MANCHESTER UNITED F.C.
1996-1997
Champions League
Manchester United vs Porto
Match Worn Shirt
Cantona Eric
Did you Know?
This shirt was worn by Eric Cantona during the Champions League game between Manchester United and Porto which took place in Manchester, “Old Trafford”, on March 5th 1997. Manchester United defeated Porto 4-0. Cantona was named as Manchester United’s captain for the 1996–97 season following the departure of Steve Bruce to Birmingham City. Manchester United retained the league in the 1996–97 season; Cantona had won four league titles in five years with the team, and six in seven years including those won with Marseille and Leeds United, the exception being the 1994–95 season which he had missed the second half of through suspension. Cantona’s stand-out moment in his final season was a goal and memorable celebration against Sunderland in December 1996; after chipping Sunderland goalkeeper Lionel Pérez from just inside the penalty area, Cantona celebrated by standing still, emotionless, slowly turning around and raising his arms before embracing Brian McClair, who had provided the assist. At the end of the season he announced that he was retiring from football at the age of 30. His final competitive game came against West Ham on 11 May 1997, and his final appearance before retiring was five days later on 16 May in a testimonial for David Busst (whose career had been ended by an injury suffered against Manchester United the previous year) against Coventry City at Highfield Road. Cantona scored a total of 64 league goals for Manchester United, 13 in domestic cup competitions, and 5 in the Champions League, bringing his tally to 82 goals in less than five years.
MANCHESTER UNITED F.C.
1999-2000
Champions League
Olympique Marseille vs Manchester United
Match Worn Shirt
Beckham David
Things to Know:
The 1999–2000 season was Manchester United’s eighth season in the Premier League, and their 25th consecutive season in the top division of English football. United won the Premier League title for the sixth time in eight seasons (with a record 18-point margin and 97 goals scored) as well as becoming the first British club to win the Intercontiental Cup when they defeated Palmeiras 1-0 in Tokyo. However, they surrendered their European Cup title with a 3–2 defeat by eventual champions Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. The club controversially did not defend their FA Cup crown, upon request by The Football Association, to compete in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil instead.
William Gallas wearing the Beckham’s shirt
Watch the video David Beckham swapping his shirt with William Gallas
Did you Know?
Despite Beckham’s achievements in the 1998–99 season, he was still unpopular among some opposition fans and journalists, and he was criticized after being sent off for a deliberate foul in Manchester United’s World Club Championship match against Necaxa. It was suggested in the press that his wife was a bad influence on him, and that it might be in United’s interests to sell him, but his manager publicly backed him and he stayed at the club. During the 1999–2000 season, there was a talk of a transfer to Juventus in Italy, but this never happened. Beckham helped United retain the Premier League title in 1999–2000 by an 18-point margin, after being pushed by Arsenal and Leeds United for much of the season. United won their final 11 league games of the season, with Beckham scoring five goals during this run, with his last goal coming from a swerving shot from the edge of the penalty area in their final home game against Tottenham Hotspur. By the early 2000s, the relationship between Ferguson and Beckham had begun to deteriorate, possibly as a result of Beckham’s fame and commitments away from football.
Things to Know:
This shirt was swapped after the match by David Beckham with an Ol.Marseille player who we got this shirt from. The shirt has a special embroidery on chest to celebrate the team’s Champions League winning of the previous season. Watch below the video of David Beckham swapping his worn shirt
Did you Know?
In 1992 Manchester United youth team won the FA Youth Cup. That group of players nicknamed “The class of 92”, which included Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes – all of whom went on to become key members of the team that won the unique treble in 1999. The funny thing is that in that season the Youth Team was once pitted against the Manchester United first team. And, remarkably, the first team – who were Premier League champions at the time – lost to the youngsters. Few months ago Keith Gillespie, the Northern Irish winger who was part of that famous youth team revealed some details of that match. “You know, that sort of showed you how good the team was,” says Gillespie, “because this was a Man United team which were in the middle of dominating everything. Playing against those people – Cantona, (Mark) Hughes, Schmeichel – unbelievable players. I’m sure they were a little bit worried, because we were the new kids on the block, and they’re maybe looking over their shoulders thinking, ‘Oh, he’s going to be taking my place soon…”. Interestingly, being reminded of that one-off game instantly makes brings one incident to Gillespie’s mind. “One thing I’ll always remember is Peter Schmeichel being chipped by Paul Scholes from about 30 yards…”. Sure that went down well with the famously calm and composed United keeper.
