I played against Ballon d'Or winner Alan Shearer and Ian Wright as Man United captain, but the World Cup winner gave me the runaround.
Steve Bruce's time as Manchester United captain during the 1990s saw him go toe-to-toe with the best strikers in world football.
The rising popularity of the newly formed Premier League in 1992 was spearheaded by Sir Alex Ferguson's serial winners as they fought tooth and nail to get closer to Liverpool's 18 league titles.
Bruce he was at the heart of United's rise, which saw the Red Devils claim four of the first five Premier League titles since its inception.
With that came fights against the best strikers English football had to offer and United became the measuring stick for the remaining 19 clubs to emulate.
Despite United's dominance, Bruce was regularly tested by stars as the Premier League's top scorer. Alan Shearer, Arsenal hero Ian Wright and World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann, but more often than not, a gulf in United's overall quality saw Bruce and co come out on top.
However, the Champions League was the stage that tested Bruce and his teammates more than any other.
United had not won the competition since 1968 and it was there that the former United captain faced the player he considers the best he has faced, in the form of Ballon d'Or winner Hristo Stoichkov. pep guardiola and a phenomenal scorer.
“The Brazilian Romario Barcelona”Bruce told talkSPORT when asked who his toughest opponent was.
“Wow, that was amazing,” he added. “Sometimes it's hard to pick an individual because Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish in the past… how good were those two?
“If I had to choose one, Romario would probably be the one.”
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Bruce faced the Brazilian legend in the group stages of the Champions League in 1994 and it was certainly an unforgettable night for Ferguson's team.
“It gave me a big advantage at Camp Nou when we lost 4-0,” Bruce said. “It could have been 12-0 if I'm brutally honest. He was a fabulous footballer.”
Romario scored that night and added to a double from his strike partner Stoichkov before the former Chelsea Defender Albert Ferrer added the fourth goal two minutes from time.
Romario, who won the World Cup in 1994, remains the ninth top scorer in football history with 784 goals in 1,002 official matches.
National happiness struggled to transcend to the European scene, as United were eliminated in the group stage and Swedish side IFK Gothenburg topped the table ahead of the Catalan giants.
United's move to the continent was hampered by a five-year European ban imposed on English clubs following the Heysel tragedy in 1985.
The English clubs were reintegrated shortly after the 1990 World Cup, but it was another nine years before the Red Devils could reach the holy grail.
Unfortunately, it came too late for Bruce, who announced his retirement from football that season as Sheffield United player.
