For two of the finest defenders in Europe in the late 90s, it is tempting to wonder what might have been had Sir Alex Ferguson had his way
As Manchester United pressed home their dominance of the Premier League in its early years, manager Sir Alex Ferguson became increasingly obsessed with putting the club on the map in Europe as well.
The key to this in his mind, it would seem, was improving the quality of the defence, and so virtually every summer the Red Devils dipped into the transfer market for a centre-back.
In 1996, Ronny Johnsen joined form Besiktas; in 1997 Ferguson matched the British record transfer fee for a defender in order to sign Henning Berg from Blackburn; 1998 saw the uncompromising Jaap Stam walk through the doors at Old Trafford.