(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
This was my favourite game of all time and in my opinion, the tie of the decade.
It was a clash between the two biggest, richest and most famous clubs in world football. The English champions against the Spanish champions of 2003. It was the tie where the two clearly most dominant and popular teams in England and Spain were to finally meet in a now classic two-legged affair.
The hype beforehand was unprecedented and was more than lived up to.
This was a clash for the ages for many; Spanish newspapers bluntly declared this was the best game in the world we could possibly see.
Meanwhile, aside from the usual English media's concern over Beckham and in particular his deteriorating relationship with Alex Ferguson at the time, there were murmers that Real Madrid were interested in signing the England captain.
It was basically the two biggest names in world football playing for glory and the world's hearts.
People forget how Real Madrid truly were the 'Harlem Globetrotters' of football at the time. Before billionaires were able to turn average clubs like Man City and Chelsea into clubs capable of signing the world's best talent, only few clubs which had built themselves from the ground up with decades of history, tradition and success behind them could claim the biggest names in football.
Real Madrid and Manchester United were two such teams. But Real Madrid like now, were at another level to most clubs.
It was Del Bosque's Galacticos facing Alex Ferguson's Second Great Team. The two biggest names in world football in the Champions League quarter-final and a tie that gave us 11 goals and a hundred more memories.
The number of world class talent on the pitch (and the respective benches) at the same time was arguably, up until then, unseen. As a 15 year old at the time, I thought my head was going to explode just looking at the teamsheets and fantasising in the days leading up to the games about the talent, skill and flair I would witness.
Real Madrid had eventual legendary Brazilian world cup record goalscorer Ronaldo leading the line having joined from Inter the previous summer after an outstanding World Cup in 2002-continuing their World Player of the year summer signing arrangement.
The Galactico likes of then world record transfer Zidane, Portugal captain and pinup Luis Figo, the mercurial Roberto Carlos and club icon Raul were a sight to behold in full flow. Spain captain and Madrid skipper Fernando Hierro led the team out onto the pitch in both legs. As a defender he wasn't a bad footballer either while arguably the best defensive midfielder of all time, Makelele, gave the team suprisingly good balance.
On the Manchester United team sheet we had controversial club captain and legend Roy Keane (my personal hero at the time), possibly the most famous footballer ever David Beckham, Argentinian captain Juan Sebastian Veron, Ruud Van Nistelrooy (one of the great strikers of all time) Wales legend and the now most successful man in English football ever Ryan Giggs, and the still world record defender Rio Ferdinand; which further added glamour to the proceedings.
Both sides oozed class.
The first match was officiated by the controversially retired Anders Frisk and the second leg at Old Trafford by probably the greatest referee of the last decade, Pierlugi Collina. Quite simply, everything was in place for a cracking contest—World Class players, managers, stadia and referees.
And the matches themselves were breathtaking.
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