Including the victory over Leeds in 1975 , Bayern Munich had won the European Cup on three occasions going into the 1999 final . With three victories in a row from 1974 to 1976 , they became only the third team to achieve such a feat after Real Madrid ( 1956 to 1960 ) and Ajax ( 1971 to 1973 ) . They had also finished as runners-up twice : in 1982 against Aston Villa and 1987 against Porto . Although Bayern had been waiting 23 years for a European Cup title , Manchester United had had to wait even longer , their only victory having come in 1968 . Their manager then was Matt Busby , who had been seriously injured in the Munich air disaster , which killed eight of his players on the way back from a European Cup tie in Belgrade 10 years earlier , before rebuilding the team to become European Cup winners . Busby died in 1994 ; the day of the 1999 Champions League final would have been his 90th birthday
Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
1999 UEFA Champions League Final