Champions League: Where Are They Now? The Bayern Munich And Manchester United Teams Of 1999
Ladies and gentlemen and the class of '99. Goal.com runs through the whereabouts of the protagonists in one of European football's most dramatic nights...
By Johannes Rupprechter & Matt Monaghan
Teddy Sheringhams header for last minute goal for Manchester United in Champions League final 1999 vs Bayern Munich"Football, bloody hell!", was the best that Sir Alex Ferguson could manage in the wake of Manchester United's last-gasp Champions League final win against Bayern Munich at Camp Nou on May 26, 1999.
He had just watched his Red Devils come from behind as late as late could be, first to level through Teddy Sheringham, and then to win the tournament proper through Ole Gunnar Solskjaer; both goals coming from David Beckham corners.
The enduring images of the night are of the Norweigan's rampant celebrations, Peter Schmeichel's cartwheels and Lothar Matthaeus' utterly incredulous expression on the Bayern bench after his substitution. And who could forget the heart-wrenching image of Samuel Kuffour beating the turf in anguish?
The UEFA president, Lennart Johansson, had famously begun his decent to the field with the trophy decorated in Bayern colours before the final whistle. The late, great George Best missed the equalising and winning goals as he had already left the stadium in frustration. All had witnessed and participated in something approaching pure sporting theatre.
Eleven years on, Goal.com has a look at what the starting XIs and substitutes from that night in Barcelona have gone on to achieve ahead of the renewing of rivalries between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Oliver Kahn The three-times World Goalkeeper of the Year was first choice at Bayern Munich until 2008. After the European Championships, Kahn worked as a pundit for the TV channel, ZDF. He has been a regular on Chinese television since 2009, where he's a member of the jury on the TV show "China's Looking For A Super Goalkeeper".
Lothar Matthaeus Things went horribly wrong for Bayern after Matthaeus left the pitch in the 80th minute. The former defender was never a huge hit as coach after his retirerment from professional football; he has coached all over the world, but has yet to be successful following spells in Austria, Hungary, Brazil and Israel.
Markus Babbel The defender ended his professional career at Stuttgart following a period at Liverpool, which was hampered by a bout of Guillain Barre syndrome. He was appointed as head coach of VfB shortly after his retirement and made a brilliant start as coach of the Schwaben, but was fired earlier this term following disappointing results. He is currently looking for a new club to take over.
Samuel Osei Kuffour At 33, Kuffour is still playing professional football at Ghanaian table toppers Asante Kokoto. He played in Italy and Holland after his lengthy spell at Bayern, where he was under contract at Roma, Livorno and Ajax. He was also a member of the Black Stars' World Cup campaign in 2006.
Thomas Linke Linke also played at Red Bull Salzburg for one season alongside Zickler before moving to the Bayern amateurs for one more term. The 40-year-old has recently returned to Red Bull and currently holds a management position at the club.
Michael Tarnat The left-back played at Bayern until 2003, when he left Germany for an adventure at Manchester City. He ended his professional career at Bundesliga side Hannover in 2009. He currently works as a youth coach at Bayern.
Jens Jeremies Once a tiresome midfielder, Jeremies nowadays works at IMG with his former agent, Juergen Milewski. The company primarily focuses on guiding young talent. The 36-year-old Jeremies is also one of the founders of an organisation that helps young adults and kids who are struggling socially.
Stefan Effenberg The former midfield chief currently works as a pundit for several TV channels. He also featured in a real-life soap - Effenberg and his wife, once Mrs Strunz, were the subject of the show on German TV. Effe also published an autobiography, which was notorious for its outlandish and controversial contents.
Mario Basler Gifted his side the lead in Camp Nou with an early goal and went on to become a manager after his active career. He most recently worked at Eintracht Trier and was quite successful in the DFB Pokal.
Carsten Jancker Jancker is one of the few players who still played until quite recently. After playing briefly in China, following spells at Udinese and Kaiserslautern, he was under contract at Austrian Bundesliga side Mattersburg until 2009. He is currently in charge of the under-14 team at Regionalliga outfit SC Neusiedl.
Alexander Zickler Another man who also tried his luck in Austria. He still plays at Red Bull Salzburg as an attacker and is currently fighting for the domestic league title with his team. He was replaced after 71 minutes of play in the 1999 final.
Subs
Bernd Dreher Worked as Bayern's goalkeeping coach between 2003 and 2008 following retirement but actually played twice during that time in the first team. Since last year, he has been working in the same role at Schalke under Felix Magath, with whom he worked at Bayern.
Thomas Helmer Joined Sunderland in the summer of 1999 before being dispatched to Hertha Berlin, retiring soon after. Has worked as a sports journalist in Germany for DSF as well as being an ambassador for a children's charity.
Thorsten Fink He ended his professional playing days at Bayern's reserves in 2006 and embarked on a coaching career. The 42-year-old started working as a youth coach at Red Bull Salzburg and then picked up the job of assistant coach when Giovanni Trapattoni was in charge. He currently works as head trainer at Basel and has guided the Swiss side to some impressive results in Europe.
Thomas Strunz Played until 2001 with Bayern before becoming an agent. After seeing his wife take up with Effenberg, his profile moved back into the public domain. Worked in 2005 as sporting director at Wolfsburg. He moved into the same role at Rott Weiss Essen, with a five-year Bundesliga objective in 2008, before being sacked in 2009. Now an occasional pundit on television.
Hasan Salihamidzic "Brazzo" still plays at the top level at the age of 33. He left Bayern for Juventus in 2007 and is still a first team member at the Old Lady, even though he has mainly been warming the bench lately. Salihamidzic entered the pitch in the 89th minute during the final.
