1999–2000 Manchester United F.C. season

Manchester United
1999–2000 season
Chairman	Martin Edwards
Manager	Sir Alex Ferguson
FA Premier League	1st
League Cup	Third round
UEFA Champions League	Quarter-finals
Charity Shield	Runners-up
UEFA Super Cup	Runners-up
Intercontinental Cup	Winners
FIFA Club World Championship	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League:; Dwight Yorke(20); All:; Dwight Yorke (24)
Highest home attendance	61,629 vsTottenham Hotspur; (6 May 2000)
Lowest home attendance	53,250 vsCroatia Zagreb; (14 September 1999)
Average home league attendance	58,017
	←1998–99 2000–01→

The 1999–2000 season wasManchester United's eighth season in thePremier League,and their 25th consecutive season in the top division ofEnglish 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 theIntercontinental Cupwhen they defeatedPalmeirasin Tokyo. However, they surrendered theirChampions Leaguetitle with a 3–2 defeat by eventual championsReal Madridin the quarter-finals. The club controversially did not defend theirFA Cupcrown, upon request byThe Football Association,to compete in theinaugural FIFA Club World Championshipin Brazil instead.^[2]

Mark Bosnich,previously at United as a reserve goalkeeper from 1989 to 1991, returned to the club asPeter Schmeichel's successor, but failed to live up to expectations and in September, the club swooped forItalian Massimo Taibito 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 goalkeeperRaimond van der Gouwwas 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 payingAS Monaco£7.8 million forFabien Barthez.Also new to the squad for 1999–2000 wereFrenchdefenderMikaël SilvestreandSouth AfricanwingerQuinton Fortune.Jesper BlomqvistandWes Brownmissed the entire season due to injury, while similar misfortune restricted defendersDavid MayandRonny Johnsento three first-team appearances between them.Jordi Cruyffleft the club on a free transfer toDeportivo Alavésat 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

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
15 July 1999	Australia	N	2–0	Blomqvist45',Butt74'	71,215
18 July 1999	Australia	N	1–0	Yorke24'	78,032
21 July 1999	Shanghai Shenhua	A	2–0	Solskjær60',Sheringham69'	80,000
24 July 1999	South China	A	2–0	Sheringham20',Cole23'	40,000
30 July 1999	Bristol Rovers	A	2–2	Solskjær7',Healy87'	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	Sheringham43',Scholes87'	54,842

FA Charity Shield

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
1 August 1999	Arsenal	N	1–2	Yorke37'	70,185

UEFA Super Cup

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
27 August 1999	Lazio	N	0–1		14,461