Did you Know?
This style of shirt was never used during the Champions League. It has been prepared but never used. It was instead used in several Premiere League’s games.
Things to Know:
“The Class of ’92” tale became a British documentary film, released on 1 December 2013. The film centres on the rise of six young Manchester United footballers – David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes – and details their careers for Manchester United starting in 1992. The documentary covers the period from Manchester United’s FA Youth Cup win in 1992 to their Champions League triumph in 1999, which rounded off the Treble-winning 1998–99 season. The film cuts the narrative with the social and cultural changes taking place in Great Britain at the time. The film secured full access with all six players and also includes interviews with former footballers Zinedine Zidane and Eric Cantona, former Manchester United youth coach Eric Harrison, film maker Danny Boyle, former Prime Minister Tony Blair and The Stone Roses bassist Mani.
MANCHESTER UNITED F.C.
2000-2001
Denis Irwin Testimonial Game
Manchester United vs Manchester City
Match Issued Shirt
Irwin Denis
Things to Know:
Born in Cork, Ireland, he is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester United, where he established himself as one of the most important players in the United team that won a host of domestic and European trophies in his time there between 1990 and 2002. He has been regarded by Alex Ferguson as, pound for pound, his greatest ever signing. Earlier in his career he played for Leeds United and then Oldham Athletic, and finished his career with a two-year spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Irwin was capped by the Republic of Ireland national side 56 times, scoring four goals and featuring in the side that reached the second round (last 16) at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Irwin is the joint most successful Irish footballer in history, a record he shares with fellow Manchester United stalwart Roy Keane, having won 19 major trophies in his career.
Did you Know?
In August 2000 the Denis Irwin Testimonial game took place in Manchester between Manchester City and Manchester United to celebrate Denis Irwin. A special shirt was made by Umbro for this game with a special embroidery on chest stating “Dennis Irwin Testimonial Game”. Yes the player’s name Denis was wrongly written with a double “n” as Dennis. Unfortunately it was too late to change it so the team played the game with this writing mistake. This mistake is also what makes the authentic match worn/issued shirts different from store’s shirts that had instead the correct Denis’s name embroidered.
Did you Know?
Well known for being eccentric, Barthez started out well for Manchester United. His first season was a triumph as he answered all the questions about how he would handle rainy Manchester compared to sunny Monaco. Barthez performed brilliantly throughout the season and became a crowd favourite. The fans loved his eccentric behaviour, his taunting dribbles and step-overs past opposing strikers, and most importantly, his remarkable reaction saves. Very often it was critical saves that kept United from defeat or dropping valuable points, helping United to the 2000–01 FA Premier League title, their third in a row. A memorable incident happened when Manchester United faced Leeds United in March 2001. Barthez deliberately kicked out with his foot at Ian Harte, who fell to the ground on the edge of six yard box, and the referee awarded a penalty to Leeds. Harte stepped up but Barthez made a low, one-handed save to his right. The only blemish in his first season was his failed attempt at “psyching out” West Ham United’s Paolo Di Canio in the FA Cup Fourth Round; Di Canio beat the offside trap, while Barthez stood still with his hand up expecting the referee to blow his whistle, or Di Canio to stop. Di Canio continued and scored the only goal of the game,[9][10] and later said it was “better to score and then see whether the goalkeeper is right or wrong”.
Things to Know:
Barthez joined United for £7.8 million in 2000. He was later reunited with national teammate Laurent Blanc, who joined United in 2001. The Barthez–Blanc head-kissing ritual was performed at the start of Champions League matches. Well known for being eccentric, Barthez started out well for Manchester United. His first season was a triumph as he answered all the questions about how he would handle rainy Manchester compared to sunny Monaco. Barthez performed brilliantly throughout the season and became a crowd favourite. The fans loved his eccentric behaviour, his taunting dribbles and step-overs past opposing strikers, and most importantly, his remarkable reaction saves. Very often it was critical saves that kept United from defeat or dropping valuable points, helping United to the 2000–01 FA Premier League title, their third in a row.
