I was at Camp Nou to see Manchester United’s amazing victory over Bayern Munich in 1999 and have admired them ever since – Barcelona’s Sergio…

EXCLUSIVE
By Ben Hayward

Barcelona‘s Sergio Busquets watched Manchester United win the Champions League at Camp Nou in 1999 as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side came back from a goal down to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich. The midfielder has told Goal.com that he knew they were a special side even back then.

Goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave Ferguson his first Champions League success and completed a memorable treble for United as they had claimed the Premier League and FA Cup in the lead-up to the Barcelona showpiece.

“I remember it well,” said Busquets. “I was in the stadium and it looked like Bayern were going to win, but in the end Manchester United turned it around with two goals in added time – it was an amazing comeback.”

And the midfielder says he could tell United were a special team even then. “I have admired them ever since,” he said. “They are one of Europe’s great teams, they have great players and they get to almost all of the finals.”

Busquets believes Ferguson has played a huge role in that success. “Their style is marked by their coach; he has been there for many years and won lots of trophies – it’s admirable.”
 

Having watched from the stands in 1999 as a 10-year-old, Busquets was in the Barca side that beat United in Rome a decade later. “It was my first year in the first team and I was lucky enough to play in the final,” he said. “They are experiences that stay with you, even if you are very young, and I may be able to call on them at some point during the game at Wembley.”

However, the midfielder believes Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez will pose a threat to Barca.

“They combine really well, they have great movement, they are quick and they score lots of goals. We will have to be careful with their counter-attacks and on the wings, where they have fast and skillfil players.”

Busquets has been cleared to play in the final after Uefa declined to take action against the midfielder for an alleged racist remark made to Real Madrid’s Marcelo in the teams’ semi-final first-leg late last month.

“I’m happy it’s resolved, but now is not the time to talk about that,” he said. “That time will come, but at the moment my only focus is on the final and on Manchester United.”

The two sides come face to face at 19:45 local time tonight in London.