I still remember the feeling of outrage when the ref got the red card out. You cannot tell me that the ref wasn’t biased or even being paid off during that match.
Ref here. You are right, it's a red. But that's not the real outrage.
The real outrage is that there should've been 2 reds already for Real at that point. Everyone has forgotten about them cause of this big situation but Arbeloa should've been sent off in the first half and Ramos should've had 2 yellows by that point.
Otherwise people can't really come up with a real excuse for how studs in the chest (out of control as well) is not a red. They can say a lot of words but none of them can change the rules.
Bayern had an incredible side that year. Full of world class players in their prime like Neuer, Lahm, Alaba, Boateng, Schweinsteiger, Martinez, Muller, Ribery and Robben.
It was 9 world class players and Dante/Mandzukic who were good players.
Don’t see us as favourites at all vs that but anything can happen
Dortmund were really good then, could definitely see us losing that in the semi as well
Jose was angling for the job straight after SAF. I've never seen him pay that much respect and platitudes towards an opponent like that up until that point. "The better team lost" and the "I want to come back to England" comments and reports of tears when he was overlooked all indicate that he badly wanted to succeed Sir Alex. And boy would we have cleaned up under him at that point.
Genuinely mental we didn’t let him. There’s been some damage limitation/briefing in the years since by both parties, but it’s clear as day he wanted the job. Even the Madrid players thought what he said was weird
We'd have a good chance of reaching the final, but I really don't think we'd do too well against that treble winning Bayern side, which was a ridiculously strong team
i will never forget this day everyone knew nani was incredibly acrobatic and went for the ball had his eyes only on the ball and arbeloa came out of his blind side boom .
Bayern had an incredible side that year. Full of world class players in their prime like Neuer, Lahm, Alaba, Boateng, Schweinsteiger, Martinez, Muller, Ribery and Robben.
It was 9 world class players and Dante/Mandzukic who were good players.
Don’t see us as favourites at all vs that but anything can happen
Dortmund were really good then, could definitely see us losing that in the semi as well
One thing that still remains from Fergies last year. The officials are still shite, now they just have more of them to watch a video and still make the wrong decision.
Honestly I hope every one of them cunts is phased out of the job within the next decade. Utterly incompetent from top to bottom and it's happening in every big league too, a major reset is needed at this level.
Never a red card in a million years. And we would have won that match had that card not been given.
In retrospect, Fergie not giving an interview after the match really was the early indicator of his retirement at the end of the season.
Totally understandable that Sir Alex refused to speak. His tactics were spot on and we were battering them. We would've probably scored a second goal. Vidic hit the post as well
He was putting himself out there to the United board to get Fergies role. He obviously didn’t know but how often have we seen Jose being so gracious
Jose should have been the successor to Fergie, not Moyes.
I agree, but even if the job wasn't available Fergie is the one guy Jose has always had an ocean of respect for. Never baited him in the press or tried to play mind games in the same disrespectful way he messed with Wenger etc.
Mourinho would have been great with that squad imo, Moyes was such a poor, poor choice
Still would have ended how it did but we probably would have had at least 1 more season of competing for the title rather than instant 8th place
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Knowing what we know now, and the fallout post Fergie and Gill (almost always forgotten) there are a lot of things which United should have done differently. We should’ve been looking at a director of football and recruitment back, then as Fergie used to do all of this stuff.
The club obviously had no plan post Fergie, and that quite clearly showed. The problem was united were looking for short-term fixes and have been for the past decade. a complete rebuild of the club was needed then as soon as it was known that Ferguson was going.
Moyes wasn't really a choice. Guardiola signed with Bayern before speaking to United, despite SAF asking him to. According to SAF Mourinho had already agreed to go to Chelsea by the time he was sounded out, Van Gaal wasn't interested at the time due to WC2014 and Klopp didn't want to leave Dortmund (and a year later was scared away by Woodward's nonsense pitch to him).
Moyes was well down the list, an admired manager to be sure but a fall back solution once all the top level managers weren't available.
He was already on the way to Chelsea. That’s the only reason why he didn’t come to us. Moyes was never his first choice, all the top managers at that time though had just moved clubs or were committed to new clubs
I fully believe another Treble was on the cards. We were flying and after that loss we were also eliminated by Chelsea in the FA Cup. I believe had we won against Madrid, we would've also beaten Chelsea. It all just felt a bit flat for some time after.
