Red Devils to prevail again, says Irwin
But, 11 years on, as United and Bayern Munich prepare to renew battle in the Champions League quarter-finals, Denis Irwin says that the memory of that extraordinary occasion of ecstasy for one side and agony for the other will have no bearing on the latest meeting of two of European football’s superpowers.
“Not at all,” says the Cork man. “Bayern won the trophy two years after that, which was good for helping the club get over it. And the relations between the two clubs are always very good. So I don’t think it will have any bearing at all. Back in my day, we played Bayern Munich seven times, lost two, drew four and, fortunately, 1999 was the only time we won.
“But it will be tough for United because Bayern have good history about them, they’re a big club used to playing big games and the fact they’re in a quarter-final against Manchester United won’t faze them. And, of course, they’ve got players that can hurt you going forward like Franck Ribery and, if he’s fit, (Arjen) Robben, as well as (Mark) van Bommel.
“Defensively, I’m not too sure about them but, under [Louis] van Gaal, they went on a hell of a run in the Bundesliga which is a tough league and, overall, I think they’ve made big strides in the last year or so.”
But, all that said, the former United man expects his old club to prevail.
“With the form United have come into in the last month or so, the fact that having (Rio) Ferdinand and (Nemanja) Vidic back adds a little solidity at the back, the form (Wayne) Rooney is in and the very good system the manager has found with (Ji-Sung) Park playing in behind him – I think they’re beginning to click and are right to be favourites. But it’s a cup competition now and anything can happen in the cup.”
Mention of Rooney fires up the inevitable debate about who is the best player in the world, with Irwin judging Lionel Messi to be the one to catch. And, as a former full-back himself, he knows just how hard that can be.
“While there’s no doubt Rooney has improved enormously this season, Messi has been doing it for a few years. And even though Madrid are out of the Champions’ League, I’d put Ronaldo right up there as well. But Messi has been in incredible form recently. I’ve seen all those goals and they’re just great to watch. He really is sensational.
“I remember marking (Hristo) Stoichkov, who also played for Barcelona, and he was very much a left-footer who played on the right-wing against me. Or think back to (Gheorghe) Hagi, who was another great player. Or even the lad at Manchester City, (Georgi) Kindladze. And of course Maradona. All left-footers, all small, all quick, and they play on the right because they have the pace to go outside you but they can cut in as well.
“Wingers are normally creatures of habit – people like (Aaron) Lennon and (Shaun) Wright-Phillips predominantly want to push the ball past you and get down the outside of you – but when you come up against a Messi, as a defender it’s the worst of both worlds because they have the pace to go by you and the cleverness to drag you into areas where you don’t want to go. So, for me, he’s the best there is at the moment – but Rooney and Ronaldo wouldn’t be too far behind.”
On the international front, Irwin thinks Giovanni Trapattoni has brought back something of the spirit and substance associated with the Irish teams the Cork man played in under Jack Charlton. And Irwin is convinced that Ireland can do in the upcoming European Championships just what they fell agonisingly short of achieving in last year’s World Cup campaign.
“The progression since he took over has been there to see,” he remarks. “He has us very well organised. Some will say it’s not the prettiest way to play but I don’t think we’ve ever been able to go toe to toe with teams away from home and play a bit gung-ho. We don’t risk a lot going forward and I think the fans just have to accept that. But don’t forget we’re not blessed with that many world-class players. We’ve got very good players. Keane, Duff, Doyle, Given and Dunne are all very good players with experience. Hopefully, McGeady will keep kicking on too. But we’ve never been a team that can go and trade punches with the big teams away from home.
“So we needed a bit of discipline, a bit organisation and Trapattoni’s done that and made us very difficult to beat again. I don’t think any team likes playing against us, which is very similar to how things were under Jack. But I think the strides have been huge. To finish second in the World Cup group was an achievement and then the way we went out was just horrible. But we have to forget about it and move on and, now, in the European qualifiers I think we’ve got a group we’re capable of winning, I’ve got to say that.”
But all further down the road. More immediately, ask Denis Irwin if he thinks a re-run of Rome 2009 is on the cards for the Champions’ League final in Madrid this year and he says: “It wouldn’t surprise me.” But then I suppose nothing could surprise a man who was on the pitch in the Camp Nou on May 24 1999.
* Irwin was speaking at the Heineken Star Saturday launch, celebrating the fact the Champions League and Heineken Cup finals will take place on the same day, May 22. Full details at www.heineken.com.
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