Bayern Munich v Manchester United- The History
When these two giants were paired in the last eight of the Champions League on Friday, the immediate thought was of the epic 1999 Final- but apart from that contest meetings between these two clubs have been rarer than expected.
Bayern were a modest club in the early days of European competition and after they became the top German club United were in a period when the league title eluded them. As a result this meeting will only be their fifth tie in club competition.
It's often forgotten that in 1998/99 the clubs played each other three times. They were paired in the group stages and fought out a pair of draws which allowed both to progress past Barcelona. It finished 2-2 in Bavaria and 1-1 at Old Trafford. Bayern topped the group but United came through unbeaten.
The two teams reached the final in Barcelona where the Germans were by far the better side for much of the match- Manchester United were without Roy Keane and Paul ScHoles who had both scored in the group games.
Bayern could have been 2-0 up before two very late goals by subs Sheringham and Solskjaer made the difference and left the unfortgettable image of Bayern defender Sammy Kufour beating the ground with frustration.
Bayern had their revenge two years later in the last eight. The Bavarian side prevailed in both legs; in the four years following their 1999 win United were knocked out three times in the last eight and once in the semis.
Bayern went on to beat Valencia on penalties in the final and Kuffour, the player who was so distraught in 1999,won a winners's medal along with several others from the 1999 side.
A year later the teams met in the interminable second group stage of the Champions League - happily, UEFA soon got the message and simplified the tournament. As in 1999, the clubs shared a pair of draws and easily eliminated Boavista and Nantes. Each club were then knocked out by a finalist- Bayern by Real Madrid and United in the semis by Bayer Leverkusen.
Since 2002 United have come up against Leverkusen, Stuttgart and Wolsburg but Bayern are the biggest test from Germany and one of the few clubs with a European record to edge them- Bayern have four European Cups to United's three.
