Man Utd squad were surprised by Sir Alex Ferguson when he gave crucial half-time team-talk
manchestereveningnews.co.ukSir Alex Ferguson surprised the Manchester United squad with his half-time attitude and eventual speech during the 1999 Champions League final.
Of course, it began as a nightmarish evening at the Nou Camp, when Bayern Munich took an early 1-0 lead through Mario Basler thanks to his sixth-minute free-kick.
That first half was an unusually lacklustre show from Ferguson's team, which included Ryan Giggs playing on the right side, David Beckham pairing with Nicky Butt in central midfield and squad player Jesper Blomqvist somewhat out of his depth on the left flank.
As the first half concluded, keeper Peter Schmeichel, speaking for the new '99' documentary on Prime Video, admitted things weren't going to plan for United in their chase for a first European Cup since 1968. "It's not going well, and of course when things aren't going well, you need a change," the Dane said. READ MORE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe statement issued after Manchester United FA Cup final win over Man City READ MORE: Alan Shearer was right about Manchester United and Erik ten Hag knows it deep down Assistant manager at the time, Steve McClaren, recalled how despite suggestions to readjust the line-up, Ferguson remained steadfastly confident in the team he'd chosen. "This is where self-belief comes in," McClaren recalled in the documentary. "I suggested maybe changing things around a little bit and whatever suggestions were made, he said 'we're okay'.
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