Article 20 — Manchester United 2008–09
Manchester United had to undergo a summer of uncertainty surrounding the future of their star player, Cristiano Ronaldo. He had his head turned by Real Madrid and was angling for a move but United resisted strongly against selling him this summer. Sir Alex Ferguson convinced him to stay on for one last season.
Dimitar Berbatov was signed from Tottenham Hotspur to add to the firepower already present in the team in the form of Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.
Louis Saha and Mikael Silvestre left the club to join Everton and Arsenal respectively. Gerard Pique left to go back to Barcelona after finding his chances of breaking into the first-team limited due to the form and partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. He would go on to have a bright future winning a lot of trophies for the Spanish national team and Barcelona. A pair of teenage twins were signed from Brazil this season, Rafael and Fabio Da Silva.
United started the season by winning a second Community Shield in a row on penalties after a 0–0 draw in regulation time over surprise FA Cup winners, Portsmouth.
As reigning Champions League winners, United had a UEFA Super Cup appointment at Monaco against the previous season’s UEFA Europa League winners, Russian side, Zenit St Petersburg. I am not sure what is it about playing in this tournament but United lost a second consecutive UEFA Super Cup appearance ,1–2 this time coincidentally losing once again to a team in sky blue after losing to Lazio in the 1999–00 Super Cup. Monaco’s Stade Louis II not a happy hunting ground for us.
Manchester United didn’t get off to a great start defending the Premier League title that they have won for the past 2 seasons, winning 1 out of the first 4 fixtures including a 1–2 defeat away to arch-rivals Liverpool, the first time they have beaten us in the Premier League since 2004 and a 1–1 draw away to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool and Chelsea were to be the main challengers to our Premier League title and were the front-runners as United found it tough going at the start. Things properly clicked into gear after a 1–2 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal, at that time, was also another contender for the league title.
United embarked on a 16 match unbeaten run that saw them reclaim leadership of the Premier League for the first time in the season on the 27th January 2009. In that time, between 15th November 2008 and 18th February 2009, United kept consecutive clean sheets setting a record of 1334 minutes without conceding a goal until Blackburn Rovers breached that record through a strike by Paraguayan striker, Roque Santa Cruz. Edwin van der Sar who missed the game against Blackburn saw his clean sheet record end in the next match against Newcastle United at 1311 minutes which is a world record.
Dark clouds were soon to gather over United when they played against our closest rivals for the title that season, the much-hated among United fans, Liverpool. We got off to a great start when Cristiano Ronaldo converted a spot-kick. I had visions of our 4–0 win in 2002–03 at Old Trafford as well as last season’s 3–0 win after taking the lead but I could never imagine what would happen next. In a nightmare showing, United inexplicably collapsed to be stunned 1–4 at Old Trafford. It was a result that I found very difficult to stomach in the coming days, mentally troubled by the defeat and the gloating of Liverpool fans and other haters of the club. The price one got to pay for constant success is the hatred and jealously of others who aren’t even our traditional or title rivals.
It looked like United were also feeling the same way as me as we lost our next league match away to Fulham, 0–2 with an injury-hit team. Liverpool closed the game to 1 point with a win of their own. It is unlike United to reach this stage of the season in March and crumble to throw away a lead but that looked possible now. The nightmare of 1991–92 and 1997–98 was coming to the front of my mind. This was a test of character of this United team and we were about to see what they were made of.
Under intense pressure from Liverpool who had gone to the top of the table, United had not shaken off the shock of a big defeat to Liverpool. We were 1–2 down to Aston Villa at Old Trafford before Ronaldo scored the equaliser with 10 minutes to go. Deep in stoppage time, an unlikely hero emerged from our Reserves team in the form of young Italian striker, Federico Macheda who scored a beautiful winner. It was just the boost the team needed. Macheda continued his heroic act with another late winner in their next match away to Sunderland.
There was to be more drama in the season as 2 weeks after that late win over Sunderland at the Stadium Of Light, United found themselves 0–2 at Old Trafford to Tottenham Hotspur. United produced a comeback akin to their famous comeback 5–3 win over the same opponent in the 2001–02 season to beat them 5–2.
That win put United 3 points clear of Liverpool with a game in hand. United confirmed the league title was staying at Old Trafford for the 3rd season in a row when they did the bare minimum to draw 0–0 against Arsenal at Old Trafford in the penultimate game of the season.
United equalled Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles with this title and became the first team to win the Premier League/First Division title thrice after they did the same between 1998–99 to 2000–01.
United’s squad depth was well-utilised this season as the team went all the way to the final of the League Cup this season playing a mix of young players and players that were not regular starters. For the final, players like Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Patrice Evra and Carlos Tevez were the big hitters that started.
United played against Tottenham Hotspur and the match ended 0–0 with both sides cancelling each other out. Ronaldo was unlucky to get booked for a perceived dive when he was caught by Ledley King in the box and to have his shot crash off the post late in regulation time. The highlight of the tie was in the penalty shootout when United’s 3rd choice goalkeeper, Ben Foster made one save on top of a good performance in the match to emerge as the Man Of The Match and enable United to beat Tottenham 4–1 on penalties to secure at that time, the first domestic trophy of the season, second if you count the Community Shield.
United went far in the FA Cup, rotating the squad adequately to progress impressively to the semi-final. Sir Alex Ferguson’s impeccable record of never losing a FA Cup semi-final came to an end this season as United dominated Everton but failed to create too much in terms of goalscoring chances. United was unlucky not to get a penalty after a foul on Danny Welbeck was not spotted. The match had to be settled through a penalty shootout. FA Cup replays were scrapped a season after Giggs’ wondrous solo goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final reply of 99. Ex-United goalkeeper, Tim Howard was our nemesis in the semi-final saving from his former team-mate Ferdinand and the club’s new signing, Dimitar Berbatov to win the tie 4–2 on penalties for his new club. It dashed United’s hopes of winning 5 major trophies in a season or at the very least a domestic Treble.
