1999–2000 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1999–2000 season was Manchester United's eighth season in the Premier League, and their 25th consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1] United won the Premier League title for the sixth time in eight seasons (with a record 18-point margin and 97 goals scored) as well as becoming the first English club to win the Intercontinental Cup when they defeated Palmeiras in Tokyo. However, they surrendered their Champions League title with a 3–2 defeat by eventual champions Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. The club controversially did not defend their FA Cup crown, upon request by The Football Association, to compete in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil instead.[2]

Manchester United
1999–2000 season
ChairmanMartin Edwards
ManagerSir Alex Ferguson
FA Premier League1st
League CupThird round
UEFA Champions LeagueQuarter-finals
Charity ShieldRunners-up
UEFA Super CupRunners-up
Intercontinental CupWinners
FIFA Club World ChampionshipGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague:
Dwight Yorke (20)

All:
Dwight Yorke (24)
Highest home attendance61,629 vs Tottenham Hotspur
(6 May 2000)
Lowest home attendance53,250 vs Croatia Zagreb
(14 September 1999)
Average home league attendance58,017

Mark Bosnich, previously at United as a reserve goalkeeper from 1989 to 1991, returned to the club as Peter Schmeichel's successor, but failed to live up to expectations and in September, the club swooped for Italian Massimo Taibi to provide competition for him. However, Taibi suffered some high-profile mistakes and returned to his homeland at the end of the season after just four games for the club. As the season wore on, long-time reserve goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw was increasingly called on as the starting goalkeeper, and proved a fairly reliable performer, but at 37 years old as of the end of the season, it was clear that he would not be a long-term solution. United then solved the goalkeeping crisis by paying AS Monaco £7.8 million for Fabien Barthez. Also new to the squad for 1999–2000 were French defender Mikaël Silvestre and South African winger Quinton Fortune. Jesper Blomqvist and Wes Brown missed the entire season due to injury, while similar misfortune restricted defenders David May and Ronny Johnsen to three first-team appearances between them. Jordi Cruyff left the club on a free transfer to Deportivo Alavés at the end of the season, seeing out his four-year contract at a club where he had failed to claim a regular first-team place.

Pre-season and friendlies

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Date Opponents H / A Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance
15 July 1999 Australia N 2–0 Blomqvist 45', Butt 74' 71,215
18 July 1999 Australia N 1–0 Yorke 24' 78,032
21 July 1999 Shanghai Shenhua A 2–0 Solskjær 60', Sheringham 69' 80,000
24 July 1999 South China A 2–0 Sheringham 20', Cole 23' 40,000
30 July 1999 Bristol Rovers A 2–2 Solskjær 7', Healy 87' 10,534
3 August 1999 Omagh Town A 9–0 Clegg (2), Cole (2), Sheringham (4), Nixon (o.g.) 7,000
4 August 1999 Wigan Athletic A 2–0 Scholes, Solskjær 15,000
11 October 1999 Rest of the World XI H 2–4 Sheringham 43', Scholes 87' 54,842

FA Charity Shield

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Date Opponents H / A Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance
1 August 1999 Arsenal N 1–2 Yorke 37' 70,185

UEFA Super Cup

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Date Opponents H / A Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance
27 August 1999 Lazio N 0–1 14,461

