Manchester United’s FA Cup triumph of 1990 is often credited with saving Alex Ferguson’s job at Old Trafford and whether that’s the case or not we will never really know; but what it did do was act as a springboard for one of the most memorable and significant European campaigns in the club’s history while paving the way to an unprecedented period of success for the club.
That victory over Crystal Palace at Wembley hadn’t just given United a new found sense of confidence following a season which saw them flirt with relegation, it also meant that they would be competing in European games once again after a hiatus of some six years as the ban on English clubs playing on the continent following the Heysel tragedy was finally lifted.
Even so, few United fans at the time believed this was anything more than an opportunity for the odd foray into a few far-flung European backwaters rather than a genuine opportunity to win a continental cup competition for the first time since the likes of Busby, Best and Charlton in 1968.
In terms of domestic football the FA Cup win had done little in terms of progress. A Fourth Round defeat at Norwich saw the holders knocked out while a League Cup final appearance ended in disappointment when they were defeated by old boss Ron Atkinson and his Sheffield Wednesday side while in the First Division they limped over the line to finish 6th.
A season which had promised much at the beginning of the campaign was ultimately proving to be a little disappointing, apart from the European Cup Winners’ Cup that was, as United embarked on a long and winding road to Rotterdam via Hungary, Wales, France and Poland.
Victories over Pecsi Muncas, Wrexham, Montpellier and Legia Warsaw in the semi-final saw United bang in 15 goals and only let in three on their way to the club’s first ever European final on foreign soil where they would face Johan Cruyff and Barcelona.
This was to be United’s first true test of the competition so far as Barcelona, complete with Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, José Mari Bakero and Julio Salinas, had just won La Liga; the first of four consecutive titles under Cruyff whose team oozed fluidity and style.
But for all Barca’s skill and panache United offered a steely grit thanks to the likes of Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Bryan Robson, Paul Ince and Mark Hughes who, on their day would prove to be a match for anyone.
As the teams emerged from the tunnel at De Kuip that night they were met by a wall of noise and the smoke from a hundred flares in monsoon like conditions as rain had fallen persistently in the city from early that morning.
What was also noticeable was how United’s support hugely outnumbered that from Catalonia with almost three sides of the stadium decked out in red and white with bucket hats and baggy jeans the order of the day among the Red Army.
Barcelona had the better of the first half and United were glad to get back into the dressing room unscathed where they could reorganise, but Reds boss Alex Ferguson knew he had one weapon in his armoury that could make all the difference.
Mark Hughes had been something of an Old Trafford prodigy in the early 1980s but a disappointing spell under then manager Ron Atkinson, a ban on English clubs playing in Europe and the lure of the huge wages that were on offer on the continent saw the promising striker leave for the Nou Camp in 1986.
However, the dream partnership between Hughes and Gary Lineker, who also joined Barcelona from Everton that summer, failed to materialise and after a loan spell at Bayern Munich the Welshman found himself back at the club where he made his name and with something of a point to prove.
So what better way to do it than against his former employer in a major European final?
And it was Hughes who opened the scoring after 67 minutes when a free-kick was swung into the box and Steve Bruce nodded the ball past a stranded Carles Busquets in the Barcelona goal enabling the striker to follow up and make sure the ball went into the net virtually on the line.
If there was any question about who would claim the first goal there was absolutely no debate surrounding the second as a Bryan Robson clever pass set Hughes through on goal and in an effort to evade the onrushing Busquets, who had raced off his line, he looked to have taken the ball too far wide.
“Hughes, there’s a chance for another one now,” yelled Brian Moore commentating for ITV that night, only to see that the angle for a shot had almost become impossible. “Maybe not now,” he growled seconds later.
But Hughes had other ideas and powered the ball home from the tightest of angles to put United 2-0 up and seemingly home and dry in the pouring rain of Rotterdam. “YES THERE IS,” shouted Moore excitedly as the one-time Barcelona flop wheeled away in celebration.
As would become typical of Manchester United’s forays into Europe the game wasn’t without its share of nervy moments and when a Koeman free-kick squeezed under Les Sealey a frantic last ten minutes saw Clayton Blackmore block an effort on the line as Barcelona threw everything at them.
United held on for a 2-1 win and the 25,000 United fans who had made the journey by boat, by train or by plane danced with delight in the rain with Alex Ferguson conducting the celebrations from the pitch flanked by his players.
If the FA Cup win had saved his job then the European Cup Winners’ Cup victory of 1991 was certainly the catalyst which would propel United onto a path of dominance like never seen before as they would win at least one trophy every single season for the next 11 years; including the elusive League title and the Champions League.