Inside story of 1999 Intercontinental Cup match v Palmeiras in Japan

Judging by their application in training, Ferguson’s men were in the mood for a duel for the world crown. The only thing keeping them awake at night was jet-Iag, inevitable with the nine-hour time difference. The daylight said time for breakfast but the body insisted it was dinner-hour.

“It was tiring with the jet-Iag, waking up at 5am wide awake”, said Giggs. “It took a couple of days. In the last couple of days before the match we got into the swing of things.” 

Before a ball was even kicked in anger, it was even-money that Giggs or Beckham would win Man of the Match. The Japanese love a touch of sporting glamour and turned out in force – and in United regalia – to scream their support for Giggs, Beckham and co. Such was the interest that even top-whack, face-value £60 tickets were changing hands for four times that. 

United’s footballers are used to attention, but their reception must have surprised even them – while gladdening the hearts of club directors watching the stadium tills glow with merchandising sales. Over-shadowing the Wimbledon, Liverpool and Ipswich Town scarves retailing for £8; the Aston Villa bobble-hats, all manner of objects celebrating Roberto Baggio, one of Serie A’s few Buddhists, and the unsurprisingly unpopular Forza Viola Fiorentina scarves, were the United products busily being snapped up and stuffed into Moschino bags. The market-forces were with United. Tokyo, with historical ties to Brazil, still couldn’t get enough of Palmeiras’ opponents. 

At United’s main open training session, when hundreds gathered behind barriers to greet the Treble-winners, Irwin, Yorke, Solskjaer and Keane earned massive local approval by stopping to sign shirts and scraps of papers. But, in their hearts, they wanted Beckham. The Japanese are obsessed with him. One fan in full No.7 Beckham shirt, sporting adidas boots and dyed-blond hair, strolled across the concourse. Another clasped a copy of David Beckham: My Story in the hope of a signature. Dozens more held out shirts to be autographed by their heroes.