FA Premier League

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance	League position
8 August 1999	Everton	A	1–1	Yorke7'	39,141	9th
11 August 1999	Sheffield Wednesday	H	4–0	Scholes9',Yorke35',Cole54',Solskjær84'	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	Scholes63',Yorke75'	22,024	1st
30 August 1999	Newcastle United	H	5–1	Cole(4) 14', 46', 65', 71',Giggs81'	55,190	1st
11 September 1999	Liverpool	A	3–2	Carragher(2) 4' (o.g.), 45' (o.g.),Cole18'	44,929	1st
18 September 1999	Wimbledon	H	1–1	Cruyff74'	55,189	1st
25 September 1999	Southampton	H	3–3	Sheringham34',Yorke(2) 38', 64'	55,249	1st
3 October 1999	Chelsea	A	0–5		34,909	2nd
16 October 1999	Watford	H	4–1	Yorke40',Cole(2) 42', 50',Irwin45' (pen.)	55,188	2nd
23 October 1999	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–3	Giggs24'	36,072	3rd
30 October 1999	Aston Villa	H	3–0	Scholes30',Cole45',Keane65'	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	Butt53',Cole84'	33,370	1st
4 December 1999	Everton	H	5–1	Irwin27' (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	Fortune75',Yorke79',Cole88',Keane89'	55,188	2nd
28 December 1999	Sunderland	A	2–2	Keane27',Butt87'	42,026	2nd
24 January 2000	Arsenal	H	1–1	Sheringham74'	58,293	2nd
29 January 2000	Middlesbrough	H	1–0	Beckham87'	61,267	1st
2 February 2000	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1–0	Sheringham74'	39,640	1st
5 February 2000	Coventry City	H	3–2	Cole(2) 40', 55',Scholes77'	61,380	1st
12 February 2000	Newcastle United	A	0–3		36,470	1st
20 February 2000	Leeds United	A	1–0	Cole52'	40,160	1st
26 February 2000	Wimbledon	A	2–2	Cruyff30',Cole80'	26,129	1st
4 March 2000	Liverpool	H	1–1	Solskjær45'	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	Beckham33',Yorke84'	22,170	1st
25 March 2000	Bradford City	A	4–0	Yorke(2) 38', 40',Scholes71',Beckham79'	18,276	1st
1 April 2000	West Ham United	H	7–1	Scholes(3) 24', 51', 63' (pen.),Irwin27',Cole45',Beckham66',Solskjær73'	61,611	1st
10 April 2000	Middlesbrough	A	4–3	Giggs46',Cole60',Scholes74',Fortune88'	34,775	1st
15 April 2000	Sunderland	H	4–0	Solskjær(2) 3', 51',Butt65',Berg70'	61,612	1st
22 April 2000	Southampton	A	3–1	Beckham8',Benali15' (o.g.),Solskjær30'	15,245	1st
24 April 2000	Chelsea	H	3–2	Yorke(2) 11', 69',Solskjær40'	61,593	1st
29 April 2000	Watford	A	3–2	Yorke69',Giggs71',Cruyff87'	20,250	1st
6 May 2000	Tottenham Hotspur	H	3–1	Solskjær5',Beckham34',Sheringham36'	61,629	1st
14 May 2000	Aston Villa	A	1–0	Sheringham65'	39,217	1st

Pos	Team v t e	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 theChampions League first group stage
2	Arsenal	38	22	7	9	73	43	+30	73	Qualification for theChampions League first group stage
3	Leeds United	38	21	6	11	58	43	+15	69	Qualification for theChampions League third qualifying round
4	Liverpool	38	19	10	9	51	30	+21	67	Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round^[a]
5	Chelsea	38	18	11	9	53	34	+19	65	Qualification for theUEFA Cup first round^[a]

Source:Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C)Champions
Notes:

^Chelsea qualified for the UEFA Cup asFA Cup winners.

League Cup

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

Group stage

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	Keane16',Yorke31',Cole33'	16,480	2nd
29 September 1999	Marseille	H	2–1	Cole79',Scholes83'	53,993	1st
19 October 1999	Marseille	A	0–1		56,732	2nd
27 October 1999	Croatia Zagreb	A	2–1	Beckham32',Keane49'	27,500	1st
2 November 1999	Sturm Graz	H	2–1	Solskjær56',Keane65'	53,745	1st

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Manchester United	6	4	1	1	9	4	+5	13	Advance tosecond group stage
2	Marseille	6	3	1	2	10	8	+2	10	Advance tosecond group stage
3	Sturm Graz	6	2	0	4	5	12	−7	6	Transfer toUEFA Cup
4	Croatia Zagreb	6	1	2	3	7	7	0	5

Source:UEFA

Second group stage

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	Keane38',Solskjær47',Scholes70'	54,606	2nd
1 March 2000	Bordeaux	H	2–0	Giggs41',Sheringham84'	59,786	2nd
7 March 2000	Bordeaux	A	2–1	Keane33',Solskjær84'	30,130	1st
15 March 2000	Fiorentina	H	3–1	Cole20',Keane33',Yorke70'	59,926	1st
21 March 2000	Valencia	A	0–0		40,419	1st

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Manchester United	6	4	1	1	10	4	+6	13	Advance toknockout stage
2	Valencia	6	3	1	2	9	5	+4	10	Advance toknockout stage
3	Fiorentina	6	2	2	2	7	8	−1	8
4	Bordeaux	6	0	2	4	5	14	−9	2

Source:UEFA

Knockout phase

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	Beckham64',Scholes88' (pen.)	59,178

Intercontinental Cup

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
30 November 1999	Palmeiras	N	1–0	Keane35'	53,372

FIFA Club World Championship

Group stage

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Group position
6 January 2000	Necaxa	N	1–1	Yorke88'	50,000	2nd
8 January 2000	Vasco da Gama	N	1–3	Butt81'	73,000	3rd
11 January 2000	South Melbourne	N	2–0	Fortune(2) 8', 20'	25,000	3rd