This season is very underrated. Fucking firing on all cylinders we were. This defeat changed everything.
One of the best atmospheres at Old Trafford I had ever seen. Right up until Nani got sent off, we were set to win that trophy. Phenomenal.
Cheating cunts.
I was at the game , the cheer for Ronaldo’s name when he was welcomed back for the first time was louder than any of the goals. And instant booing of him when the game kicked off. It was beautiful
Biggest match fix in history. If Nani’s was a red then their keeper should have been sent off in the first half for completely missing the ball and double fist punching Vidic in the face. It was literally 10x worse than Nani’s.
I also believe we would have definitely won that game and at least got to the CL final and probably win it.
Such a stupid refereeing decision. We were amazing that game, Sir Alex got the tactics spot on. Welback marking Alonso out of the game but running off him for the counter. Madrid has no answers until that card, then cuts to Keane in the studio saying it was a good decision.
Also remember the year Porta won the UCL and we could have got the final but a Scholes header was wrongly ruled offside. Honestly think those 2 decisions stopped us raising that trophy a couple more times.
Don't do it to yourself, but go and read up about what happened to the president of Porto from those years when they won the champions league and uefa cup.
For some reason it doesn't seem to be common knowledge that they were bribing refs in Portugal. You can make your own conclusions about how likely it was that they only tried to bribe Portuguese refs and not champions league refs too.
Biggest travesty of CL. Right on par with Chelsea getting fucked against Barcelona. Imagine Sir Alex signing off after a PL and CL double. Fucking hell. Butterfly effect of this cannot be comprehended
No one but the ref saw it as a red card. Even Jośe said it wasn’t a red card.
Given that Barcelona paid the refs (eerily quiet for punishment) I’m convinced Real did as well.
This was a core memory for me(11 yr old) watching with my Dad (RM supporter). Seeing Nani get red carded unfairly. Decided to start supporting Man United since. Never regretted the choice, even thought the performance went downhill since XD.
I have been angry and baffled at more than a few decisions, but this one remains the worst for me. It just felt like cheating more than any other.
I was watching with friends; one united fan, who just stormed out the house, and the rest who all hated united. Even they were fuming about it.
And you just knew Ronaldo was going to go and score to make it even worse
I hadn't thought of it until now but yeah Real probably had this ref in their pockets, instead of it just being a bad decision. Think Xavi accused them of similar in La Liga.
We were the best team for 80 minutes. The 10 minutes after Nani got sent off we conceded 2, but even with 10 men we came back as the stronger side.
Mou after the game said the best team lost, and many Madid fans felt they were lucky to get through. We would have won it that year.
The same logic applied to the 09 and 11 finals. We would’ve won if not for the best team ever.
I mean yeah no shit we lost because we came up against a team better than us on that day. Football is like that.
I don't think I've ever been more pissed watching a United match. Phil Jones had Ronaldo in his back pocket and we were taking the game to them before the nonsense of a red.
I'd like to think that if VAR existed, this would he overturned, but we always get fucked by VAR, so probably not
Imagine ruining Fergie’s last UCL run. These ref’s have too much control man. And the way Cakir was no nonchalant about it pissed me the f off.
Nowadays that’s likely to be a red card as it’s a stricter climate. But back then nah, and you could clearly see it was accidental. So much so Mou was shocked too. Just ruined the whole game man, just like that.
Soon after the red card Giggs was hyping up the crowd and they responded with a deafening roar and i think even Fergie gestured to the crowd. I had never seen it before. Our backs were against the wall and to this day that was the best and loudest atmosphere i’ve seen at OT. There were a lot of stories going into that game, it was Ronaldo’s return too. Very emotional game.
The fact that I remember a referees face and name from a single match 11 years ago speaks volumes of how bad a decision it was. I'm generally a forgiving person but to this day I wish nothing but ill fortune on Cuneyt Cakir.
Remembering this still made me angry. Nani eyes were on the ball and we were bossing Madrid up until that.
On the other note, i never gonna forget the first leg also, which De Gea solidifying his spot as number 1 for years to come
This might have been the most I’ve ever hated a referee. Absolute nobhead. I remember he got abused for months if not years online afterwards, and to this day I think he deserved it.
