THE VITALS:

Team: Manchester United

Brand: Nike

Era: 2008-09 (Used for 2008-09 Barclays Premier League season)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This shirt is in almost new condition! The article bears very little sign of wear, making it as close to a brand-new version of this shirt as you find today!

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Small

Pit to Pit Measurement: 18.5 inches

Shirt Length: 28 inches 

Made in the 2008-09 ‘NIkeFit’ range of shirts; this shirt provides an excellent size small fitting football shirt.

DESCRIPTION:

Nike would commemorate the 40^th Anniversary of Manchester United’s 1968 European Cup victory over Benfica and the consequent Munich tragedy in both of the away and 3^rd kits crafted ahead of the 2008-09 season, however, it was this 3^rd blue kit that was the ultimate ode to that legendary evening in the club’s history! United famously wore a blue strip that night in Munich and this blue ensemble ensured that the memory of that momentous occasion lives in with a modern flair. The emblem beautifully has the date of May 29^th 1968 and the words 40^th Anniversary embroidered around it. The shade is a rich royal blue, yet the minimal white accents still separates it from the blue strips made by Nike for the 2002-03 and 2005-06 season. This shirt will be synonymous with Cristiano Ronaldo’s rocket against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final 2^nd Leg on May 5^th 2009.

THE SEASON:

A brilliant 2007-08 season would end with Manchester United winning the FA Community Shield, successfully defending the Premier League and crucially, ending a 9 year wait for Champions League glory, when they beat Chelsea in the dramatic finale in Moscow! Not to rest on their laurels; Sir Alex Ferguson drafted in Brazilian twins: Rafael and Fabio, and Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day; however, the biggest transfer news may have been Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to reject Real Madrid’s advances and stay with the club for another season. Their 6-pronged title assault began with a successful defence of the Community Shield when they beat Portsmouth on penalties on August 10^th 2008. Just like the start of the previous season, they would draw their opening game of the season, disappointingly, they would then lose in their UEFA Super Cup showdown against Zenit Saint Petersburg on August 29^th. A brilliant year of 2008 would see United reach the semi-final of the Carling Cup, the Last 16 of the UEFA Champions League and the coup de gras being winning the FIFA Club World Cup on December 21^st when they saw off LDU Quito of Ecuador 1-0. On the domestic front, they’d go into 2009 just a point shy of 1^st place Liverpool.

January would see United defeat Chelsea 3-0 in the league, progress to the 5^th round of the FA Cup and reach the final of the Carling Cup, meanwhile 5 wins from 5 in the league took the defending champions to 5 points clear at the top of the league. A fine February included another 100% league record and coming out of the 1^st Leg of their Champions League tie with Inter Milan goalless ahead of the 2^nd Leg at Old Trafford on March 11^th. March began with claiming their 3^rd trophy of the season, as Tottenham were edged on penalties on March 1^st in the Carling Cup Final, sadly, Edwin Van Der Sar’s incredible run of 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal ended in the 2-1 win over Newcastle United on March 4^th. That victory would be United’s 11^th in a row and took their unbeaten run to 16 ahead of Liverpool’s visit to Old Trafford on March 14^th. Wins over Inter Milan and Fulham got the club to the quarter final of the Champions League and the semi final of the FA Cup respectively, and naturally talk of another treble ensued. The bubble would nearly burst however, as Liverpool would defeat United 4-1 at Old Trafford to reignite their own title hopes, before falling to Fulham in the league a week later reduced the deficit even further! Defeat number 3 in a row was almost 10 minutes away before Ronaldo equalised late against Aston Villa, and hero: Federico Macheda scored a last minute winner in his league debut at just 17 years of age. The win would galvanise the team as Ronaldo’s incredible strike against FC Porto on April 15^th sent them to the Champions League semi-final for the 3^rd season running, and although they’d lose to Everton in the FA Cup semi-final in a penalty shoot-out; they’d win in their next 9 games in both Europe and the league.

The fallout was their May 16^th draw with Arsenal confirmed United as Premier League champions for a 3^rd season running, meanwhile they would defeat ‘The Gunners’ 4-1 on aggregate in the semi final of the Champions League to become the first side since Juventus in 1997 to reach the final as defending champions. The league campaign would end with a 1-0 won over Hull City on May 24^th, however, in the last Champions League final to have been played on a weekday, Manchester United would be beaten convincingly 2-0 by Barcelona in what was Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez’ final games for the club.

The notable players that season were:

Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck, Anderson, Nani, Owen Hargreaves, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Park Ji-Sung, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra, Fabio, Rafael, Edwin van der Sar