Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium had long been described by Turkish supporters as a footballing hell.
The moment UEFA confirmed that the Champions League final would be played there, local fans promised to turn the stadium into exactly that, using their voices, their banners and every ounce of energy they possessed.
On the night of the final, they succeeded.
More than 75,000 supporters packed the stands. Red and white dominated the stadium, the colours of New Manchester United and AC Milan separated into vast blocks at opposite ends. Neutral supporters were scattered throughout the ground, but judging by their expressions, many of them were every bit as excited as the fans who had travelled from Manchester and Milan.
The atmosphere felt volcanic.
Even during the warm-up, the players could sense the intensity.
Neither side had won its domestic league that season, yet there was little doubt that two of Europe's strongest teams had reached Istanbul.
AC Milan required no introduction.
They were one of the great institutions of European football, supported across the world and carrying decades of continental history.
New Manchester United were the opposite in almost every historical sense.
The club was only seven years old.
Yet in that short time they had won consecutive UEFA Cups, lifted the Premier League title and developed into one of the most discussed teams in world football.
Both clubs had earned their place in the final through brutally difficult knockout runs.
Milan had eliminated Manchester United, Inter and Chelsea.
New Manchester United had gone through Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid.
Nobody had been handed an easy route.
Simply reaching Istanbul was an achievement.
While the teams completed their warm-ups, the television coverage turned towards the broader context of the season.
"There's been a lot of discussion about whether the Premier League has become too demanding," Andy Gray said. "Chelsea have risen very quickly, Manchester City improved dramatically in the second half of the season, and you still have Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and New Manchester United. That's six sides capable of making life extremely difficult for one another."
Martin Tyler nodded.
For the final, he had been invited into a more analytical role alongside Gray, partly because few English journalists had followed New Manchester United more closely.
"There is some truth in that argument," Tyler replied. "Ferguson raised the issue before Manchester United played Milan earlier in the competition."
"The English clubs had just come through the Christmas and New Year schedule, while Milan had benefited from a winter break and several weeks in which they could rebuild rhythm."
"The lack of a winter break has been a long-standing complaint among the biggest Premier League clubs. They believe it leaves them at a disadvantage in Europe."
Gray smiled.
"And yet New Manchester United are here."
"Exactly."
That was the problem with using fixture congestion as a complete explanation.
New Manchester United had faced the same schedule as everyone else in England.
They had still reached the final.
Their season had been strange.
Early on, Mourinho's side had looked almost frighteningly dominant.
Then came the winter collapse.
Suspensions.
Injuries.
Red cards.
A run of poor results.
At one stage, the league title appeared to have disappeared entirely.
Mourinho rebuilt the side.
The response had been remarkable.
New Manchester United spent the second half of the season chasing Chelsea relentlessly and eventually finished with 94 points.
In many Premier League seasons, that total would have been enough to win the title comfortably.
This year, Chelsea had simply been stronger.
There was disappointment inside Newton Heath, but very little shame.
If anything, the fightback had strengthened the team's reputation.
They had refused to collapse.
And while the league slipped away, the cup competitions remained alive.
Manchester United were beaten in the FA Cup final.
Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid fell in Europe.
If New Manchester United could now win the Champions League, the season would still rank among the greatest in the club's history.
Tyler believed squad depth had been one of the decisive factors.
"Look at the competition for places," he said. "Even Beckham isn't completely protected by reputation."
"Fàbregas is developing rapidly. Michael Johnson is improving. If either of them becomes good enough, Mourinho will use them."
"That exists throughout the squad."
Players understood that poor form had consequences.
Mourinho rotated extensively because he trusted the alternatives.
Villa could replace Drogba.
Ribéry could play instead of Ronaldo.
Messi had developed from prospect into match-winner.
Mikel and Michael Johnson could fill midfield roles.
Vidić and Chiellini were available behind Terry and Curtis.
That depth allowed New Manchester United to compete on several fronts without depending on the same eleven players every week.
Tyler also highlighted another advantage.