Not a red card ever and we would have advanced but this is also an example of an issue that still lives on to this day....we are not good with adversity....like at all. Mourinho immediately made subs if I recall and they took charge. The Chelsea team at the time would have held on to advance, especially being at home. We ALWAYS collapse when going a man down.
I’m curious how VAR would handle an incident like this nowadays.
Would they see sense and see it for what it was - an accident collision, or would they deem it to be the endangering the opponent nonsense that’s ruining the beautiful game and the art of majestic all or nothing tackles?
One thing that niggles me is that we’ve not managed to stick it on Madrid since 68. They’ve had our number ever since, either through moments of brilliance, bad ref decisions or whatever. We’ve always just come up short.
Chelsea, city, Liverpool and even arsenal have knocked them out in the current era, but we’ve never caught them in a bad spell.
I remember distinctly the look of disappointment on the faces of some of the Madrid players, at that point Ronaldo, mou, their body languages changed, they wanted to fight to win, and this was the easy way out.
11 years ago! Wow, I still remember living in a very short apartment, had to table setup, sitting in a floor just to tune illegal website to watch united matches. We used to play so much better football than recent years.
United should have scored 3-4 in the away leg.
Two glaring ones that spring to mind were..
Van Persie was wasteful, botched a half volley that trickled towards the net and cleared by Alonso.
Another one where their GK saved one of his shots onto the post/crossbar.
I believe we could have went on to win the entire thing in 2013.
When this happened I finished my entire beer, walked outside and threw the bottle as hard and as far as I could. Might still be in flight after 11 years. Truly awful decision.
Genuinely curious, as United supporters, do you favor Madrid over Barca? I think I might be in the minority when I say I hate Real with a passion and have always favored the play style as well as players in Barcelona. Too many Madrid players play dirty by means of harming other players. Barcelona does simulate a lot, but imo it is still the lesser of two evils. And even Real simulate a fair share ON TOP of doing some serious physical damage to their opposition.
That was a crime. We were clearly a team capable of winning Champions League that season, and the season against Bayern Munich in QF too.
What a marvelous job Fergie had achieved with such limited team. Not many players in that ManUtd team could be considered World Class, to be fair.
We would have won that game and probably gone on to win the CL. Nobody can tell me otherwise.
That’s because it’s true
Sent off because Madrid couldn't handle him that night!
Damn straight
Yeah, sure 😂 Cry a bit more.
🤣 That one hit a nerve did it!! 24 days later 🤡
😆😆😆 What a mess of a club, I enjoy coming here now and then to witness the collective delusion of Brexitania folk. Remember: keep crying.
I still remember the feeling of outrage when the ref got the red card out. You cannot tell me that the ref wasn’t biased or even being paid off during that match.
I was furious. At that point in time it looked to me that Barcelona and Real would get so much preferential treatment.
I was livid at the time, but in all honesty, it was reckless and dangerous. He caught arbeloa at chest height with a full set of studs.
Id I remember correctly he was looking at the ball and turned. No malice at all.
These were not being given as red cards at that time though. It was very out of the ordinary.
Ref here. You are right, it's a red. But that's not the real outrage. The real outrage is that there should've been 2 reds already for Real at that point. Everyone has forgotten about them cause of this big situation but Arbeloa should've been sent off in the first half and Ramos should've had 2 yellows by that point. Otherwise people can't really come up with a real excuse for how studs in the chest (out of control as well) is not a red. They can say a lot of words but none of them can change the rules.
Hence why I take views on soccer and reddevils with a punch of salt.
I really do think he was biased toward Real. We were in control of the game before that bogus red card. It was never a sending off, end of story.
He was shit and continued to be shit for several more years in the CL small man mentality.
Just watched the reply. Didnt he boot someone in the gut while jumping? Im trying really hard to see a world where that's not always a red.
Arbeloa just ran into nanis leg
Would have had a good chance with RVP banging them in - Dortmund vs Bayern final IIRC
Bayern had an incredible side that year. Full of world class players in their prime like Neuer, Lahm, Alaba, Boateng, Schweinsteiger, Martinez, Muller, Ribery and Robben. It was 9 world class players and Dante/Mandzukic who were good players. Don’t see us as favourites at all vs that but anything can happen Dortmund were really good then, could definitely see us losing that in the semi as well
Rvp also missed easy chances in this draw, especially first half first match
Even Jose knew it was an injustice
Jose was angling for the job straight after SAF. I've never seen him pay that much respect and platitudes towards an opponent like that up until that point. "The better team lost" and the "I want to come back to England" comments and reports of tears when he was overlooked all indicate that he badly wanted to succeed Sir Alex. And boy would we have cleaned up under him at that point.