FA Premier League

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Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance League
position
8 August 1999 Everton A 1–1 Yorke 7' 39,141 9th
11 August 1999 Sheffield Wednesday H 4–0 Scholes 9', Yorke 35', Cole 54', Solskjær 84' 54,941 3rd
14 August 1999 Leeds United H 2–0 Yorke (2) 77', 80' 55,187 1st
22 August 1999 Arsenal A 2–1 Keane (2) 59', 88' 38,147 1st
25 August 1999 Coventry City A 2–1 Scholes 63', Yorke 75' 22,024 1st
30 August 1999 Newcastle United H 5–1 Cole (4) 14', 46', 65', 71', Giggs 81' 55,190 1st
11 September 1999 Liverpool A 3–2 Carragher (2) 4' (o.g.), 45' (o.g.), Cole 18' 44,929 1st
18 September 1999 Wimbledon H 1–1 Cruyff 74' 55,189 1st
25 September 1999 Southampton H 3–3 Sheringham 34', Yorke (2) 38', 64' 55,249 1st
3 October 1999 Chelsea A 0–5 34,909 2nd
16 October 1999 Watford H 4–1 Yorke 40', Cole (2) 42', 50', Irwin 45' (pen.) 55,188 2nd
23 October 1999 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–3 Giggs 24' 36,072 3rd
30 October 1999 Aston Villa H 3–0 Scholes 30', Cole 45', Keane 65' 55,211 2nd
6 November 1999 Leicester City H 2–0 Cole (2) 30', 83' 55,191 1st
20 November 1999 Derby County A 2–1 Butt 53', Cole 84' 33,370 1st
4 December 1999 Everton H 5–1 Irwin 27' (pen.), Solskjær (4) 29', 43', 52', 58' 55,193 1st
18 December 1999 West Ham United A 4–2 Yorke (2) 9', 63', Giggs (2) 13', 20' 26,037 1st
26 December 1999 Bradford City H 4–0 Fortune 75', Yorke 79', Cole 88', Keane 89' 55,188 2nd
28 December 1999 Sunderland A 2–2 Keane 27', Butt 87' 42,026 2nd
24 January 2000 Arsenal H 1–1 Sheringham 74' 58,293 2nd
29 January 2000 Middlesbrough H 1–0 Beckham 87' 61,267 1st
2 February 2000 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–0 Sheringham 74' 39,640 1st
5 February 2000 Coventry City H 3–2 Cole (2) 40', 55', Scholes 77' 61,380 1st
12 February 2000 Newcastle United A 0–3 36,470 1st
20 February 2000 Leeds United A 1–0 Cole 52' 40,160 1st
26 February 2000 Wimbledon A 2–2 Cruyff 30', Cole 80' 26,129 1st
4 March 2000 Liverpool H 1–1 Solskjær 45' 61,592 1st
11 March 2000 Derby County H 3–1 Yorke (3) 13', 70', 72' 61,619 1st
18 March 2000 Leicester City A 2–0 Beckham 33', Yorke 84' 22,170 1st
25 March 2000 Bradford City A 4–0 Yorke (2) 38', 40', Scholes 71', Beckham 79' 18,276 1st
1 April 2000 West Ham United H 7–1 Scholes (3) 24', 51', 63' (pen.), Irwin 27', Cole 45', Beckham 66', Solskjær 73' 61,611 1st
10 April 2000 Middlesbrough A 4–3 Giggs 46', Cole 60', Scholes 74', Fortune 88' 34,775 1st
15 April 2000 Sunderland H 4–0 Solskjær (2) 3', 51', Butt 65', Berg 70' 61,612 1st
22 April 2000 Southampton A 3–1 Beckham 8', Benali 15' (o.g.), Solskjær 30' 15,245 1st
24 April 2000 Chelsea H 3–2 Yorke (2) 11', 69', Solskjær 40' 61,593 1st
29 April 2000 Watford A 3–2 Yorke 69', Giggs 71', Cruyff 87' 20,250 1st
6 May 2000 Tottenham Hotspur H 3–1 Solskjær 5', Beckham 34', Sheringham 36' 61,629 1st
14 May 2000 Aston Villa A 1–0 Sheringham 65' 39,217 1st
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester United (C) 38 28 7 3 97 45 +52 91 Qualification for the Champions League first group stage
2 Arsenal 38 22 7 9 73 43 +30 73
3 Leeds United 38 21 6 11 58 43 +15 69 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4 Liverpool 38 19 10 9 51 30 +21 67 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
5 Chelsea 38 18 11 9 53 34 +19 65
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Chelsea qualified for the UEFA Cup as FA Cup winners.

League Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance
13 October 1999 Round 3 Aston Villa A 0–3 33,815

UEFA Champions League

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Group stage

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This home kit was only used for European and FIFA matches.
Date Opponents H / A Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance Group

position

14 September 1999 Croatia Zagreb H 0–0 53,250 3rd
22 September 1999 Sturm Graz A 3–0 Keane 16', Yorke 31', Cole 33' 16,480 2nd
29 September 1999 Marseille H 2–1 Cole 79', Scholes 83' 53,993 1st
19 October 1999 Marseille A 0–1 56,732 2nd
27 October 1999 Croatia Zagreb A 2–1 Beckham 32', Keane 49' 27,500 1st
2 November 1999 Sturm Graz H 2–1 Solskjær 56', Keane 65' 53,745 1st

