Former Manchester United midfielder David Beckham is hoping a documentary on the team’s 1998–1999 Treble-winning season can spur the Old Trafford team out of its current woes.
25 years ago, Beckham was a member of the United team led by Sir Alex Ferguson that won the FA Cup, the Premier League, and the Champions League.
The current squad has not won the Premier League championship since 2013, and they currently sit ninth in the standings.
Although they did win the League Cup in 2023 and the Europa League in 2017, United’s last major championships were the FA Cup in 2016 and the Champions League in 2008.
At the launch of Amazon Prime’s “99,” Beckham said to BBC Radio 5 Live, “To be honest, I think that anyone that watches this documentary and has a connection to United, that they’ll be inspired by it.”
The squad has faced challenges in the past few years, but that was always going to be the case.
“There was always going to come this period, even for the number of years that we enjoyed such success.
Now, we think it’s gone on a little too long, but it will undoubtedly have significance for these indigenous boys because they genuinely talk about that particular point in time, so we hope it motivates them.
During his tenure at Manchester United from 1992 to 2003, former England captain Beckham made 394 appearances and won six Premier League titles.
After playing with Beckham at United, Gary Neville, a former right-back for England, feels that history “can be your friend but also your enemy” at their old team.
He is hoping that in the FA Cup final on Saturday, May 25, against Manchester City, current manager Erik ten Hag’s team may pull off an unlikely victory to begin a new chapter of triumph.
“It’s really hard right now,” Neville remarked. “It must be difficult for kids to have this history forced down their throats. To be fair, a number of us frequently discuss the team on television, so I can see why it may be upsetting.
When Manchester United plays City in the FA Cup final in three weeks, for example, I would hope that they regard that as a chance to shock this nation and maybe the entire globe by defeating City in a final.
“This prosperous era that we were a part of began with Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1990 FA Cup victory. How come Manchester City can’t win the FA Cup?”
McClaren: “We have to return to Man Utd standards.”
Having assisted Sir Alex Ferguson in 1999, Steve McClaren, the assistant coach of Manchester United, was also present at the premiere.
“Man United will do the same,” he said to BBC Sport, “since Arsenal has come back after a setback.
“Storms have been frequent. I see a lot of advantages with Ineos entering the market and their efforts. It involves determining the benchmarks and returning to them.
“During the past two years, since my return, we have had those criteria at specific points. Additionally, we’ve had standards that weren’t Manchester United.
“According to Sir Dave Brailsford and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, they are bringing in the top candidates. Their desire is for this to be successful. In their other sports and companies, they have taken that action. With Manchester United, I have no doubt that they will repeat the feat.”
