It was brilliant and breathtaking. It was dramatic and devastating. At times the tension was like torture. But in the end, the triumph was truly memorable and thoroughly deserved, and no superlative seemed sufficient.
For this was the night Manchester United produced one of the greatest
performances in English footballing history to march through to their first
European Cup final in 31 years.
The night they beat Italian opposition on home soil for the first time in
their history.
The night they conjured a fight-back of epic proportions to show the best of
the Premiership can eclipse anything that Italy's Serie A can throw at it.
First half goals from Roy Keane and Dwight Yorke and a late strike from Andy
Cole took United through to the final in Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium next
month.
But they are the bare statistics behind a roller-coaster match of such
spectacular action that it will live in the memory of everyone who witnessed
it.
Two goals down after just 10 minutes, Alex Ferguson's Holy Grail of emulating
Matt Busby's heroes of 1968 appeared to be in tatters.
But United picked themselves off the floor and beat the pride of Italy with
skill and courage and a team heart which pumped tirelessly and thrillingly.
The only sad notes on a night of jubilation were the yellow cards for Keane
and Paul Scholes which will keep both men out of the Champions' Cup final.
It was harsh and brutal punishment for one innocuous foul and a silly moment
of dissent, and for Keane, in particular, it will be devastating.
For United's tireless and terrier-like captain more than anyone epitomised the
wonderful spirit which oozed from his team throughout this performance.
United boss Alex Ferguson had been telling us for months that this was
United's year. He had, he said, "a feeling in his bones".
And now, perhaps, we will have to start believing him, as his team proved that
they are the most exciting and effective counterattacking team in Europe.
Achievements such as this are the stuff of legend, and there could be no finer
setting to witness history than the Stadio Delle Alpi with its space-age
construction, dancing fountains and a passion generated by 64,000 fans which
crackled on the cool night air along with the obligatory flares and thunder
flashes.
And the triumph was all the more commendable because of the obstacles United
overcame. Ryan Giggs - their most potent weapon - lost his battle to play with
the ankle injury he suffered against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final a week
ago.
Instead, Sweden's Jesper Blomqvist was given the responsibility of giving
United width on the left.
With Paul Scholes, the hero of the San Siro, sitting on the bench there was,
at first, a blunted look to United as an attacking force.
And they could not have made a worse start. Five minutes were on the clock
when a powerful thrust from Juventus won a corner out on the left.
It was played short to Zinedine Zidane and the Frenchman, the architect of
Juve's superb display at Old Trafford, whipped in a right-footed cross of such
devastating penetration that it eluded everyone but Filippo Inzaghi at the far
post.
The Italian striker bundled it into the net gleefully before running to the
corner flag to accept the delirious congratulations of the Juve faithful.
The tannoy belted out music by the Blues Brothers - and no-one at that moment
could have felt bluer than Ferguson. Five minutes later, his face must have been
red with anger as Juventus again split the United defence with ease.
Again it was Inzaghi in the clear, swivelling in the penalty area and seeing
his left-foot shot strike Jaap Stam and loop over goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel to
put Juventus two goals clear.
It was cruel on United, but in many ways it changed the course of the game.
Suddenly, Juventus were not so keen to surge forward while United were gripped
by a new urgency.
It was a fresh impetus which was to quickly bear fruit in the 24th minute when
David Beckham produced one of those set-piece specials from a corner - his
swirling cross being met by Roy Keane's decisive header to send the Juve net
billowing.
The goal gave United hope and, perhaps, sent the adrenaline pumping just a
little too fiercely in Keane's veins.
It looked that way in the 32nd minute when the Irish midfielder mistimed his
tackle on Zidane, and Swiss referee Urs Meier produced the yellow card which
keeps Keane out of the final.
It had become a contest not dissimilar from a toe-to-toe slugging match
between two boxers who both fancied delivering a knockout punch.
And it was Yorke who produced the next body blow when he combined with Andy
Cole - the Premiership's most prolific partnership - to notch the equaliser.
Cole swivelled to chip in a pinpoint cross which Yorke met with a superb
diving header for his 27th goal of the season - and surely none can have been so
important.
Three minutes later, Yorke could have been in dream land when his powerful
right-foot shot struck a post, but agonisingly for United, the ball rebounded to
safety.
Cole was cursing his first touch in the 55th minute when a precise Beckham
cross found him in acres of space and with only goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi to
beat - but the ball bobbled off Cole's shin, and the chance was gone.
Stam had to justify his tag as the world's most expensive defender, and one
clinically precise tackle on Inzaghi when the striker appeared to be clean
through paid off a considerable amount of his £10.75million fee.
Ferguson threw on Scholes for Blomqvist in the 68th minute, but four minutes
later, it was United's veteran defender Denis Irwin who could have sealed it,
but his right-foot rocket thumped back off a post.
But, as Juventus became increasingly desperate, vast holes began to appear in
their defence, and in the 84th minute, United's brilliant counterattacking paid
off once more.
This time Yorke was brought down as he tried to round goalkeeper Peruzzi but,
instead of pointing directly to the penalty spot, the referee allowed advantage,
and Cole slid the ball home from an acute angle.
The 4,000 United fans burst into song, and Ferguson's mind must have drifted
towards the Nou Camp.
The Holy Grail is alive. First there is the little matter of chasing a
domestic double which itself would be a staggering achievement.
To pull off the treble would truly be the stuff of fairytales.
Teams:
Juventus: Peruzzi, Ferrara, Di Livio (Fonseca 80), Conte,
Inzaghi, Iuliano (Montero 46), Deschamps,
Birindelli (Amoruso 46), Pessotto, Zidane, Davids.
Subs Not Used: Rampulla, Tudor, Tacchinardi, Esnaider
Booked: Davids.
Goals: Inzaghi 6, 10.
Man Utd: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Stam, Beckham,
Butt, Blomqvist (Scholes 68), Keane, Yorke, Cole.
Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, May, Sheringham, P. Neville,Solskjaer, Brown.
Booked: Keane, Scholes.Goals: Keane 24, Yorke 34, Cole 84.Agg (3-4)
Att: 65,500
Ref: Urs Meier (Switzerland).
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