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Manchester United 6 4 1 1 9 4 +5 13 Advance to second group stage
2   Marseille 6 3 1 2 10 8 +2 10
3   Sturm Graz 6 2 0 4 5 12 −7 6 Transfer to UEFA Cup
4   Croatia Zagreb 6 1 2 3 7 7 0 5
Source: UEFA

Second group stage

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Date Opponents H / A Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance Group

position

23 November 1999 Fiorentina A 0–2 36,002 3rd
8 December 1999 Valencia H 3–0 Keane 38', Solskjær 47', Scholes 70' 54,606 2nd
1 March 2000 Bordeaux H 2–0 Giggs 41', Sheringham 84' 59,786 2nd
7 March 2000 Bordeaux A 2–1 Keane 33', Solskjær 84' 30,130 1st
15 March 2000 Fiorentina H 3–1 Cole 20', Keane 33', Yorke 70' 59,926 1st
21 March 2000 Valencia A 0–0 40,419 1st

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Manchester United 6 4 1 1 10 4 +6 13 Advance to knockout stage
2   Valencia 6 3 1 2 9 5 +4 10
3   Fiorentina 6 2 2 2 7 8 −1 8
4   Bordeaux 6 0 2 4 5 14 −9 2
Source: UEFA

Knockout phase

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance
4 April 2000 Quarter-final
First leg
Real Madrid A 0–0 64,119
19 April 2000 Quarter-final
Second leg
Real Madrid H 2–3 Beckham 64', Scholes 88' (pen.) 59,178

Intercontinental Cup

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Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
30 November 1999 Palmeiras N 1–0 Keane 35' 53,372

FIFA Club World Championship

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Group stage

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Date Opponents H / A Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance Group

position

6 January 2000 Necaxa N 1–1 Yorke 88' 50,000 2nd
8 January 2000 Vasco da Gama N 1–3 Butt 81' 73,000 3rd
11 January 2000 South Melbourne N 2–0 Fortune (2) 8', 20' 25,000 3rd

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Vasco da Gama 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5 9 Advance to final
2   Necaxa 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1 4 Advance to match for third place
3   Manchester United 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
4   South Melbourne 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Source: FIFA

Squad statistics

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No. CWC no.[nb 1] Pos. Name League League Cup Europe Club World Championship Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 1 GK   Mark Bosnich 23 0 1 0 7 0 2 0 2 0 35 0
2 2 DF   Gary Neville 22 0 0 0 9 0 2 0 2 0 35 0
3 3 DF   Denis Irwin 25 3 0 0 13 0 2 0 2 0 42 3
4 DF   David May 0(1) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0(1) 0 1(2) 0
5 DF   Ronny Johnsen 2(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2(1) 0
6 6 DF   Jaap Stam 33 0 0 0 13 0 2 0 3 0 51 0
7 7 MF   David Beckham 30(1) 6 0 0 12 2 1(1) 0 3 0 46(2) 8
8 8 MF   Nicky Butt 21(11) 3 0 0 4(2) 0 2 1 2 0 29(13) 4
9 9 FW   Andy Cole 23(5) 19 0 0 13 3 2 0 2 0 40(5) 22
10 10 FW   Teddy Sheringham 15(12) 5 0 0 3(6) 1 0(2) 0 1(2) 0 19(22) 6
11 11 MF   Ryan Giggs 30 6 0 0 11 1 2 0 1 0 44 7
12 12 DF   Phil Neville 25(4) 0 0 0 6(3) 0 2(1) 0 2 0 35(8) 0
13 DF   John Curtis 0(1) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 1(2) 0
14 14 MF   Jordi Cruyff 1(7) 3 1 0 1(3) 0 1(1) 0 1(1) 0 5(12) 3
15 MF   Jesper Blomqvist 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 16 MF   Roy Keane (c) 28(1) 5 0 0 12 6 2 0 2 1 44(1) 12
17 17 GK   Raimond van der Gouw 11(3) 0 0 0 7 0 1 0 1 0 20(3) 0
18 MF   Paul Scholes 27(4) 9 0 0 11 3 0 0 3 0 41(4) 12
19 19 FW   Dwight Yorke 29(3) 20 0 0 9(2) 2 2 1 1(1) 1 41(6) 24
20 20 FW   Ole Gunnar Solskjær 15(13) 12 1 0 4(7) 3 2(1) 0 2(1) 0 24(22) 15
21 21 DF   Henning Berg 16(6) 0 0 0 11(1) 0 1 0 2 0 30(7) 0
23 DF   Michael Clegg 0(2) 0 1 0 1(1) 0 0 0 0 0 2(3) 0
24 DF   Wes Brown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 22 MF   Quinton Fortune 4(2) 2 0 0 1(3) 0 1(1) 2 0 0 6(6) 4
26 GK   Massimo Taibi 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
27 5 DF   Mikaël Silvestre 30(1) 0 0 0 2(2) 0 2 0 1 0 35(3) 0
28 4 DF   Danny Higginbotham 2(1) 0 1 0 0(1) 0 1 0 0 0 4(2) 0
30 23 DF   Ronnie Wallwork 0(5) 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2(5) 0
31 GK   Nick Culkin 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0
33 18 MF   Mark Wilson 1(2) 0 0 0 2(1) 0 1 0 0 0 4(3) 0
34 15 MF   Jonathan Greening 1(3) 0 1 0 1(1) 0 1 0 0(1) 0 4(5) 0
37 DF   John O'Shea 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
38 FW   David Healy 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0
39 MF   Luke Chadwick 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
41 MF   Richard Wellens 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0
42 MF   Michael Twiss 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
[nb 2] 13 GK   Paul Rachubka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0
  1. ^ Clubs had to submit a 23-man squad to compete in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, who all had to be numbered between 1 and 23. Some players had to be assigned a different squad number specifically for the competition.[3]
  2. ^ Rachubka was not assigned a number for the rest of the season.

