during the most of the just finished campaign. A reason was a very nostalgic one, but still one that deserved all the laughs and memories retold.
20 Years Since The Treble
The reason was simple – Manchester United celebrated the 20th anniversary of the famous treble, when the Devils managed to get to an unforgettable turnaround in Barcelona against Bayern Munich. Sir Alex Ferguson’s team did something almost unthinkable to lift the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies in the same season, but the way the team completed the set at Nou Camp was particularly spectacular. And on 26 May 2019, exactly two decades later, the team – or the most of the team – was reunited at Old Trafford, to meet the corresponding team of Bayern Munich in a charity ‘rematch’.
With goals coming from former players like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Nicky Butt and David Beckham, it was great to be reminded of the glory years and a historic night.
Fans Get To Escape Reality
Manchester United fans had a great day for themselves, reminiscing about the past and a different time. And deservedly so, as treble winners do not happen often, not even in Europe, let alone for Premier League clubs. But it was also a great reminder of where this club used to be – right at the top of the continent. There was no one above the team led by Roy Keane and Kasper Schmeichel, and with player like Jaap Stam.
And the return to reality on Monday morning will be a bit bitter one, as Devils will be reminded that the current Man United is not even playing in Champions League, which is not an incident, but rather a more and more natural occurrence. The club is about to enter one of the crucial summer windows in recent years, as they are expected to make a great number of changes, not only in terms of squad, but also in other departments of the club.
Seeing those legendary players together again was a symbolic way to show Ed Woodward where Man United should be sitting, considering their stature in the game, history and financial power. The club is massively underperforming in the past six years and this summer should be a first step towards better days. Challenging for the biggest trophies probably will not happen this coming season and that is what will hurt the fans even more.
There were jokes from fans about Stam still being the best Dutch centre-back, a nice dig at Virgil Van Dijk, and that David Beckham is still crossing better than any other Man United player in the squad. And whilst those are nostalgic jokes, they are also a reminder that this team is seriously lacking quality.
Hopefully this anniversary will help some people at the club realise where it should sit next time some anniversary was celebrated.
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