"Mourinho is exceptionally strong in knockout football."
"He prepares very specifically for opponents. Then his players execute the plan with extraordinary discipline."
"That combination matters enormously over two legs."
It was difficult to argue.
Barcelona had been attacked through the spaces behind their full-backs.
Juventus had been overwhelmed early, then suffocated once New Manchester United established the lead.
Real Madrid had been forced to play at a tempo their ageing midfield could not sustain.
Each tie had looked different because Mourinho had treated each opponent differently.
Now Milan presented another problem entirely.
The starting line-ups contained few surprises.
Mauro Tassotti stayed with his familiar 4-3-1-2.
Dida started in goal.
Cafu, Nesta, Kaladze and Maldini formed the back four.
Pirlo sat deepest in midfield, supported by Gattuso and Seedorf.
Palacio operated behind the two forwards.
Tomasson and Inzaghi led the line.
"Milan's structure is designed to give Palacio freedom," Gray said.
"The Argentine has been outstanding this season."
He had.
Since leaving New Manchester United, Palacio had adapted brilliantly to Italian football.
Tassotti had built a role around his movement.
Rather than using him as a conventional striker, Milan allowed him to drift between midfield and attack, receiving in pockets where defenders struggled to decide who should follow.
Behind him, Pirlo dictated possession.
Gattuso supplied aggression and defensive coverage.
Seedorf offered technical security and progression.
Together, those pieces formed the core of Milan's system.
New Manchester United lined up in their established 4-2-3-1.
Čech started in goal.
Evra, Terry, Curtis and Maicon formed the defence.
Beckham partnered Essien in midfield.
Kaká played centrally behind Drogba.
Ronaldo started on the left.
Messi started on the right.
Mourinho had resisted the temptation to make a surprise change.
He trusted the system that had carried them this far.
"That front four is probably the most dangerous attacking unit in Europe right now," Gray said.
Tyler agreed.
"But the interesting part is what sits behind it."
Beckham could supply passes from deep.
Essien could drive vertically through midfield and arrive late around the penalty area.
Evra and Maicon could overlap.
Terry and Curtis were both serious set-piece threats.
And Beckham's delivery meant every free-kick and corner had the potential to become a scoring opportunity.
A few newspapers had recently attempted to rank Europe's strongest collective units.
New Manchester United came first.
The phrase used in several of those features was simple enough: Europe's most complete combination.
The attacking quartet drew most of the attention, naturally.
Ronaldo, Kaká, Messi and Drogba offered pace, creativity, finishing, physicality and movement.
But the ranking had not been based on attack alone.
Beckham and Essien provided control.
Evra and Maicon supplied width.
Terry, Curtis and Vidić had helped create one of the strongest defensive records in England.
Even the centre-backs had contributed goals.
Across the Champions League campaign, New Manchester United's defenders had combined for nine.
Set pieces were not an afterthought.
They were one of Mourinho's weapons.
Barcelona ranked second in the same comparison.
Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Hleb, Xavi and Iniesta formed an extraordinary technical unit.
Had Barcelona possessed a stronger defence, some analysts believed they might never have been eliminated in the round of 16.
Real Madrid came third.
Ronaldo Nazário, Raúl, Zidane, Figo, Juninho Paulista and Makélélé still represented an extraordinary concentration of talent.
But age had begun to catch up with them.
Ronaldo's form had declined.
Zidane and Figo could no longer dominate every match for ninety minutes.
Madrid's aura remained enormous, but their transition into a new generation had become unavoidable.
The surprise inclusion was Lyon in fourth place.
Benzema, Wiltord, Malouda and Govou had attracted attention across Europe, with Benzema in particular emerging as one of the most exciting young forwards in France.
Some commentators had already begun describing him as a striker combining elements of Henry and Trezeguet.
AC Milan were placed fifth.
That ranking reflected both their strengths and their limitations.
Nesta, Kaladze, Maldini, Cafu, Pirlo, Gattuso and Palacio formed an experienced, tactically intelligent core.