In December of 2008, United made a trip to Japan to contest in the FIFA Club World Cup. As European champions, United received a bye to the semi-finals where they played the champions of Asia, Gamba Osaka from the host nation. Both teams treated fans to an exciting and open display of football which United won 5–3. The final was a lot tighter and United narrowly beat Ecuadorian club, defending champions of South America, LDU Quito 1–0 thanks to a goal by Wayne Rooney to be crowned Champions of the World. The 2nd trophy won this season.
In the Champions League, United qualified narrowly on top of the group ahead of Spanish side, Villareal. They drew both matches against Villareal 0–0 as they did in 2005–06, beat Danish and Scottish opposition Aalborg and Celtic respectively 3–0 but drew the reverse fixture against both teams. Celtic was in the same group as United in the 2006–07 Champions League and even then United found it tough going against the team from neighbouring Scotland.
In the 2nd Round, United was drawn against my favourite Italian club, Inter for the 2nd time since I started supporting both teams. Unlike the first encounter where I was torn between who to support, I left this up for the best team over both legs to go through. United proved to be that team, drawing 0–0 at San Siro in the first leg and winning 2–0 at Old Trafford thanks to goals by Vidic and Ronaldo.
In the quarter-final, United was drawn against Porto like they were in 1997–98 and 2003–04. United drew the first leg 2–2 at home thanks to a late goal by Tevez on the back of United’s shock from a 1–4 hammering at the hands of arch-rivals Liverpool. In the return leg, a blockbuster strike from 40 yards by Ronaldo won the tie for United in his native Portugal, 3–2 on aggregate. That goal also meant that he won the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal scored in 2009.
In the semi-finals, United played against familiar foes in the form of Arsenal. United made light work of their English rivals, beating them 4–1 on aggregate but the biggest blow was the sending off Darren Fletcher who played a big part in the semi-final win.
United became the first team since Juventus in 1997 to qualify for the final after successfully winning it and the first since Valencia in 2001 to qualify for successive finals. The final was a re-match of last season’s semi-final between United and Barcelona. Barcelona had qualified in controversial circumstances to beat Chelsea and denied a repeat of last season’s final. In the final, United started strongly but Barcelona drew first blood through Samuel Eto’o with their first attempt on goal. The Spanish side went on to dominate the game and United had no answer to the Spanish team’s dominance. Barcelona’s win was complete through an unlikely source to get on the end of a header, Lionel Messi. This would mark the start of an era of Barcelona dominance.
There was a potential of a grand season, one that could have upstaged the Treble season or matched it but United failed to achieve the Treble or Quadruple proving what an achievement and difficult feat it was to achieve it in 1998–99.
The squad depth that United had amassed allowed United to cope with lasting the distance in the Premier League, going deep in the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League as well as travelling to Japan to play in the FIFA Club World Cup. It allowed the squad to be properly utilised and the players stepped up to the mark.
Edwin van der Sar achieved an incredible feat by breaking the world record for the longest run of clean sheets. He was also awarded the Best European Goalkeeper 2009. Due to van der Sar’s presence and form, there weren’t many opportunities for Kuszczak and Foster to play but Foster’s performance in the League Cup final would have been a shot in the arm for him.
Last season’s first-choice right-back, Wes Brown didn’t play as much due to an ankle operation, the conservation of club captain, Gary Neville and his continued struggles with injury, John O’Shea played a lot at right-back this season, fielding occasionally at centre-back too. Rafael Da Silva played a lot more than his brother Fabio did, mainly playing at right-back. Ferdinand and Vidic like the rest of the team were rotated, rested and had some injuries to contend with. Vidic had looked so solid since his first full season in 2006–07 looked terribly poor in the defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford. Their absence, rotation and the sale of Pique meant that Jonny Evans emerged from the youth ranks to stand in for one of them when needed. Evra kept his hold on the left-back position with his strong and powerful displays.
In midfield, Owen Hargreaves didn’t feature this season due to injuries. The heavy workload meant opportunities that were well-taken by Darren Fletcher who was a big miss in the Champions League final. His reputation as a big-game player was enhanced this season as was another player with a similar reputation, Park Ji Sung. Ryan Giggs had an outstanding season in a central position and won the PFA Player Of The Year. Darron Gibson emerged from the youth ranks as well to play some matches this season and was a mainstay in the League Cup run, he became known for his long-range strikes. Nani and Anderson had already shown last season what they could do but both had room for improvement. Scholes and Michael Carrick were the undoubted first choices in midfield.
Cristiano Ronaldo might have expressed a desire to leave in the summer but didn’t let the team down as he was as committed as ever to the team. He didn’t score as many as he did the previous season but still finished as the team’s top scorer. He scored his 100th goal for United this season in typical fashion with a trademark free-kick against Stoke City and became the first player since George Best in 1968 to be named FIFA and European Player of the Year. Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez had good seasons. In Tevez’s case, things got a bit complicated near the end as the situation around his ownership was still not resolved. Dimitar Berbatov brought something different to the team, a languid and measured approach, showing some great touches on the ball and the skill to create Ronaldo’s goal against West Ham United at Old Trafford on the 29th October 2008 will be one of the highlights of the season. Danny Welbeck came through the youth rank playing mostly in the Cup matches.
