Man Utd vs Liverpool – 1999 vs 2005: who had the better team and what was the better achievement?

Manchester United and Liverpool. Historically, they are England’s two most successful clubs. Their fans are unwavering in their support for their teams and for every argument you could make in favour of one club, there is always a counter argument for the other.

For every Sir Matt and Sir Alex, you have a Bill Shankly and a Bob Paisley. For every George Best, you have a Kenny Dalglish. For every 19 League titles, you have 5 European cups. For every Munich, you have a Hillsborough. For every Old Trafford, you have an Anfield and for every 1999 there is a 2005.

For me 1999 trumps 2005 but both were the best finals of European Cup history. In 1999 it was Man Utd’s smash-and-grab with two last-minute goals, then six years later Steven Gerrard and co. roared back from 3-0 down to win on penalties after an early second half blitz.

The 1999 final was the culmination of 13 years of Sir Alex’s regime. It wasn’t just the European Cup at stake; they were playing for the Treble. On top of that, it ended over thirty years of hurt since their last European triumph and was Peter Schmeichel’s last ever appearance for United. The night’s opposition were mammoth too; a win for Bayern Munich would have meant they would have won the Treble instead.

Finally, and perhaps most important of all, the day of the match coincided with what would have been the late Sir Matt Busby’s 90th birthday. Add all these ingredients together and you definitely have a recipe for a match that Gordon Ramsay himself wouldn’t be able to serve.

I won’t belittle Liverpool’s 2005 triumph. To go into the match as underdogs, go 3-0 down but still manage to snatch victory is a feat bordering on the superhuman. What I will say is that the squad then manager Rafael Benitez had at his disposal was both largely inherited from his predecessor, Gerard Houllier, and was significantly weaker than Man Utd’s 1999 squad.

In 2005, Benitez hadn’t even been at Liverpool for a year; the players he had at his disposal were virtually all from Houllier’s reign, thus he’s arguably deserving of most of the credit. Benitez had almost no time to properly instil his footballing philosophy into the minds of his players. This may have been a good thing as in 2007 final, (same opposition, same competition and same stage), it was AC Milan who emerged victorious against a team that had the benefit of training with Benitez for three years. Could it be that the 2005 final was won not because of Benitez, but in spite of him?

It must also be remembered that while United’s 1999 team was all-conquering, this Liverpool side virtually sacrificed their entire season for their chances in Europe; they finished 5th in the league and crashed out in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup to lower league opposition.

The final factor I’ll throw in Man Utd’s favour is the fact that you could just hear the desperation of the world (or at least everybody associated with Manchester United Football Club) encapsulated by Clive Tyldesley: ‘Can Manchester United score, they ALWAYS score’.

It was as if the players heard Clive and suddenly remember that Manchester United do always score; no sooner had those words left his mouth had Sheringham equalised. No sooner had the euphoria of being level set in had the match been won with that goal from Ole Gunnar Solskjær. The comeback finished; the mission complete.

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