To say that the atmosphere ahead of kick-off was intense is an understatement.
Back when fans could attend en masse, there had been unsavoury scenes that we hoped had been confined to history as Italian police attacked Manchester United fans in the Stadio Olimpico during their side’s 2-1 loss to Roma in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in 2007.
As a result, Roma fans in Manchester for the return match did not exactly get the red carpet treatment, with police clashing with both sets of fans outside Old Trafford.
Twenty-one arrests were made, but what was about to be administered on the pitch was far more brutal on a night of firsts, lasts and astonishing attacking football.
“I can’t believe it was 14 years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday,” United defender that night, Wes Brown, tells i.
“We had a special team that year. Even after losing the first leg, we knew we had enough to turn things around. In no way did I think it was going to be that score, though.”
The animosity between the fans intensified as the match got under way, but it soon became clear that this battle was a one-sided one.
Michael Carrick, in his first season at the club and the No 16 shirt inherited from Roy Keane weighing heavy, levelled the tie on aggregate with a sumptuous strike, before Alan Smith put United in the driving seat inside 17 minutes.
United were not done. Before the clock struck 20, Wayne Rooney added a third. Having been, in their view, disrespected by the authorities over the lack of reprisal for the police actions, United were enacting their revenge in the best possible way.
“It was the loudest atmosphere I’ve been in at Old Trafford,” Brown, who made 362 appearances for United, adds. “And it just got louder as everything went right.
“Every pass was right, everything was quick. Every shot went in. I’ll never forget it. After going 3-0 up, we thought we could get a big score. We could see the panic among the players. We’d look over to the manager and he was egging us on to get more.”
What was surprising was that this was a very good Roma team who went on to finish second in Serie A in 2006-07, above eventual Champions League winners that season, AC Milan.
“At home United didn’t create much. We felt comfortable flying over,” Roma winger that night Christian Wilhelmsson tells i. “Normally with a result like this one team is really bad, but it wasn’t the case. Every shot just went in.
“We weren’t disappointed with our performance, there was no crisis and we moved on. In the Champions League, other than that game, we had a brilliant campaign. You can get into the history books in lots of different ways. Look at it in a positive way!”
Just before half-time came the most significant goal, and one opponents would be ruing for over a decade later.
Incredibly, given his record since, it took Cristiano Ronaldo 30 games in the Champions League proper to get off the mark, the then winger drilling a fourth into the net just before the break.
It was the final bridge for the 22-year-old to cross. Many forget a scrawny teenage Ronaldo, for all his skill, lacked an end product, but fresh from his wink at the World Cup, 2006-07 was the year the boy became a man.
“He just got it that season,” Brown adds. “He had all the tricks but he worked out how to finish. Whatever he did he just clicked and the rest is history.”
Ronaldo did not have to wait long for another – just five minutes – as he added a fifth, with Carrick and Patrice Evra capping an evening Ferguson described as the greatest night of European football at Old Trafford.
“Every pass was right, everything was quick. Every shot went in. I’ll never forget it.”
United could not finish the job and were beaten in the last four by Milan. But they did not have to wait long to claim Ol’ Big Ears, taking home their third European Cup the next season.
“Everyone knew we were good enough,” Brown adds. “We were young lads. The squad was crazy strong, with plenty of experienced heads to tell us to get over the Milan setback as our time would come.”
One of those elder statesmen who is now passing on his knowledge to the latest crop of young players looking to conquer Europe is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, now the coach, whose side host Roma in the Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday night.
Coming on as a substitute, the Norwegian made his final European appearance for United as the goals rained in at Old Trafford 14 years ago, and while the bombastic atmosphere and, thankfully, the scenes of unrest cannot be replicated, a repeat of even half the fun of that incredible night will keep us on the edge of our seats.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3u2mmDL
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