1998-99 season (the Treble)
In the 1998-99 season, he was part of the United team that won the treble —
Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, a unique feat in English football.
There had been speculation that the criticism that he had received after being
sent off in the World Cup would lead to him leaving England, but he decided to
stay at Manchester United.
Throughout the season, Beckham was jeered by opposition supporters whenever he
touched the ball, but he consistently played well and his crossing provided a
significant number of goals for United's forwards Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole.
United's supporters had mostly forgiven him for the problems he'd had with
England, and were frequently heard to chant "Argentina" in response to the other
supporters' taunts.
To ensure they would win the league championship, United needed to win their
final league match of the season, at home to Tottenham Hotspur, but Tottenham
took an early lead in the match. Beckham scored the equaliser and United went on
to win the match and the league.
Beckham played centre-midfield in United's FA Cup final win over Newcastle
United and for the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, since
United's first string centre-midfielders were suspended for the match. United
were losing the match 1–0 at the end of normal time, but won the trophy by
scoring two goals in injury time. Both of the goals came from corners taken by
Beckham. Those kicks, coupled with great performances over the rest of the
season, led to him finishing runner up to Rivaldo for 1999's European Footballer
of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
