Four evenly matched clubs battled it out in Group A, as Olympiacos, Croatia Zagreb, FC Porto and Ajax all fought to top the group. The eventual group winners, Olympiacos needed a draw in their final match of the group in Croatia and were fortunate to get the point, which in turn secured qualification to the quarter finals. Juventus once again showed their value in the champions league as they won Group B, however they were far from convincing as they drew five of their matches and required qualification by having a superior goal difference in comparison to Rosenborg and Galatasaray. Rosenborg in fact looked set to win the group however their final match experienced a 2-0 away defeat against Juventus and the Italians qualified for the quarter finals. Both Inter Milan and real Madrid were paired together and both teams qualified for the quarter finals, both sides were convincing in the group as Real Madrid smashed Sturm Graz 6-1 and Inter Milan beat Spartak Moscow in the process.
The eventual winners, Manchester united were paired with future finalists Bayern Munich, despite the German’s winning the group both sides qualified for the quarter finals. Barcelona could only manage third in the group and the tie of the group stages has to be Manchester united 3-3 draw against Barcelona.
Dynamo Kiev were outstanding in the group phase once again as they proved that the previous years success was no fluke by comfortably winning Group E. En Route to the quarter finals they convincingly disposed Lens and Arsenal.
The final group witnessed German outfit, Kaiserslautern qualifying for the last eight.
Manchester united met Inter Milan in the last eight, they eased their way into the semi finals as they coasted to a comfortable 2-0 victory at home to the Italians, in the semi finals, Juventus were waiting for them in an thrilling encounter, after an action packed 1-1 draw in the first leg, Manchester united beat them 3-2 in the second leg and they were now in the final of the champions league.
Dynamo Kiev were certainly the underdogs in their clash against the mighty Real Madrid, the first leg was a forgetful 1-1 draw, however nobody expected the 2-0 Kiev victory in the return leg as the Ukrainian champions were about to embark on their most successful European campaign. Kiev’s opponents in the semis was Bayern Munich, the first leg witnessed six goals being scored, three to each side. The second leg was a night that Kiev would rather forget as their champion’s league dreams were shattered as Munich won 1-0.
The final between Manchester united and bayern Munich was a nail biting encounter. Munich took the early advantage as Mario Basler gave Bayern the lead after only five minutes, however Manchester united kept pressing forward and chances went begging. Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunner Solskjaer came on in the second half and they made all the difference, a Beckham corner in injury time was met by Teddy Sheringham’s head and Manchester united levelled. Only a minute later the unthinkable happened, as once again Beckham swung a corner in, another United forward met the ball to smash it into the back of the net, that player being the super substitute himself, Ole Gunner Solskjaer.
Manchester United were now the champions of the 1999 champion’s league.