Manchester United is one of England’s most prestigious soccer clubs. With a history spanning more than 140 years, they have won several honors, such as UEFA Champions League, FA Cups, FA Community Shields, and more. However, their treble-winning season holds a special place in the hearts of every “Red Devils” supporter.
Manchester United’s 1998–99 season famously concluded with them winning the treble. For those oblivious to European soccer culture, a treble is when a team wins the main national cup competition, the club’s premier national league competition, and the main continental trophy in a single season. In that season, Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. By doing so, they became the first English soccer team to achieve this.
Interestingly, Prime Video will soon release a documentary series that will showcase Manchester United’s monumental achievement. Titled 99, this project will feature rare dressing room footage, new revelations, and candid conversations with individuals responsible for the historic triumph. Furthermore, it will explore the excitement and determination shown by players to achieve this miraculous feat.
The director of this three-part docuseries is Sampson Collins. In addition, its producer is John Battsek’s Ventureland, which worked with Studio 99 and Buzz16 to make this project happen. 99 will be released on Prime Video on 17 May 2024.
99 on Prime Video synopsis
According to 99’s Prime Video press release, the synopsis of the upcoming docuseries reads, “The documentary follows the astonishing road to greatness with untold stories from inside the team, revealing the dressing room conflicts, personal struggles and miraculous moments behind the legendary season. Which culminated in the most unbelievable comeback victory in football. Despite dominating domestic football during the 90s, manager Alex Ferguson was yet to restore Manchester United’s European glory when in 1999, it arrived in an unprecedented fashion.”
It further reads, “In just ten days, Ferguson’s team of home-grown talent and international stars won three trophies, the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League; achieving the first ‘treble’ in English football history. This destiny hung in the balance until the final moments of the 1999 UEFA Champions League final. When Manchester United capped off their incredible season, scoring two goals in stoppage time. 25 years later, filmmaker Sampson Collins, with access to the team and new revelations and footage from inside the dressing room, explores the excitement, unparalleled determination, and miraculous twists of fate leading up to the remarkable achievement.”
Per IMDb, 41-year-old director Sampson Collins is best known for projects such as Gazza and Death of a Gentleman. Interestingly, Gazza won him the coveted RTS Award.
Who were members of Manchester United’s treble-winning team?
The manager of Manchester United’s treble-winning team was the Scottish soccer genius, Sir Alex Ferguson. Interestingly, he managed the club for a whopping 26 years (1986 to 2013). Now 82 and retired, many fans of the sport believe that he is the greatest manager of all time. With Manchester United, he won more than 38 trophies.
Below are the names of every player of the 1998–99 Manchester United season.
- Peter Schmeichel
- Gary Neville
- Denis Irwin
- David May
- Ronny Johnsen
- Jaap Stam
- David Beckham
- Nicky Butt
- Andy Cole
- Teddy Sheringham
- Ryan Giggs
- Phil Neville
- John Curtis
- Jordi Cruyff
- Jesper Blomqvist
- Roy Keane (captain)
- Raimond van der Gouw
- Paul Scholes
- Dwight Yorke
- Ole Gunnar Solskjær
- Henning Berg
- Erik Nevland
- Michael Clegg
- Wes Brown
- Chris Casper
- Philip Mulryne
- Alex Notman
- Ronnie Wallwork
- Nick Culkin
- Mark Wilson
- Jonathan Greening
- Danny Higginbotham
Has any other English team managed to achieve Manchester United’s feat?
Throughout UEFA’s (The Union of European Football Associations) history, apart from Manchester United, only seven clubs have won the treble: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Celtic, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Manchester City, and Inter Milan. Manchester City ended their 2022-23 with a treble win, making them only the second English soccer club to achieve this historic feat. Furthermore, Barcelona and Bayern Munich have won trebles twice.
The rivalry between Manchester United, and Manchester City is intense. Both clubs are immensely successful and have won more than 100 trophies together. However, for the time being, the former has more championships than the latter. Manchester United’s domination lasted in the English game for several decades, however, in recent years, Manchester City has established itself as one of the best soccer teams in history.
Reportedly, Sir Alex Ferguson has deep admiration and respect for the achievements of Manchester City’s current manager, Pep Guardiola. In May 2023, Guardiola won the LMA Manager of the Year Award for the third time in a row. According to the Mirror, it was none other than Ferguson who announced the winner, however, while announcing, he took a friendly dig at Guardiola. He stated, “Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola. It’s sore isn’t it, it’s really sore. But well deserved. He’s created a team that’s improved every year.”
He further said Manchester City’s performances are exceptional and winning three championships in a row proved how good they are. He said, “Winning three championships in a row tells you the story. I think their performances in the latter part when it really means something, they produced top class performances.”
Who are members of the current Manchester United squad and how are they doing now?
Currently, Manchester United is being managed by the Dutch manager, Erik ten Hag. He was appointed by the club in 2022 to take the club to new heights. In his first season, the club won the 2022-2023 EFL Cup. Furthermore, he took the “Red Devils” to the 2022–23 FA Cup finals, but lost to none other than their age-old rivals, Manchester City, 2-1. Here are all the players who represent Manchester United at the moment:
- Altay Bayındır
- Victor Lindelöf
- Sofyan Amrabat (on loan from Fiorentina)
- Harry Maguire
- Casemiro
- Raphaël Varane
- Diogo Dalot
- Antony
- Lisandro Martínez
- Tom Heaton
- Luke Shaw
- Mason Mount
- Bruno Fernandes
- André Onana
- Aaron Wan-Bissaka
- Anthony Martial
- Marcus Rashford
- Jonny Evans
- Kobbie Mainoo
- Rasmus Højlund
- Tyrell Malacia
- Shola Shoretire
- Scott McTominay
- Christian Eriksen
- Willy Kambwala
- Amad Diallo
- Alejandro Garnacho
- Omari Forson
In addition, players like Jadon Sancho, Facundo Pellistri, Álvaro Carreras, Dan Gore, Hannibal Mejbri, Brandon Williams, Donny van de Beek, and Mason Greenwood are on loan to other soccer teams. Manchester United is currently seventh in the ongoing Premier League table. Even though there is no chance for them to win the league, they can still bag the 2023-24 FA Cup.
The four semi-finalists of the ongoing FA Cup tournament are Manchester City, Chelsea, Coventry City and Manchester United. If United emerges victorious in their bout with Coventry on 21 April 2024, they will either face Manchester City or Chelsea in the final of the tournament. If United manages to win the whole thing, it will be their 13th FA Cup triumph.