They had kept Milan close to Juventus in Serie A and carried the team into the Champions League final.
But age was becoming a factor.
The defence was old.
The midfield lacked some of the athleticism possessed by younger sides.
And Milan's structure depended heavily on Pirlo and Palacio being allowed to influence the game.
The conclusion from those rankings had been telling.
Of the five supposedly strongest combinations in Europe, only New Manchester United and Milan had reached the final.
Balance mattered.
New Manchester United possessed devastating attacking talent, but also defensive aggression and tactical flexibility.
Milan were less explosive but more controlled, built around possession, experience and counterattacking intelligence.
Gray turned back towards the tactical board.
"Most teams have to be careful against Milan."
Tyler nodded.
"If you attack them recklessly, you can actually make their game easier."
Barcelona had already offered one possible blueprint earlier in the season.
The two sides had met in the Champions League group stage.
Milan won 1-0 in Italy.
Barcelona answered with a 2-1 victory at home.
That second match had drawn considerable tactical attention.
Xavi and Iniesta had helped Barcelona control possession for long periods, denying Milan the rhythm they wanted and forcing Pirlo to spend more time without the ball.
It showed one way to disrupt Milan.
Keep possession well enough that their own midfield could not settle.
Ethan had found the development interesting.
His arrival in this alternate history had changed Barcelona's path in several ways.
Deco had moved to England rather than becoming part of Rijkaard's midfield.
Yet that absence had accelerated the emergence of Xavi and Iniesta as the team's technical core.
Barcelona's possession-oriented identity was taking shape earlier than Ethan remembered.
Rijkaard had not yet perfected it.
The structure still had weaknesses.
But the direction was obvious.
Some trends, Ethan had realised, seemed determined to reappear no matter how much history changed around them.
He had once hoped to prevent Real Madrid's decline as well.
That had failed.
Del Bosque was gone.
Madrid's future was uncertain.
Barcelona were rising.
History had moved differently, yet somehow arrived at familiar pressure points.
New Manchester United could not imitate Barcelona against Milan.
Mourinho's side valued control, but not possession for its own sake.
Physical confrontation mattered.
Transitions mattered.
Verticality mattered.
Mourinho wanted the ball used purposefully, not simply circulated to protect possession statistics.
That meant he needed another way to prevent Milan from imposing their preferred rhythm.
"New Manchester United can keep the ball," Tyler said, "but they aren't Barcelona."
"They're not going to try to complete six hundred passes and suffocate Milan that way."
"Their version of control is different."
"They control space."
"They control tempo."
"They control where the opposition are allowed to receive."
"And when they attack, they tend to attack quickly."
That distinction would be crucial.
An all-out assault against Milan would be dangerous.
Tassotti's side were too experienced.
If New Manchester United attacked recklessly, they would only create the spaces Pirlo and Palacio wanted.
Mourinho needed patience without passivity.
The biggest individual question was obvious.
How would New Manchester United stop Palacio?
That problem had troubled almost every side Milan faced this season.
The Argentine had flourished in Tassotti's system and developed into one of Europe's most dangerous attacking players.
The fee Milan had paid for him no longer looked excessive.
If anything, many people now considered it excellent business.
Palacio knew New Manchester United.
He knew Terry.
He knew Curtis.
He knew Beckham.
He understood the club's pressing patterns and defensive habits better than almost any opposing forward could.
But the familiarity worked both ways.
Mourinho had coached him for years.
He knew Palacio's favourite movements.
He knew how he liked to receive the ball.
He knew when he preferred to turn and when he preferred to release immediately.
He knew which shoulder he tried to escape behind.
He knew what kinds of defenders frustrated him.
A manager's first responsibility was understanding his own players.
Mourinho had understood Palacio extremely well when the Argentine wore red.
That knowledge had not disappeared simply because Palacio now wore white.
And in Istanbul, Mourinho was about to show exactly how he intended to use it.
(To be continued.)