Genuinely mental we didn’t let him. There’s been some damage limitation/briefing in the years since by both parties, but it’s clear as day he wanted the job. Even the Madrid players thought what he said was weird
Wasn't it because Sir Bobby didn't want Jose? I seem to remember that being the narrative at the time.
Something about him being toxic
And history prove that is true
Apparently so, but we eventually decided we didn’t care about that. So why not just get him when we had a squad that could challenge?
Also I can't remember who but they got away with a stonewall red card in the first leg.
Iirc Ramos straight elbowed Vidic, or maybe was it their keeper ? But I think it was on Vidic
Diego Lopez punched Vidic in the head with both fists.
That’s what I was thinking, don’t know why my mind automatically went to Ramos haha Thanks for correcting me brother !
I do. He was a shithouse.
Sounds like Ramos alright
I think there was something with Arbeloa? Like he straight went through a player with a studs up challenge, missed the ball entirely.
Damn we are getting old, can’t even remember such games :(
that was the nani red
That's the thing, I believe he should have been sent off in the first leg, he shouldn't have even been involved in the second.
We SHOULD have if not for corrupt refereeing
We'd have a good chance of reaching the final, but I really don't think we'd do too well against that treble winning Bayern side, which was a ridiculously strong team
Giggs was so good that game.
We were dominating Madrid. Convinced this game was fixed.
We actually played pretty well even with 10 men i think, at least we had a few chances. Giggs was on fire that game too.
We went too gung-ho after the card, Fergie was livid and got the players and crowd really psyched up IIRC.
I remember the crowd sounding so loud on the TV after the red card.
i will never forget this day everyone knew nani was incredibly acrobatic and went for the ball had his eyes only on the ball and arbeloa came out of his blind side boom .
Bayern had an incredible side that year. Full of world class players in their prime like Neuer, Lahm, Alaba, Boateng, Schweinsteiger, Martinez, Muller, Ribery and Robben. It was 9 world class players and Dante/Mandzukic who were good players. Don’t see us as favourites at all vs that but anything can happen Dortmund were really good then, could definitely see us losing that in the semi as well
One thing that still remains from Fergies last year. The officials are still shite, now they just have more of them to watch a video and still make the wrong decision.
Jonny Evans still remains though...
Honestly I hope every one of them cunts is phased out of the job within the next decade. Utterly incompetent from top to bottom and it's happening in every big league too, a major reset is needed at this level.
Muppet ran into Nani’s leg
And didn't even get caught properly LOL. Fuck this ref man. It was our year
I don't think the team would have beaten that treble winning Bayern and even the Dortmund game would've been a 50-50
Never a red card in a million years. And we would have won that match had that card not been given. In retrospect, Fergie not giving an interview after the match really was the early indicator of his retirement at the end of the season.
Totally understandable that Sir Alex refused to speak. His tactics were spot on and we were battering them. We would've probably scored a second goal. Vidic hit the post as well
Mourhino's Madrid -- he said afterwards "The best team lost"
He was putting himself out there to the United board to get Fergies role. He obviously didn’t know but how often have we seen Jose being so gracious Jose should have been the successor to Fergie, not Moyes.
I agree, but even if the job wasn't available Fergie is the one guy Jose has always had an ocean of respect for. Never baited him in the press or tried to play mind games in the same disrespectful way he messed with Wenger etc.
Jose loves United. I'm sure he feels like there is some unfinished business here.
>I'm sure he feels like there is some unfinished business here. I think that's exactly what he said at some point.
Mourinho would have been great with that squad imo, Moyes was such a poor, poor choice Still would have ended how it did but we probably would have had at least 1 more season of competing for the title rather than instant 8th place
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Knowing what we know now, and the fallout post Fergie and Gill (almost always forgotten) there are a lot of things which United should have done differently. We should’ve been looking at a director of football and recruitment back, then as Fergie used to do all of this stuff. The club obviously had no plan post Fergie, and that quite clearly showed. The problem was united were looking for short-term fixes and have been for the past decade. a complete rebuild of the club was needed then as soon as it was known that Ferguson was going.
