Seventeen years ago on Thursday Manchester United took on Real Madrid in a seismic Champions League quarter-final second leg at Old Trafford. United had lost 3-1 at the Bernabéu, Raúl scoring twice and Luis Figo once.
Ruud van Nistelrooy had given Sir Alex Ferguson’s team a precious away goal and for the return the manager, who was already without the suspended Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, dropped David Beckham. The game, however, was to be remembered by a glittering display for the away side from Ronaldo.
Fernando Hierro, defender and Real Madrid captain We had been 3-0 up in the first game, but they scored the away goal. A two-goal lead but having conceded at home – it’s a good result but it’s the kind that can catch you out. We’d have all preferred to go there with a 2-0 and we knew how strong United were – especially at Old Trafford.
Mike Phelan, Manchester United assistant manager The first leg was a difficult one. We were probably underdogs going into not only that but the tie itself. The tension and the focus on the second game was huge. Two huge clubs coming together at that moment in time, some seriously good players on both teams. We always felt comfortable in Europe at home – we’d give anybody a game and the supporters were always something special, really special.
Clive Tyldesley, ITV commentator The quarter-final match Manchester United lost 3-2 at Old Trafford to Real in 2000 made a huge impact on Sir Alex, particularly Fernando Redondo’s performance. That game got away from United very early. Roy Keane was very unfortunate to score an own goal, and Real went 3-0 up [and on aggregate, by 52 minutes] before United started to chip away in the closing stages. Alex felt United had been too open – like the cavalier style that had won them the competition in 1999 – and that they needed to become more streetwise and cautious in the later stages against the good sides. What we saw in 03 became a shooting range of a match and was a throwback to before – a crazy game, because of the circumstances, but it wasn’t the game he [Ferguson] wanted.
Wes Brown, Manchester United defender It was tough, I was marking Zinedine Zidane and it was one of the games where I didn’t have the worst one but I didn’t actually do anything as well. I was against him when he came into my area – he reminded me a bit of Scholesy – very clever, the way he made space, if it did get tight he’d lay it off and make space somewhere else.
Hierro When Ronaldo scored [after 12 minutes], we felt more at ease. That early goal gave us tranquillity, it changed the game. Steve McManaman [the Real winger] had this ability that the more they booed him [as a former Liverpool player], the better he was. Every time he went to Old Trafford he played wonderfully. For him, beating United at Old Trafford, he was happy.
Tyldesley If you are being brutal about the night, United quickly went 4-1 down on aggregate, and they needed three goals for much of the evening.
Phelan The way we looked at it was not necessarily to keep it tight, but to take them on the Man United way, which would be to attack but stay focused and remember that the game would have twists and turns. We knew that with the atmosphere, the occasion, one goal could turn the momentum.
Van Nistelrooy equalised after 43 minutes but now Ronaldo began to take over. On 50 minutes he made it 2-1 and 5-2 on aggregate to Real and though Ivan Helguera scored an own goal soon after, the 26-year-old Brazilian crowned his performance with a scintillating hat-trick goal, curving the ball past Fabien Barthez from 30 yards.
Brown The display Ronaldo put on got a standing ovation from everyone when he came off after his hat-trick. The goal from 30 yards – you’re thinking at the time go on then, that should be OK [if he shoots from there]. You normally think: ‘Well if you are going to hit it I’d rather you hit it from there.’ But he was just unstoppable. A young Ronaldo [before a series of injuries] would have been even more dangerous, but it shows how good a player he was. Whenever he wanted to turn it on he could, on any stage, in any stadium.
Phelan He was a serious centre-forward, probably the best in the world at that moment. We always were aware of the potential dangers he could cause. It’s not that we planned to stop anybody from playing because, where do you go from there? It wasn’t like you could take Ronaldo out of the game. Ronaldo was going to play the best he possibly could. Anyway, he got the standing ovation he deserved from the crowd. That’s the first time I really felt a special player was out on a football field. The reaction of our supporters was unbelievable. I don’t think there was anybody in the stadium who didn’t stand up, and I count myself in that as the opposition coach. You just understand when you see quality.
It was the first Champions League hat-trick of Ronaldo’s career and the first Old Trafford ovation for a visiting player in living memory.
