THE WONDER YEARS

Last updated : 07 April 2006 By Ed

Sir Bobby on winning the European Cup in 68.

"It was definitely a now-or-never situation. I don't think United would have won the European Cup for a long time if we hadn't done it at Wembley," said Sir Bobby Charlton.

"Wembley was the carrot. England's 1966 World Cup win there was a boost for us and we knew if we could get there, then we had a great chance."

"By half-time in the Bernabeu we were 3-1 down and even our strike was an own goal!

"We were so deflated in the dressing room at half-time. It seemed that the dream was over. We knew the team were getting older. We knew already that Benfica would be the final opponents and we weren't afraid of them. But it seemed like it was going to slip from our grasp.

"Matt didn't know what to say. He was dumbstruck and the dressing room was silent for a very long time. A few encouraging voices then piped up.

Real in the semis

"As I was walking out for the second half, I saw two Real players sauntering out. Their body language suggested that they thought it was all over.

"I thought then we might have a chance if we could knock that confidence out of them. They didn't expect us to come back at them."

"I collapsed and cried at the final whistle," Sir Bobby added. "From that moment on, I knew we'd win the European Cup. We hadn't done all that in Madrid to lose in England to Benfica."