Michael Carrick’s expression said everything. “Yes,” he replied with a slight head tilt and a forced smile. “I recall that. I haven’t erased it from memory.”
The Manchester United head coach had just been reminded of 13 May 2012—a date forever carved into English football history. That was the day Sergio Agüero snatched a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Queens Park Rangers, handing Manchester City the Premier League crown.
More than 200 kilometres away, Carrick stood on the pitch at the Stadium of Light as the devastating news reached him. United had begun their match at Sunderland knowing victory was essential. If they won and City failed to, the title would be theirs.
No one truly believed it would happen. But astonishingly, when the final whistle blew at Sunderland, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side sat top. Wayne Rooney had scored the only goal, and Edin Džeko had only just headed in City’s equaliser against a team that had started the day fearing relegation.
United’s players and staff could only wait and hope. Agüero’s goal was the cruelest blow. Their faces darkened. As the players went to applaud the visiting supporters, the roar of the Sunderland fans filled the stadium. Despite their own team’s defeat, they celebrated United’s collapse as if Sunderland themselves had won the league.
“We stayed on the pitch because we had our result, but we knew the City game wasn’t over,” recalled a member of the United contingent. “It was their last home match of the season, and plenty of people were still in the stadium. I just remember the noise. There was sarcasm in the way they sang. It wasn’t over, but we thought we had done our job. Then the Sunderland fans got clever and started taunting us, which erupted into laughter because we had lost the league.
“Sir Alex was crushed. He was angry about the added time and the mocking. You could tell he wouldn’t let it go. He could turn it into motivation for next time. ‘Remember this day. Remember Sunderland enjoyed it.’”
And that’s exactly what Ferguson did. As Sunderland supporters performed the ‘Poznan’—the trademark celebration adopted by City after a visit from the Polish side, where they turn their backs to the game and put their arms around each other—a fierce thirst for revenge burned within the Scot.
It reminded him of the aftermath of a defeat at Liverpool in 1992, which confirmed Leeds as champions at United’s expense, when his young players were jeered. The message he delivered was the same.
“When we lost the league to Leeds United in 1992, I told Ryan Giggs and the lads, remember this day,” Ferguson revealed at an awards dinner the day after the Sunderland trip. “That’s exactly what I said to the players yesterday. Those Sunderland fans who were cheering for City—remember the day. I’m telling you, we won’t forget.”
The experience was devastating. Premier League chairman Dave Richards had no idea how drastically the situation had changed. Having left his seat at full-time expecting a trophy presentation, he congratulated a senior United official as he walked through the stadium towards the tunnel, only to be told his services weren’t needed. Another senior United official turned his phone off during the lonely drive home and kept it off after arriving. He wasn’t in the mood for conversation.
United’s players watched the City match on their way back to Manchester. The conspiracy theorists…