Mehmet Scholl Always a favourite in Bavaria, Scholl played his last match for Bayern Munich on May 19, 2007 after wearing the shirt for 15 years. The injury-prone playmaker then started working for ARD. He played 20 minutes of the memorable final.
Ali Daei Since retiring as international football's all-time leader goalscorer, the Iranian has turned his hand to coaching. An ill-fated stint in charge of the national team has been followed by an appointment at Persepolis. Also runs sports company, Daei Sports.
Peter Schmeichel The 'Great Dane' enjoyed the perfect send-off to his United career as he wore the captain's armband at the Camp Nou in his final appearance for the club. Moved to Sporting Lisbon where he continued to lift silverware before returning to England for spells at Aston Villa and Manchester City, retiring in 2003. Can now be found hosting quiz shows back home in Denmark and trying his hand in the European version of 'Dirty Jobs' for the Discovery Channel.
Gary Neville 'Mr Manchester United' played with pride against Bayern Munich and fought to the death. Continued to excel for club and country until injuries finally caught up with him in 2007. The current Red Devils captain has finally started stringing consecutive appearances together in the last month and is now first-choice right back again due to the absences of Wes Brown and John O'Shea.
Jaap Stam The Dutch colossus at the heart of the United rearguard tasted success on all fronts in his first season at the club after joining for a huge transfer fee from PSV Eindhoven. His United career ended in acrimony in 2001 after frank revelations in his autobiography. Continued to star with Serie A sides Lazio and Milan before retiring in 2007 while at Ajax. Currently works on the non-playing staff at first side FC Zwolle.
Ronny Johnsen Although his spell at United was affected by a chronic knee injury, he formed a formidable centre-back pairing with Stam throughout the 'treble' campaign. Forced out of the club in 2002 after too many spells on the sidelines, and finally called time on his playing days while featuring for Valerenga two years ago. Now represents the United Masters Football five-a-side team and deals in real estate in his native Norway.
Denis Irwin Victory at the Camp Nou was the crowning glory of the unassuming Irishman's career. Rightly held as a club legend, he drew the curtain on his 12-year stay at Old Trafford in 2002. After a successful swansong with Wolverhampton Wanderers, he can now be found on MUTV, United's in-house television channel.
Ryan Giggs Suspensions ensured he was played on the unfamiliar right flank against Bayern. Has become an institution at United in the years since by claiming club record after record. Surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton as record appearance holder in the 2008 Champions League final and became the first footballer to claim 11 English top flight league titles in the history of the sport last season. The reigning Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year has overcome a fractured arm in time to feature in the run to the end of this campaign.
David Beckham Struggled in the middle of the pitch in the final, but turned into a world famous phenomenon in the years after the match. A wayward boot from Sir Alex Ferguson brought an end to his United career in 2003, from which he has since caused hysteria with Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy and Milan. Named England captain in 2000 and has become the most capped outfield player in Three Lions history. Currently nursing a torn Achilles which has ruled him out of the upcoming World Cup.
Nicky Butt Handed a rare chance to start in the centre of midfield due to the suspensions of Paul Scholes and Roy Keane. Praised by Pele for his performances in the 2002 World Cup. Left the club for Newcastle United after appearing in Euro 2004 and still features in The Championship.
Jesper Blomqvist Was the player who made way for goal-grabber Teddy Sheringham. An already injury-plagued career took a turn for the worse at the season's end and he struggled to stay match fit before calling time on his top-level career in 2005. Now prowls the touchline for Hammarby in his role as assistant manager.
Dwight Yorke A prolific debut campaign took United all the way to the treble. His relationship unravelled with Sir Alex Ferguson well before he left for Blackburn Rovers in 2002. Re-invented as a defensive midfielder for Trinidad and Tobago's 2006 World Cup finals appearance and is now a prominent television pundit.
Andy Cole As one half of United's deadly strike force, the former Newcastle United man played a key role on the road to the final. Edged out of the club by Ruud van Nistelrooy's arrival in 2001 and called time on a career that saw him fire in 187 Premier League goals in 2008. Now makes regular media appearances and writes a column for The Independent newspaper.
Subs
Raimond van der Gouw Continued to play stand-in until he left United in 2002. Part of Roy Keane's staff at Sunderland and is now goalkeeping coach for Vitesse Arnhem.
David May More famous for his post-match celebrations in 1999 than his contribution on the pitch. Now a pundit for MUTV after retiring in 2006.
Phil Neville The younger brother of Gary became an unsung player in the English game. Now proudly wears the captain's armband for Everton after leaving United in 2005 and has collected 59 caps for England.
Wes Brown Sat out the 1999 final but put in the cross to set-up Cristiano Ronaldo's opener in the 2008 showpiece. Despite a series of long-term injuries, has won 23 caps for England and is still a vital part of the United squad.
Jonathan Greening The then United youngster gained a Champions League winners medal without making a single appearance in the competition. Left the club in 2001 to pursue greater first team opportunities at Middlesbrough and is now playing for Europa League Quarter-Finalists Fulham.
Teddy Sheringham After grabbing the equalising goal, the England international went from strength-to-strength at United. In 2000-01 he was voted Player of the Year by both the P.F.A. and Football Writers' Association. Finally hung up his boots in 2008 aged 42, and can now be seen on the international poker circuit.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer The last-minute hero suffered an injury hit few seasons after his exploits. Finally succumbed to a persistent knee injury in 2007 and now manages the Manchester United reserve team.