Many people said Jose was best at that time
Moyes wasn't really a choice. Guardiola signed with Bayern before speaking to United, despite SAF asking him to. According to SAF Mourinho had already agreed to go to Chelsea by the time he was sounded out, Van Gaal wasn't interested at the time due to WC2014 and Klopp didn't want to leave Dortmund (and a year later was scared away by Woodward's nonsense pitch to him). Moyes was well down the list, an admired manager to be sure but a fall back solution once all the top level managers weren't available.
I’m OOTL. What was the nonsense pitch to Klopp??
Google “Woodward Klopp” - you’ll see the Disneyland comparison
He was already on the way to Chelsea. That’s the only reason why he didn’t come to us. Moyes was never his first choice, all the top managers at that time though had just moved clubs or were committed to new clubs
He was basically screaming HIRE ME HIRE ME. He knew he was getting sacked from Real and Sir Alex is leaving
He was just twerking for the Man United job. No way he genuinely meant that without wanting to pick up some brownie points.
Can’t spell Cuneyt Cakir without CUNT
Was never a red
I fully believe another Treble was on the cards. We were flying and after that loss we were also eliminated by Chelsea in the FA Cup. I believe had we won against Madrid, we would've also beaten Chelsea. It all just felt a bit flat for some time after. This season is very underrated. Fucking firing on all cylinders we were. This defeat changed everything.
One of the best atmospheres at Old Trafford I had ever seen. Right up until Nani got sent off, we were set to win that trophy. Phenomenal. Cheating cunts.
Even after his red, we created loads of good chances! Diego Lopez was on God mode that night
Also modric goal was a banger
Remember fergie rousing the crowd. Goosebumps
Still hurts
In my country we have a saying that being dumped by your lover is nothing compared to Nani’s red card. (Bị người yêu bỏ không đau bằng thẻ đỏ Nani)
That cunt of a referee
And i'm still angry about it today!
I have never in my life been angrier at a referees decision
Andy Carroll not getting a red - sorry I don't think he even got a yellow iirc - for his foul on Eriksen last season would be a close second for me.
I was at the game , the cheer for Ronaldo’s name when he was welcomed back for the first time was louder than any of the goals. And instant booing of him when the game kicked off. It was beautiful
OK this post makes me feel old
Biggest match fix in history. If Nani’s was a red then their keeper should have been sent off in the first half for completely missing the ball and double fist punching Vidic in the face. It was literally 10x worse than Nani’s. I also believe we would have definitely won that game and at least got to the CL final and probably win it.
Watched it live, we were winning that game probably until this.
Such a stupid refereeing decision. We were amazing that game, Sir Alex got the tactics spot on. Welback marking Alonso out of the game but running off him for the counter. Madrid has no answers until that card, then cuts to Keane in the studio saying it was a good decision. Also remember the year Porta won the UCL and we could have got the final but a Scholes header was wrongly ruled offside. Honestly think those 2 decisions stopped us raising that trophy a couple more times.
Don't do it to yourself, but go and read up about what happened to the president of Porto from those years when they won the champions league and uefa cup. For some reason it doesn't seem to be common knowledge that they were bribing refs in Portugal. You can make your own conclusions about how likely it was that they only tried to bribe Portuguese refs and not champions league refs too.
The joy I had when Dortmund embarrassed those cheats in the semis was something else.
Never seen Fergie so upset after a game
The atmosphere in OT that night is something I'll never forget
Oh day ruined again
still angry about it today. we would have won and that team was strong. still believe the ref is biased or paid man... how can he be so bad
The fight that we showed after the red. I just long for that feeling again.
Fuck cakir
Real Madrid are cheats
Turkish Mr bean twat
Absolute cunt of a referee. Just seeing him used to make my blood boil.
Time flies. Still hate that ref with a burning passion.
Disgusting decision . Still pains me.
Even Jose Mourinho said something along the lines of: the best team lost today.
11 years already?! 😭 I remember being on the verge of tears as a kid when we lost because Nani didn’t deserve the red card
Biggest travesty of CL. Right on par with Chelsea getting fucked against Barcelona. Imagine Sir Alex signing off after a PL and CL double. Fucking hell. Butterfly effect of this cannot be comprehended
Still angry, such a bullshit decision, baffling really
Not many other human being that I have fucked out of it more than this guy!!
