Champions League Boot Spotting - Retro Edition!
Manchester United's trip to Bayern Munich in the Champions League this week evokes memories of the dramatic Final of 1999, so here at the SoccerBible we delved into the archives for a retro-tastic Boot Spotting Special, from the Night of Miracles/Tragedy* in Barcelona...
Both sides featured famous names - Beckham, Cole, Yorke and Giggs for United, Effenberg, Matthaus, Kahn and Linke for Bayern - and EVERY player wore black football boots, not a coloured boot in sight! Check out who wore what for the final - although as head-to-heads go, this one ends up quite one sided.
The reason? All Bayern's players showed great loyalty by all sporting adidas football boots, infact nearly all of them played in adidas World Cup football boots!
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David Beckham (Man Utd) |
Steffan Effenberg (Bayern) |
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Beckham's pin-point delivery during the Champions League campaign came from his adidas Predator Accelerator football boots, arguably one of the most desireable of all the Predators. |
One of Bayern's all time greatest players, the industrious leader was a power house in the centre of the pitch so the Predator Accelerators would have been a natural choice for the tough tackling German. |
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Dwight Yorke (Man Utd) |
Lothar Matthaus (Bayern) |
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The always-smiling striker enjoyed an amazing first season at Old Trafford, integral to the Treble victory. Choosing the classic Mizuno Morelia as his football boots, Yorke finished top scorer in the league as well as netting vital goals during the Champions League campaign. |
The Champions League eluded Matthaus and was the only major honour the Bayern and German captain failed to win during a prestigious career. With the ever-reliable adidas World Cup boots, Matthaus was renowned for his imperious passing and positional play, making him one of the most feared of all the Bayern players. |
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Teddy Sheringham (Man Utd) |
Carsten Jancker (Bayern) |
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Wearing Nike Air GX II football boots, a superb example of Nike soccer shoes, Sheringham completed an incredible treble, having not won a trophy during his previous 15 years in football! |
Jancker was a huge forward and a superb target man for Bayern during the run to the Champions League final. Wearing the adidas World Cup football boots, Jancker was equally adept at playing with his back to goal as he was unleashing a fearsome right-footed shot! |
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Ole Gunnar Solksjaer (Man Utd) |
Mario Basler (Bayern) |
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Affectionately known as the Super Sub, Solskjaer came off the bench to seal the Champions League. Solskjaer wore the second edition of the Nike Mercurial series as he scored one of the most famous goals in Manchester United's history. |
The flying winger for Bayern, Basler scored the opening goal of the Final in the (yes, you've guessed it) adidas World Cup football boots. The superbly executed free-kick looked like it would be enough to capture the trophy, as Bayern weere two minutes away from victory! |
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Nicky Butt (Man Utd) |
Thomas Linke (Bayern) |
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The dependable midfielder probably wouldn't have started in the Final for Roy Keane or Paul Scholes suspension, but Butt did so wearing the classic Diadora Brasil Italy football boots, an iconic pair of soccer shoes that are synonymous with style and reliability! |
Having just transferred to Bayern that season Linke was one of only a handful of the Bayern plays to wear something other than World Cups, sporting the Predator Accelerator football boots for the Final. |
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Peter Schmiechel (Man Utd) |
Oliver Kahn (Bayern) |
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The Great Dane left United after the Final and the imposing keeper lifted the trophy on the night alongside manager Alex Ferguson. Wearing the original classic edition of the Reebok Integrity boots, Schemiechel was famous for last-minute charges into the box and even scored on a few occasions! |
The opposite number between the sticks was equally as legendary to the Germans. Kahn was widely regarded as one of the best keepers around, and wearing the classic adidas World Cups (you were perhaps expecting something else?!) made up for the 1999 loss by being the penalty shoot-out hero for Bayern in 2001. |
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Ryan Giggs (Man Utd) |
Jaap Stam (Man Utd) |
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Already by this point in his career, Giggs had plenty of titles and trophies to his name. Wearing the Reebok Integrity football boots, the flying winger picked up his first Champions League medal and yet another accolade. |
The towering Dutchman was a rock in United's defence during the 1998-99 season, and wearing the legendary Puma King football boots it's not hard to see why! |
Stay tuned to the SoccerBible as we return to the Boot Spotting vault tomorrow, with another Champions League classic encounter...
*miracle or tragedy depending on which side you are!
