HENNING BERG etched his name into Manchester United history as part of the Treble-winning squad of 1999.
The Norwegian defender played 29 times in that memorable season as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side reigned supreme.
Now his son is aiming to follow in his footsteps and forge his own career in the beautiful game.
Berg Sr, 54, was a target for Ferguson as a teenager but the Red Devils could not secure a work permit.
And he ended up joining Blackburn in bizarre circumstances in 1993 when Rovers gaffer Kenny Dalglish went to scout Tore Pedersen play against England at Wembley.
Berg – who could play at right-back or centre-back – told FourFourTwo: “I’d just gotten into the Norway team, so I was on the bench.
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“Our centre-back, Tore Pedersen, got an elbow to the head from Ian Wright.
“Our doctor ran on and asked Tore what the score was. Because England had been dominating, the doctor thought England were leading 1-0.
“But the score was actually 0-0. Tore said it was 0-0, so the doctor thought he had concussion and made him go off. I came on and Dalglish saw me playing.
“A month later, I was invited to train with Blackburn and they offered me a contract. It was pretty good for me that the doctor didn’t know much about football.”
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It proved a smart piece of business for Blackburn as Berg became a mainstay in the side that won the 1994-95 Premier League.
Two years later, Ferguson finally got his man, stumping up a joint-British record £5million for the defender.
Boyhood United fan Berg dropped down the pecking order when Jaap Stam arrived in 1998.
But he made 16 appearances in the 1998-99 Premier League campaign as he became the first player to win the title with two different clubs.
Berg featured five times apiece in the FA Cup and Champions League runs but missed both finals through injury.
Ronny Jensen’s own spell on the sidelines gave Berg more game time in 1999-00 as United retained the Premier League.
In total, he played 103 times for the Red Devils before returning to Ewood Park, initially on loan, in 2000.
The Norwegian lifted the League Cup as captain in 2002 and earned 100 caps for his country, playing at two World Cups and a Euros.
Berg finished his playing career with one season at Rangers, retiring in 2004 and stepped into coaching, taking managerial jobs in Norway, Poland, Hungary and Cyprus.
He even had a very brief 57-day stint as Blackburn boss in 2012 and is now unrecognisable as head coach at Swedish club AIK.
However, his son William is trying to make his own way as a footballer.
The left-back, 27, played for Strommen IF II then joined fellow Norwegian outfit Fjellhamar FK in 2016.
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However, Berg Jr left the club for Gjellerasen a year later – taking his father’s No21 jersey – before returning to the Oslo-based team in March 2022.
Fjellhamar FK currently play in the regional fifth tier of Norway’s football pyramid – a far cry from the glitz of Champions League nights and a packed Old Trafford enjoyed by William’s father.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