Hierro Unfortunately, because of injuries, we didn’t see Ronaldo at his very best as much as we would have liked, but he had that ability, that ease. When he was through on goal you might as well go and hug him then because you know it’s in. He had a stratospheric vision, he thought so fast. On that [hat-trick] goal maybe he saw Barthez slightly out of position, so he doesn’t hit it hard, just bends it in, with his instep. That was Ronaldo. He marked an entire era, a player above millions of others, and yet he could have marked that era even more if he had not had injuries. We were all emotional about the ovation he got. Vicente del Bosque [the coach] always had a sensitivity for that kind of thing: people’s careers, attitudes, moods. The stadium started clapping him, and we were shocked, looking at each other thinking: ‘Wonderful – this for an opponent.’ We’ll never forget it. It was a wonderful gesture from fans that are very special.
Football on BT Sport
(@btsportfootball)📆 OTD in 2003…
Ronaldo’s stunning hat-trick 🎩
Beckham’s free-kick pearler 🎯
A seven-goal thriller ⚽️Champions League fireworks at Old Trafford! 🎇 pic.twitter.com/0TrEGWOdIV
Tyldesley It is very unusual, particularly on an English ground, for a standing ovation to be given for an opposing player. It’s the kind of event you might almost attach to an Anfield night, perhaps because Liverpool are a slightly more emotional kind of a football club. It was a proper standing ovation for Ronaldo. A hat-trick away from home. The first one was a good goal [a low shot on Barthez’s near side] but I think the keeper should have saved it. The second one was a terrific move and a poacher’s goal. The third goal was just all about him really, and a few minutes later he’s walked off to a standing ovation.
Ronaldo was replaced by Santi Solari on 67 minutes, just after Ferguson brought on Beckham for Juan Sebastián Verón, who had been a surprise selection. It was not the first time Ferguson had dropped Beckham and there were rumours that Real wanted to buy him.
Phelan You don’t just pick the starting XI, you map out how you want the game to unfold. From Sir Alex’s point of view his decision-making was around who could influence the game when and where. Obviously, that’s a big call on a player like David. Psychologically, looking back it got the reaction the manager wanted – David coming off the bench when he did influenced the moment. He had the ability to do that. This is what great players do. They show you what they’ve got, be it in five or 50 minutes.
Beckham scored on 71 and 84 minutes – the latter a 20-yard free-kick
Hierro I didn’t know anything about whether or not we were going to sign Beckham but it was something people talked about it. When he comes on that element was there – maybe he didn’t celebrate the goals because they were still chasing the game and there wasn’t much time left so he wanted to get the ball out of the net to start again but maybe [there was another reason]. All of our players, every fan in the world, knew he was good enough for any team – Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern, United. He was a great player. We didn’t need that [him scoring] to realise it. The way he struck the ball, and how complete he was. We knew.
Brown He really would have been so disappointed that he didn’t start. He would have wanted to put on a good performance when he did come on, and he did by getting two goals. They are the sort of characters we had in the team.
Beckham’s late intervention meant United beat Real 4-3 but were still eliminated 6-5 on aggregate.
Hierro I’m not sure that it’s enjoyment as such, until the very end. When it’s 4-3, we’re suffering, when we had a bad time of it. That said, it’s still two goals [United required] and they did score the fourth right at the end. We were talking in the dressing room afterwards – we used to analyse games closely – and were saying we’d cleared a huge number of crosses, dealt with so many balls in and yet also let in four. It was a complete avalanche. We attacked, they attacked, it was a game that was tumba abierta [wild, end to end]. It was a slug-fest to see who could punch harder and deliver the knockout blow. It was a game that stays in your memory. And in the memory of the fans. Sure, they were always at least two goals away but wow, they took us to the limits. And, look, to knock them out we had had to go to Old Trafford and score three – and that’s no small thing.
Tyldesley I can’t say United never laid a glove on them because they scored and made a lot of chances but as I walked back to the hotel afterwards my reflections were: ‘Do you know what, they never really looked like going through tonight.’ That’s my abiding memory.
Phelan Everything flows in football. Everything just seems to roll on and escalate. You don’t have time to really reflect and breathe, so you just keep going. You’re on that forever-revolving treadmill really. It’s only when you come out of it a little bit and you reflect that you realise: ‘Wow, that was then? Or was that game really 17 years ago?’