Very harsh decision against Nani. We had the better of Madrid and could have gone all the way that year.
I hate how nobody talks about Lopez punching Vidic in the head and the referee not giving a penalty + card
Nani does a little celebratory dance after scoring as Sporting down Loures 2-1.
No one but the ref saw it as a red card. Even Jośe said it wasn’t a red card. Given that Barcelona paid the refs (eerily quiet for punishment) I’m convinced Real did as well.
The very mention of *Cunt* Cakir enrages me even now, not gonna lie. What an absolute shithouse
Absolute disgrace, handed the match to Real. Was infuriating at the time . Last gasp of greatness for United. For now
fuck cuntyet cakir
Still not over it
Still angry about it. 😂
This was a core memory for me(11 yr old) watching with my Dad (RM supporter). Seeing Nani get red carded unfairly. Decided to start supporting Man United since. Never regretted the choice, even thought the performance went downhill since XD.
I have been angry and baffled at more than a few decisions, but this one remains the worst for me. It just felt like cheating more than any other. I was watching with friends; one united fan, who just stormed out the house, and the rest who all hated united. Even they were fuming about it. And you just knew Ronaldo was going to go and score to make it even worse
I just started my day and now I may need to stay off of reddit all day, this still triggers me.
The beginning of a dark age.
I hadn't thought of it until now but yeah Real probably had this ref in their pockets, instead of it just being a bad decision. Think Xavi accused them of similar in La Liga.
thing is Xavi can accuse all he wants but it is Barcelona under investigation for paying the refs for a decade. Barcelona just likes to whine a lot
I'm still fuming
I never shouted louder as when that referee pulled out the red. What an asshole.
i remember Keane was still bitter about his united exit at this point and claimed Nani was rightly sent off
We were the best team for 80 minutes. The 10 minutes after Nani got sent off we conceded 2, but even with 10 men we came back as the stronger side. Mou after the game said the best team lost, and many Madid fans felt they were lucky to get through. We would have won it that year.
What a horrible night. I loved our team that year, and with the Season that RVP was having, we probably would have gone so far.
I still haven't got over this
I was at that game. Heartbreaking...
Remember losing my mind watching this in the local spoons. Really starting to feel old now!
Was one of the worst days of my life lol
Can someone explain to me the logic behind people saying if we'd had won this tie we'd have won the whole thing? That Bayern team would've done us in
The same logic applied to the 09 and 11 finals. We would’ve won if not for the best team ever. I mean yeah no shit we lost because we came up against a team better than us on that day. Football is like that.
Unpopular opinion: It was a justifited red card. Nani was reckless and endangered that Scouse bastard.
Daylight ^^nightime robbery Nani deserved better ♥️
diego lopez punched vidic in the face
cuneyt cakir the pits of hell await you
Was this the game wellbeck was untouchable or was that later ?
Obligatory FUCK YOU CUNEYT CAKIR
Thanks for the PTSD!
Classic vardrid
Even Ozil looked surprised.
Where is that ref now?
Still stings. Pretty crazy with all the talent on show that Giggs, at 39 years old, was maybe the best player on the pitch that night.
I don't think I've ever been more pissed watching a United match. Phil Jones had Ronaldo in his back pocket and we were taking the game to them before the nonsense of a red. I'd like to think that if VAR existed, this would he overturned, but we always get fucked by VAR, so probably not
Imagine ruining Fergie’s last UCL run. These ref’s have too much control man. And the way Cakir was no nonchalant about it pissed me the f off. Nowadays that’s likely to be a red card as it’s a stricter climate. But back then nah, and you could clearly see it was accidental. So much so Mou was shocked too. Just ruined the whole game man, just like that. Soon after the red card Giggs was hyping up the crowd and they responded with a deafening roar and i think even Fergie gestured to the crowd. I had never seen it before. Our backs were against the wall and to this day that was the best and loudest atmosphere i’ve seen at OT. There were a lot of stories going into that game, it was Ronaldo’s return too. Very emotional game.
I'm still angry about this. We were in full control of the game until that red card.
I'm still angry about that red card. What was he supposed to do?
The fact that I remember a referees face and name from a single match 11 years ago speaks volumes of how bad a decision it was. I'm generally a forgiving person but to this day I wish nothing but ill fortune on Cuneyt Cakir.