Transfers

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No players left Manchester United in the 1999 summer transfer window.

On 21 August, South African midfielder Quinton Fortune signed from Atlético Madrid for a fee of £1.5 million. Also arriving were Italian goalkeeper Massimo Taibi and French defender Mikaël Silvestre. All three players had slightly different careers at United and all stayed at United for a different number of seasons: Fortune spent seven years at Old Trafford, and his career was mixed; Taibi turned out to be a major flop and left after just one season; Silvestre left in 2008 and had a successful career with United.

United's only winter departure was Norwegian Erik Nevland, who returned to homeland club Viking Stavanger after two seasons. Richard Wellens departed on 23 March to Blackpool for a nominal fee. John Curtis joined Blackburn Rovers on 31 May for a fee of £1.5 million, while Michael Twiss joined Port Vale on 30 June on a free transfer.

No players joined United in the winter transfer window, but on 21 May, French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was acquired.

Date Pos. Name From Fee
2 June 1999 GK   Mark Bosnich   Aston Villa Free[4]
21 August 1999 MF   Quinton Fortune   Atlético Madrid £1.5m[5]
31 August 1999 GK   Massimo Taibi   Venezia £4.5m[6]
10 September 1999 DF   Mikaël Silvestre   Internazionale £4m[7]
21 May 2000 GK   Fabien Barthez   AS Monaco £7.8m[8]
Date Pos. Name To Fee
20 December 1999 FW   Erik Nevland   Viking Stavanger £250k[9]
23 March 2000 MF   Richard Wellens   Blackpool Nominal[9]
31 May 2000 DF   John Curtis   Blackburn Rovers £1.5m[9]
25 July 2000 MF   Michael Twiss   Port Vale Free[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Manchester United Season 1999/2000". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
  2. ^ "United pull out of FA Cup". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 June 1999. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  3. ^ "FIFA Club World Championship Brazil 2000 - Clubs - Manchester United". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Bosnich signs four-year United deal". BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). 2 June 1999. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  5. ^ Anderson, David (26 August 1999). "Football: Ferguson defends Strachan remarks". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Man Utd complete Taibi signing". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 August 1999. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Silvestre on red alert". BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). 10 September 1999. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Man Utd confirm Barthez signing". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 May 2000. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  9. ^ a b c Butler, Cliff; Ponting, Ivan (June 2000). Manchester United Official Yearbook 2000: The Definitive Guide to the 1999−2000 Season. Carlton Books Limited. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-2339978-3-4.
  10. ^ "Vale sign Twiss from Man Utd". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 July 2000. Retrieved 9 February 2012.