United 1 Bayern 1

For Alex Ferguson, the tie would pit him against a familiar foe, Ottmar Hitzfeld. The German had ousted United at the semi-final stage two years earlier with Borussia Dortmund, and whereas popular wisdom suggested that the difference in 1997 had been the Reds’ profligate finishing, ahead of his return to Old Trafford Hitzfeld suggested that obsession had proved United’s undoing.

“I felt in that game that United were too nervous, that somehow they were too keen to win the trophy,” he proffered, at his pre-match press conference. “That was why we won.

“They were the favourites and everybody expected them to beat us and win the final so I can understand the real disappointment for Ferguson. I…