Things to Know:
On August 1st 2001 the “Ryan Giggs Testimonial Game”took place at the Old Trafford in Manchester between Manchester United and Celtic. It was billed a friendly game but it didn’t work like that. Manchester United were humbled 4-3 by Celtic. Van Nistelrooy, who played with number 10, scored twice, but it was the Scottish champions who made the most impressive power play. Didier Agathe raced past Phil Neville like he didn’t exist and crossed to Chris Sutton who coolly side-footed home after just 70 seconds. The final result was 4-3 for Celtic. A special shirt was made by Umbro for this game with “Ryan Giggs Testimonial Game”embroidered on chest.
Did you Know?
The second full season of the new millennium was rather dismal for the Red Devils in comparison to the previous three years. The club finished in third place in the Premier League, their lowest finish in the history of the Premier League, and they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round. League Cup success was not expected, and the club duly obliged by playing what was effectively a reserve team against a strong Arsenal side in the third round. United’s best success in the 2001–02 season came in the UEFA Champions League, in which they reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen on away goals. Ultimately, United’s failure to win anything boiled down a dismal run of form in November and early December when they suffered five defeats in seven league games, including three defeats in a row against Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham United in December. They also lost six home games in the Premier League, their worst home record since the 1977–78 season.
MANCHESTER UNITED F.C.
2002-2003
Champions League
Juventus vs Manchester United
Match Worn Shirt
Silvestre Mikael
Did you Know?
Despite an approach from Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier, Silvestre signed for Manchester United for £4 million on 10 September 1999,and made his debut against Liverpool at Anfield the next day. In his first season at Manchester United he replaced an injured Ronny Johnsen in the centre of defence with Jaap Stam; By the 2001–02 season, Silvestre had established himself in defence ahead of the veteran Denis Irwin, and was proving to be adept both in defence and in getting forward at left back. He set up numerous goals for Ruud van Nistelrooy, notably away to Deportivo de La Coruña in a 2–0 towards the end of the season. During the next season he carried on initially where he left off at the left of Manchester United’s back four, but following injury to Rio Ferdinand and the poor performance of an aging Laurent Blanc, he was switched to his favoured position of central defence. This first happened at half-time in the UEFA Champions League match away in Basel on 26 November 2002 when the team were 1–0 down and struggling with a young John O’Shea looking shaky at the heart of the defence. Silvestre and O’Shea were switched for the second half and the team immediately looked more solid defensively. From this point Silvestre forged a successful partnership mid-season with Wes Brown at the heart of the defence until Ferdinand’s return, looking calm and assured. Using his pace to good effect, while continuing to provide goals with his accurate diagonal balls.
Things to Know:
This season saw the club finish at the top of the Premier League table, after their lowest finish in the history of the Premier League the previous season, when they came third. In order to win the title, the team had to pull Arsenal back from an eight-point lead at the beginning of March. United also finished as runners-up in the League Cup, with Liverpool eventually taking the prize. The club also broke the English transfer record for the third time in just over a year as they paid £29.1 million for Leeds United defenderRio Ferdinand. At the end of the season, United midfielder David Beckham decided to move to Real Madrid in a £25 million deal, having spent 12 years at United (eight of them as a first-team regular). Meanwhile, 37-year-old centre-back Laurent Blanc announced his retirement from playing. Fellow centre-back David May was finally given a free transfer after nine years at the club, the last five of which had seen his first team opportunities limited to a handful of appearances.
Things to Know:
In the season 2002-2003 Van Nistelrooy finished as the top Premier League scorer with 25 goals in 34 games, with a goal on the final day against Everton earning him the Golden Boot ahead of Arsenal’s Thierry Henry. His tally included three hat-tricks against Newcastle United, Fulham, and Charlton Athletic. He also scored in each of the final eight games of the season as United won the title. Van Nistelrooy won the Premier League Player of the Season in 2003. He was accredited with spearheading the title win for United with a goal tally that was described as “astonishing”. After scoring 12 Champions League goals, he was named by UEFA as the best striker in Europe.
Did you Know?
