Terrace Talk

Now that we’re on the brink of another Champions’ League final after an 8-year long wait, what are your recollections of that fantastic night?

Me: I was visiting my parents on Long Island at the time. I called around that previous weekend to find out who would be showing the FA Cup Final versus Newcastle, and I settled on an Irish pub called Lily Flanagan’s in Islip. The place was packed to the rafters that Saturday with a primarily pro-United crowd, and it was a great atmosphere.



That Wednesday, there were not nearly as many people there. More than likely a function of the match being played during working hours in midweek. There were still about a half-dozen folks in United jerseys there that afternoon. I was wearing my 97-99 away jersey (the one Giggsy wore when he famously ripped it off after scoring THAT goal against Arsenal), and one other guy had it on. A chap from Dublin who claimed to have been friends with Johnny Giles.

There was also actually one guy wearing a Bayern jersey with Matthaus’ name/number on it. Found out he was a German college student studying at SUNY-Stony Brook and he was staying in the US for the summer and he too found Lily Flanagan’s to be the only place convenient to come watch the match.



Basler’s freekick went in, and I was a bit stunned. Had confidence that United had it in them to fight back with that amount of time left. It was clear that Scholesy’s and Keano’s influence was missed, and as the game played on, United (and myself) got more and more frustrated by a combination of poor finishing and a very well-organized Bayern defense.

Ole came on and almost scored with his first touch of the game, and all of a sudden there was a bit more spark in United’s play. Bayern, on the other hand, came closest to scoring, and were it not for Schmeichel’s brilliance and a Nou Camp goalpost luck would have otherwise decided against United on that night, and it would have been curtains by the time we won that corner on the left.



The rest, as they say, is history. Glorious, wonderful, unforgettable history. I had barely regained my composure (and my seat) after Teddy swept the ball in for the equalizer when we won another corner. “Surely not,” I thought to myself. I turned to Dublin Guy next to me and said the same thing, and we both leaned forward in our seats as the ball was played in. Darned thing seemed to hang in the air forever, and then all of a sudden, there was Ole sticking his foot out, and we were about to become European champions!

Upon hindsight, I’m thankful Lily Flanagan’s was almost empty that afternoon, as me and Dublin Guy would surely have knocked somebody over with our dancing and running and screaming like madmen on the floor. I wiped the tears away, took a deep breath, and sat down just in time to watch the trophy presentation. ESPN2 being ESPN2 at the time, they cut away very shortly after that, and that was it, at least until getting to watch Sky Sports News later that evening.

Soooo……..where were you?