Saw the last 20 minutes of a CL tie from 1994. Was Man U v IFK Gothenburg from Sweden. Only 20 years ago, but Gothenburg beat Man U 3-1 to advance to the QF. Man U had players like Pallister, McClair, Bruce, Ince, Cantona, Hughes, Irwin, and a very, very young Gary Neville. Striking thing was that Man U at the time was not a better side than the Swedes! Not physically stronger, not fitter, not technically or tactically superior. At the end of the game when shirts were being swapped, you could literally see that the physical status of the players then was nowhere near what it is today. Not a six pack as far as the eye could see, and Steve Bruce was downright overweight. 20 years on, Swedish teams are pretty much at the same level, but the PL has just exploded and is miles and miles better.