Rooney scored in the 90th minute of the season-opening 2009 Community Shield, although United lost the game to Chelsea on penalties.[103] He then scored the only goal of the first league game of the 2009–10 season against Birmingham City, taking his overall United tally to 99. On 22 August, he became the 20th Manchester United player to score 100 goals for the club, when he found the net twice in a 5–0 away win at Wigan. On 29 August, United played Arsenal at Old Trafford. Rooney scored a goal from the penalty spot to level the game after Andrey Arshavin had put the Gunners ahead. The game finished 2–1 to Manchester United after Abou Diaby scored an own goal. On 28 November 2009, Rooney scored his first hat-trick for three years in a 4–1 away victory against Portsmouth, with two of the goals being penalties. On 27 December 2009, he was awarded Man of the Match against Hull City. He was involved in all the goals scored in the game, hitting the opener and then giving away the ball for Hull’s equalising penalty. He then forced Andy Dawson into conceding an own goal and then set up Dimitar Berbatov for United’s third goal which gave them a 3–1 victory. On 30 December 2009, Rooney scored another goal as United beat Wigan 5–0 in their final game of the decade. On 23 January 2010, Rooney scored all four goals in Manchester United’s 4–0 win over Hull; three of the goals came in the last ten minutes of the match. This was the first time in his career that he registered four goals in a single match. On 27 January 2010, he continued his scoring run by heading the winner in the second minute of stoppage time against derby rivals Manchester City. This gave United a 4–3 aggregate win, taking them into the final; it was his first League Cup goal since netting two in the 2006 final. On 31 January 2010, Rooney scored his 100th Premier League goal in a 3–1 win over Arsenal for the first time in the league at Emirates Stadium, notably his first Premier League goal also came against Arsenal. On 16 February 2010, Rooney hit his first European goals of the season, scoring two headers in the 3–2 away win against Milan in Manchester United’s first ever win against them at the San Siro. On 28 February 2010, he scored another header against Aston Villa (his fifth consecutive headed goal) which resulted in Manchester United winning the League Cup final 2–1. In the second leg of United’s European tie against Milan, Rooney scored a brace in a resounding 4–0 home victory, taking his tally of goals that season to 30. He then added two more to his tally five days later at Old Trafford, in a 3–0 league win over Fulham. On 30 March, during United’s Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, Rooney crumpled when he twisted his ankle in the last minute, hobbling off while Bayern were producing the buildup that led to their second goal. There were fears that he had received serious ligament damage or even a broken ankle, but it was announced that the injury was only slight ligament damage, and that he would be out for two-to-three weeks, missing United’s crunch match with Chelsea and the return leg against Bayern the following week. The team list for second leg yielded a massive surprise when Rooney was given a starting place in the United line-up. Despite a 3–0 lead by the 41st minute, Bayern snatched a goal back and United were later forced down to 10 men after Rafael was sent-off. Bayern won the match after netting a second away-goal[119] and Rooney was substituted after re-damaging his ankle. On 25 April, Rooney was named the 2010 PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
Did you Know?
Ahead of the start of the 2011–12 season, Ferguson confirmed that Pogba would feature with the senior team during the season, stating, “I mean if we hold Pogba back, what’s going to happen? He’s going to leave. You know, in a couple of years’ time when his contract is going to finish. So we have to give him the opportunity to see how he can do in the first-team and he’s got great ability.” Pogba was promoted to the club’s reserve team permanently for the 2011–12 season and made his first appearance of the season on 15 August 2011 in the team’s opening Premier Reserve League match against Arsenal. On 25 August, in the team’s second league match against Swansea City reserves, Pogba scored the second goal in a 6–0 rout. On 19 September, he was named to the first team to participate in their Football League Cup tie against Leeds United the following day, with Ferguson proclaiming, “I intend to play him [Pogba] against Leeds United.” Pogba appeared as a half-time substitute to make his professional debut as Manchester United won the match 3–0. Pogba made his second appearance against Aldershot Town in the Fourth Round of the League Cup on 25 October 2011. Pogba made his Premier League debut against Stoke City on 31 January 2012, replacing Javier Hernández in the 72nd minute. He made another substitute appearance against West Bromwich Albion on 11 March. Four days later, he made his European debut in the second leg of the team’s UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie against Spanish club Athletic Bilbao; he appeared as a substitute in the 2–1 away defeat, coming on for Michael Carrick in the 63rd minute as Manchester United lost the tie 5–3 on aggregate. Ferguson confirmed that Pogba had left the club after not signing a new contract. Ferguson stated that Pogba had signed for Italian club Juventus “a long time ago as far as we’re aware.” Ferguson also accused Pogba of disrespecting Manchester United, saying, “It is disappointing. I don’t think he showed us any respect at all, to be honest. I’m quite happy that if they [footballers] carry on that way, they’re probably better doing it away from us.”
