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What happened to Manchester United starting XI vs Juventus in 1999

  /  autty

It was a night not many Manchester United fans over a certain age will ever forget.

On Wednesday, 21 April 1999, United came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Juventus in Turin to reach the Champions League final.

Filippo Inzaghi had put the hosts in command, scoring twice inside the opening 11 minutes to move Juve 3-1 ahead on aggregate, but goals from Roy Keane and Dwight Yorke levelled things for United before half-time, and Andy Cole found the net with just five minutes of normal time remaining to seal the win.

It is 21 years since that dramatic night in northern Italy, so we thought now would be a good time to take a look at what the players who started that match for United are doing with their lives now.

Peter Schmeichel

Schmeichel left United at the end of the 1998-99 season to join Sporting Lisbon.

After two years in Portugal, the Denmark international returned to the Premier League, joining Aston Villa and later, controversially, Manchester City. He retired in 2003 and has since worked as a pundit and in various other media roles.

Gary Neville

Neville managed over 600 appearances for United over a near 20-year career before deciding to retire after a disastrous performance in a United win over West Brom in January 2011.

He has since gone on to work as a successful pundit for Sky Sports - with a brief, somewhat less successful spell as coach of Valencia in 2015-16.

Neville is a keen entrepreneur and owns a stake in Salford City, and was also involved in the foundation of University Academy 92, a higher education institution located in Old Trafford.

Ronny Johnsen

Johnsen stayed at United for another three seasons after that night in Turin. But he found his game time significantly reduced, and moved to Aston Villa in 2002.

Then came spells at Newcastle and Norwegian side Vålerenga, where he retired in 2008. Johnsen is now a United ambassador.

Stam was one of the best defenders in the world during his three years at United and continued to be so after he left. Ferguson would later admit selling Stam was one of his biggest career mistakes.

He stayed at Lazio for three seasons, before moving on to Milan and later Ajax, where he ended his career in 2007.

Stam is now manager of Eredivisie club Feyenoord after previous spells in charge of Ajax's reserve team, Reading and PEC Zwolle.

Denis Irwin

Irwin stayed at United until 2002 and had, by the time of his departure, made over 500 appearances in a red shirt.

He moved on to Wolves, where he played for two years before retiring in 2004. Irwin has since worked as a pundit and columnist and, like Johnsen, is a United ambassador.

David Beckham

Having established himself as a global star at United, Beckham joined Real Madrid in 2003.

Then came high-profile moves to LA Galaxy, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. Beckham is now, after years of planning and negotiation, guiding his MLS franchise, Inter Miami, and also holds a 10 per cent stake in Salford City.

Butt remained a dogged and reliable player in United's midfield until 2004, when he left for Newcastle. He stayed in the North East for six years before joining Hong Kong club South China in 2010.

The United academy product ended his career a year later and returned to Old Trafford as a coach. Butt is now the head of United's academy and, like Beckham and Neville, holds a 10 per cent stake in Salford City.

Jesper Blomqvist

A talented winger, Blomqvist played his part as United won the treble in 1999.

He made 38 appearances that season, but the European Cup final against Bayern proved to be his last game for United. Injuries decimated his United career, and he joined David Moyes' Everton in 2001.

Then it was onto Charlton, where he lasted just a year. He retired in 2010 after spells at Djurgården, Enköping and Hammarby. Blomqvist now owns his own pizzeria on the Swedish island of Lidingo.

The hard-tackling, abrasive Irishman stayed at United until 2005, racking up seven Premier League titles along the way.

Keane had a brief spell at Celtic before retiring in 2006. Since then, he has worked as a manager - for Sunderland and Ipswich - and as an assistant with Ireland's national team and Aston Villa.

Currently without a job in football, Keane is a regular pundit for ITV and Sky Sports.

Andrew Cole

Cole left United for Blackburn in 2001 and remained a regular goal scorer. Then it was onto brief spells at Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest, before his retirement in 2009.

Cole is now working as a coach under Sol Campbell at Southend United.

Dwight Yorke

Yorke was prolific in front of goal throughout the 1998-99 season, but his final two campaigns with United proved less fruitful.

He left in 2002 for Blackburn Rovers, and then had spells at Birmingham, Sydney FC and Sunderland, where he retired in 2008.

Yorke has since worked as a coach and pundit.

Related: Manchester United