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	VAS	NEC	MUN	SME
1	Vasco da Gama	3	3	0	0	7	2	+5	9	Advance tofinal		—	—	2–0
2	Necaxa	3	1	1	1	5	4	+1	4	Advance tomatch for third place	1–2		—	—
3	Manchester United	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4		1–3	1–1		2–0
4	South Melbourne	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0		—	1–3	—

Source:FIFA

Squad statistics

No.	CWC no.^{[nb 1]}	Pos.	Name	League		League Cup		Europe		Club World Championship		Other		Total
No.	CWC no.^{[nb 1]}	Pos.	Name	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

^Clubs had to submit a 23-man squad to compete in the2000 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]
^Rachubka was not assigned a number for the rest of the season.

Transfers

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

On 21 August, South African midfielderQuinton Fortunesigned fromAtlético Madridfor a fee of £1.5 million. Also arriving were Italian goalkeeperMassimo Taibiand French defenderMikaël 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 strikerErik Nevland,who returned to his former clubVikingafter two seasons.Richard Wellensdeparted on 23 March toBlackpoolfor a nominal fee.John CurtisjoinedBlackburn Roverson 31 May for a fee of £1.5 million, whileMichael TwissjoinedPort Valeon 30 June on a free transfer.

No players joined United in the winter transfer window, but on 21 May, French goalkeeperFabien Barthezwas acquired.

In

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]

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
20 December 1999	FW	Erik Nevland	Viking	£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

^"Manchester United Season 1999/2000".StretfordEnd.co.uk.Retrieved8 October2007.
^"United pull out of FA Cup".BBC Sport.BBC. 30 June 1999.Retrieved25 August2011.
^"FIFA Club World Championship Brazil 2000 - Clubs - Manchester United".FIFA.com.Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived fromthe originalon 19 February 2017.Retrieved18 February2017.
^"Bosnich signs four-year United deal".BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). 2 June 1999.Retrieved29 September2017.
^Anderson, David (26 August 1999)."Football: Ferguson defends Strachan remarks".The Independent.London. Archived fromthe originalon 1 May 2022.Retrieved20 March2015.
^"Man Utd complete Taibi signing".BBC Sport.BBC. 31 August 1999.Retrieved9 February2012.
^"Silvestre on red alert".BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). 10 September 1999.Retrieved29 September2017.
^"Man Utd confirm Barthez signing".BBC Sport.BBC. 31 May 2000.Retrieved9 February2012.
^^a ^b ^cButler, 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.
^"Vale sign Twiss from Man Utd".BBC Sport.BBC. 25 July 2000.Retrieved9 February2012.

[table_note_res_UC10.28543390719473-3] Chelsea qualified for the UEFA Cup asFA Cup winners.

[5] Clubs had to submit a 23-man squad to compete in the2000 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]

[6] Rachubka was not assigned a number for the rest of the season.

[1] "Manchester United Season 1999/2000".StretfordEnd.co.uk.Retrieved8 October2007.

[2] "United pull out of FA Cup".BBC Sport.BBC. 30 June 1999.Retrieved25 August2011.

[4] "FIFA Club World Championship Brazil 2000 - Clubs - Manchester United".FIFA.com.Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived fromthe originalon 19 February 2017.Retrieved18 February2017.

[7] "Bosnich signs four-year United deal".BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). 2 June 1999.Retrieved29 September2017.

[8] Anderson, David (26 August 1999)."Football: Ferguson defends Strachan remarks".The Independent.London. Archived fromthe originalon 1 May 2022.Retrieved20 March2015.

[9] "Man Utd complete Taibi signing".BBC Sport.BBC. 31 August 1999.Retrieved9 February2012.

[10] "Silvestre on red alert".BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). 10 September 1999.Retrieved29 September2017.

[11] "Man Utd confirm Barthez signing".BBC Sport.BBC. 31 May 2000.Retrieved9 February2012.

[9900yearbook-12] 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.

[13] "Vale sign Twiss from Man Utd".BBC Sport.BBC. 25 July 2000.Retrieved9 February2012.

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