When asked to recall the greatest football matches they've ever played in, most former players tend to choose thumping victories or nail-biting comebacks.
But former Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Germany defender Markus Babbel lists a harrowing defeat among his greatest games. The 1999 Champions League Final in Barcelona saw the German juggernauts squander a slender lead in the dying moments, as Manchester United completed an historic treble with two late goals from corners. Thankfully, time has been a great healer for Babbel.
"What a final this was," he tells FourFourTwo on behalf of NewBettingSites.uk. "We had so many chances but we couldn't score. At 1-0 up, we had opportunities to make it, two, three, four.
"But then we concede in the 91st and 93rd minutes. It’s unbelievable that we lost, but that’s sport and I’ve come to accept it. Man United had some suspensions and injuries so it wasn’t their best team and we were much better.
"The funny thing is, people say it’s the Germans that never give up – that we’re never beaten. But United did it to us. They were fighting until the end, believing until the end. When the final whistle blew, it was so hard to take, but after 25 years you say, ‘OK, I was part of a fantastic game’.
"It was my biggest dream was to win the Champions League and I was so close to doing it. But some people wish they could play in a final like that."
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