Man United Treble winners reveal Fergie’s pre-Juve message

Sir Alex Ferguson – mind, he was just Alex Ferguson then – told his Manchester United players to “enjoy” their daunting Champions League semi-final against Juventus in 1999.

United were made to work for the European leg of their famous Treble in the 1998/99 season, having drawn the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Juventus.

Ryan Giggs’ equaliser in that 1-1 draw gave them a chance heading into the second leg in Turin, but two goals from Filippo Inzaghi in the opening 20 minutes left them with an uphill mountain to climb.

United scored an unanswered three goals in Italy to reach the final, where they beat Bayern Munich.

Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, two of the scorers in that memorable Juventus game, remember Ferguson’s words well.

“I remember Sir Alex said ‘Enjoy it’,” Cole told the Daily Mail.

“We were desperate to crack Europe. We had come close before. We played Dortmund two years earlier, outplayed them, lost 1-0 each time. They went on and won it, so we knew we were at that level.

“We knew we had to beat a team of Juventus’s calibre to win it. I can’t remember any team having a route as tough as we did in 1999 — Barcelona and Bayern in the group, Inter Milan in the quarters, Juventus in the semis, Bayern in the final.”

Yorke added: “I loved the manager’s philosophy – express yourself, enjoy yourself, play with a smile. Those were his words I remember.

“I was the marquee signing and I knew I had a responsibility to produce.”