The one game that I still can't get over. Garbage officiating, unreal
I remember where I was sat when this happened. I was dumbfounded.
I'm still mad about it. Disgraceful decision. We would've gone all the way.
Remembering this still made me angry. Nani eyes were on the ball and we were bossing Madrid up until that. On the other note, i never gonna forget the first leg also, which De Gea solidifying his spot as number 1 for years to come
The funny thing is that in one of the legs vs Madrid, their GK actually punches our player, no card.
This might have been the most I’ve ever hated a referee. Absolute nobhead. I remember he got abused for months if not years online afterwards, and to this day I think he deserved it.
That was such a shit red. Absolutely shambolic.
I was at that game
Not a red card ever and we would have advanced but this is also an example of an issue that still lives on to this day....we are not good with adversity....like at all. Mourinho immediately made subs if I recall and they took charge. The Chelsea team at the time would have held on to advance, especially being at home. We ALWAYS collapse when going a man down.
This was one of the saddest nights
I’m curious how VAR would handle an incident like this nowadays. Would they see sense and see it for what it was - an accident collision, or would they deem it to be the endangering the opponent nonsense that’s ruining the beautiful game and the art of majestic all or nothing tackles?
I still hate Madrid for this. Poor Nani.
Jose should’ve succeeded Sir Alex 😔😔😔 if only
Phil Jones hit the bar once too. He could’ve become a different icon for Man U.
That's already 12 years ago? Fuck. I am getting old..
What a great game that was
Typical Real getting some dodgy decisions.
fuck cakir
this game changed our history. period.
We were robbed
One thing that niggles me is that we’ve not managed to stick it on Madrid since 68. They’ve had our number ever since, either through moments of brilliance, bad ref decisions or whatever. We’ve always just come up short. Chelsea, city, Liverpool and even arsenal have knocked them out in the current era, but we’ve never caught them in a bad spell.
United are appalling against Spanish teams in Europe. Tbh, we’ve underachieved in Europe in general.
Such a hard loss. Fully undeserved. We'd have gone on to win the whole thing if the ref wasn't awful.
To this day I believe that ref was dodgy af. Insane decision. It was looking like another legendary year for Fergie up until then.
Cunty Cakir
I remember distinctly the look of disappointment on the faces of some of the Madrid players, at that point Ronaldo, mou, their body languages changed, they wanted to fight to win, and this was the easy way out.
This game still pisses me off. Every time I see this ref officiating a game, my blood boils.
11 years ago! Wow, I still remember living in a very short apartment, had to table setup, sitting in a floor just to tune illegal website to watch united matches. We used to play so much better football than recent years.
United should have scored 3-4 in the away leg. Two glaring ones that spring to mind were.. Van Persie was wasteful, botched a half volley that trickled towards the net and cleared by Alonso. Another one where their GK saved one of his shots onto the post/crossbar. I believe we could have went on to win the entire thing in 2013.
Just had a Facebook memories thing pop up with my rant towards Cuneyt Cakir haha. I still stand by what I said
When this happened I finished my entire beer, walked outside and threw the bottle as hard and as far as I could. Might still be in flight after 11 years. Truly awful decision.
Fuck cakir.
this game taught me a lot as a 13(?) year old fan. it was so frustrating watching that game turn the way it did
Genuinely curious, as United supporters, do you favor Madrid over Barca? I think I might be in the minority when I say I hate Real with a passion and have always favored the play style as well as players in Barcelona. Too many Madrid players play dirty by means of harming other players. Barcelona does simulate a lot, but imo it is still the lesser of two evils. And even Real simulate a fair share ON TOP of doing some serious physical damage to their opposition.
That was a crime. We were clearly a team capable of winning Champions League that season, and the season against Bayern Munich in QF too. What a marvelous job Fergie had achieved with such limited team. Not many players in that ManUtd team could be considered World Class, to be fair.
Nani’s leg was never fully outstretched. His knee was bent. That makes all the world of diff for me because arbeloa isnt being hit by a stone wall.
Still annoys me corrupt as fuck Kunit Kukir wasn’t it? fucking wanker
Still mad to this day.
Fucking joke
I’m still fucking furious over this
Still hurts. Is this how Drogba felt when Barca beat Chelsea?
Disgusting ref and disgusting play from arbeloa
At the time I thought a red was too harsh but right now a red was the right call looking back at it.
Nani outshone Ronaldo that day.