Battle Royale- Champions v/s Champions

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“Is the current Manchester United team better than the vintage 1999 one” – Yes, this can indeed be classified as a Smarter Life Crisis and if it can’t, I’m writing about it anyway because this is my blog.

The Batch of 2009

In  the 3 nanoseconds that ESPN dedicated to the trophy presentation, Captain Neville lifted his 3^rd consecutive EPL trophy to equal Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles and coming up next is a second consecutive Champions League final against Barcelona. Whatever the result in that one, this team has made a case to be regarded as one of the greatest United sides in the modern era.

Greatness is a subjective term, but I’m going to measure it on three parameters- the players, the silverware, the X-factor.

The Players :

Manchester United 1999  v/s Manchester United 2009

GK          Peter Schmeichel v/s Edwin Van der Saar

CB           Jaap Stam v/s  Nemanja Vidic

CB           Ronny Johnsen v/s  Rio Ferdinand

LB           Denis Irwin v/s   Patrice Evra

RB           Gary Neville v/s   Wes Brown

CM         Roy Keane (C) v/s Darren Fletcher

CM         Paul Scholes v/s Michael Carrick

RM         David Beckham v/s   Ronaldo

LM          Ryan Giggs v/s Ryan Giggs (C)

CF           Dwight Yorke v/s Wayne Rooney

CF           Teddy Sheringham v/s Dimitar Berbatov

While the result of most of these match ups, especially in defence and the centre of midfield seem obvious, the iffy ones would be-

- Shouldn’t  Tevez be in here ?

Even if he was, he wouldn’t be able to match Teddy Sheringham in the role of a center-forward- Sheringham was a brilliant finisher, excellent in the air and very good at bringing people into play.

-The battle of the no.7’s

If this was based on looks or likability, DB7 would cream CR7. However, as a footballer, Ronaldo beats Becks on every front- speed, skill, aerial ability, strength. The only thing missing from Ron’s CV was scoring from free-kicks and he’s developed that as well now. Hate him or hate him- Ronaldo rules.

-Giggs v/s Giggs

While the Giggs of 09 is an attacking central midfielder with a great range of passing and an eye for through balls, the vintage wing wizard wins this battle. Why? Watch this ( I love adding videos ! )

FA Cup semi-final in 1999- United drawing 1-1 against Arsenal. Roy Keane gets sent off and its 10 against 11. Penalty ! the Great Dane saves Bergkamp’s effort. Extra time. Then this-

Football , however, is a squad game. For example, United won the 1999 Champions League final without the services of Scholes & Keane. The quality on the bench is what sets the current United side apart- Only Solsjkaer from 1999’s super-subs would get onto this year’s bench. Sitting with him would be Tevez, Park and older versions of Neville and Scholes.

It’s so tough to call- if you consider both these teams playing against each other ( I’d pay anything to watch)

I can see Keane  and Scholes controlling possession in midfield, Giggs running rings round Brown, and Becks flighting in his inch-perfect crosses. What I don’t see is either Yorke or Teddy getting an inch of space to score from the monster center pairing of Rio-Vidic (probably the best in United’s history )

I see ( I’m starting to feel like the Oracle from Matrix ) United’s current front 4 causing havoc with the vintage defence whenever they have the ball- with their constantly interchanging positions, their atrocious skill and warp speed counter-attacks ( check out the 3^rd goal against Arsenal in this year’s semi)

In conclusion, I think United’09 might just beat United’99 by 1-0.

The Trophies

The Batch of 99 ( without Keane & Scholes of course )

The proof of the pudding, however, is in stuffing your face in it and the titles that prove a team’s greatness are the Premiership and the Champions League trophy.

In its golden era ( the pre-Rio, pre-RVN era -1998-2001) the vintage United team won 3 consecutive league trophies-the same as the current team in its golden period ( the post Roy Keane era- 2006-09)

In the Champions League, vintage United were knocked out by Monaco and Real Madrid in the quarterfinals on either side of the unbelievable night at the Nou Camp in 1999. The current team beats the older one in terms of their maturity and discipline on European nights- the ability to keep clean sheets, hold on to possession, tactical awareness and lethal counter-attacking skill means this team has made it to two finals and one semi-final in 3 years. After being embarrassed by Kaka’s AC Milan in 2006, this team won the final against Chelsea last year and has marched on the finals this year- against Barcelona in Rome. Whether they win or not, this team has consistently been among the top 4 teams in Europe and that places it above the batch of 99.

X-Factor

Ahh.. its the reason any Tom, Yuri & Brad would choose Angelina Jolie over Jeniffer Aniston. It’s “ that thing”- The Nissan GTR has it, Stone Cold Steve Austin had it, Thierry Henry had it, Manchester United own it.

1999

- “Fergie’s Fledglings”- Scholes, Becks, Giggs, Butt, Nevilles, Brown

- The Super Sub, The Baby faced Assassin- Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer

- That Ryan Giggs goal against Arsenal, Beckham’s free-kicks

-All those unbelievable come-backs- against Liverpool, Arsenal, Juventus, Inter Milan, Bayern, Barcelona, Tottenham

-Captain Roy Keane

2009

-The skill of Ronaldo, Rooney, Berba, Tevez

In this category, the 1999 team KO’s the current one. Maybe it’s because the new one works like a well-oiled, ruthless machine while the old one depended regularly on inspiration which was never found wanting.

So after a ginormous, euphoria-fuelled, nostalgia-laden thesis, I’ve come to a Smarter Life Conclusion- by a score of 2 to 1, the current United squad has overhauled the Batch of 1999 and will move even further ahead if they win the Final against Barca on May 27^th.

The common factor in these teams- Sir Alex Ferguson- He was there when Giggs joined at the age of 13, when United lifted their first title in 25 yrs, when Cantona kung-fu kicked a spectator, when Becks was thin & ugly, when the kids won it, when 1999 happened, when Chelski -Jose-Roman happened, when Djemba-Djemba was thought of as the next Roy Keane, when Ronaldo was a one trick pony, when Rooney scored his debut hat-trick, when John Terry slipped, when United lifted their 11^th title in 18 years.

Thank you Sir and good luck in Rome.

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Tags: 1999, 2009, Manchester United