After defeating Sheffield Wednesday, New Manchester United's final league match no longer carried much significance.
For the trip to Derby County, Mourinho was clearly already thinking about the FA Cup final on May 17.
He fielded an almost entirely second-string lineup.
Ishmael started up front, with Palacio on the left and Messi on the right. Ribéry played as the attacking midfielder, while De Rossi and Yaya Touré formed the double pivot.
The back four, from left to right, consisted of Philipp Lahm, Vidić, Chiellini, and Kolo Touré.
Almunia started in goal.
Although it was effectively a reserve side, players such as Palacio, De Rossi, Yaya Touré, Vidić, and even Almunia had all made double-digit appearances that season.
Several of the younger players had also regularly appeared from the bench, while the League Cup had effectively served as a proving ground for the squad players earlier in the campaign.
Even though the result no longer mattered to New Manchester United's league position, the players still showed a strong desire to win.
Ishmael and Messi worked tirelessly in attack, while De Rossi, Yaya Touré, and the players behind them showed the same intensity.
In the end, New Manchester United secured a 2-0 away victory over Derby County.
Ribéry opened the scoring in the first half with a long-range strike after arriving from deep.
In the second half, Palacio delivered a corner and Yaya Touré rose above the defence to head home the second.
With the final league fixture completed, the First Division standings were officially settled.
New Manchester United were champions.
Portsmouth finished second.
Sheffield United, Leicester City, Wolves, and Nottingham Forest occupied third through sixth and qualified for the promotion play-offs.
Newly promoted Reading had spent part of the season as high as third, but their form faded during the run-in and they eventually dropped to seventh, narrowly missing the play-offs.
While those clubs were still fighting over the final promotion place, everyone at Newton Heath had already turned their attention towards the two cup finals.
The FA Cup final on May 17 naturally came first.
Arsenal had now reached the FA Cup final for three consecutive seasons.
In 2001, they had been denied by England's golden boy Michael Owen, who scored twice as Liverpool came from behind to beat them.
In 2002, Arsenal won the trophy.
Now, in 2003, they were back in the final again.
As the previous season's Double winners, Arsenal had entered this campaign with enormous ambition.
The results, however, had fallen short of expectations.
At one point, they had led Manchester United by as many as eight points in the Premier League.
Yet Ferguson's side mounted another remarkable comeback and overtook them.
Arsenal were eliminated in the second group stage of the Champions League.
They had also gone out of the League Cup earlier than expected.
At the beginning of the season, Arsenal had openly spoken about defending their league title while making a serious challenge in Europe.
Now only the FA Cup remained.
Several English newspapers described the final as Arsenal's last chance to save their season.
If they failed to win at Cardiff, the defending league and FA Cup champions would finish the campaign without a trophy.
Arsenal's situation was not ideal either.
Injuries and suspensions had created several problems.
Campbell was suspended.
Edu had undergone surgery.
Both key players would definitely miss the final.
Lauren and Cygan were also recovering from injuries, and it remained uncertain whether either would be fit enough to play.
But none of that pleased Ethan as much as Vieira's increasingly public dispute with the club.
Vieira had been linked with Real Madrid for a long time.
Florentino Pérez admired him greatly and wanted to bring him to the Bernabéu.
At the same time, Vieira had become involved in a disagreement with Arsenal over his salary.
Recently, Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood had even criticised Vieira publicly, accusing him of being willing to abandon the club that had helped establish his career simply for money.
Vieira responded angrily and attacked Hill-Wood in return.
The English media naturally enjoyed every moment of the argument.
Wenger did not.
The only piece of genuinely positive news for Arsenal was Ljungberg's recovery from injury.
He was expected to be available for the final.
...
"According to the information we've gathered, Wenger has disciplined Vieira internally," Villas-Boas said during the tactical meeting.
"He's also only recently returned from injury and his form has been inconsistent.
"Given Wenger's personality, I don't think he'll risk starting him in the FA Cup final."
Villas-Boas continued through his latest scouting report.
"With Ljungberg back and Arsenal short in central midfield, I expect Wenger to move Parlour inside alongside Gilberto Silva.
"Ljungberg should start from the right, with Pires on the left."
Arsenal's attacking threat from the flanks was exceptional.
The left side in particular was one of the most dangerous in Europe.
Henry naturally drifted towards that channel.
Pires operated there as well.
Ashley Cole attacked from left-back behind them.
Even the strongest Premier League sides struggled to suppress that combination.
Across Europe, there were not many teams capable of doing it consistently.
"Arsenal's recent form has been excellent," Villas-Boas continued.
"They beat Southampton 6-1 and Sunderland 4-0.
"They're scoring freely, and I expect them to cause us serious problems.
"Henry in particular has become better and better at Arsenal.
"He has to be one of our main defensive priorities."
Mourinho remained silent.
He listened carefully, his expression serious as he considered possible solutions.
Positionally, the responsibility for dealing with Henry would most likely fall heavily on Curtis.
If New Manchester United wanted to contain Arsenal, they had to disrupt that left side.
Mourinho knew the team's defensive structure would need to be adjusted accordingly.
"Arsenal's attack is extremely strong," Villas-Boas said, "but there are vulnerabilities in defence.
"Campbell's suspension is the biggest one.
"Cygan probably won't make the match either.
"If both centre-backs are unavailable, that's where we have an opportunity.
"Knowing Wenger, I expect him to use the veteran Keown.
"The other centre-back will probably be Luzhny, with Lauren at right-back if he's fit."
Luzhny was thirty-five.
Keown was thirty-seven.
Behind them stood forty-year-old goalkeeper David Seaman.
Suddenly Arsenal's defensive unit looked very old.
That had been one of their growing problems over the previous few seasons.
Many of their defensive players were approaching the end of their careers.
"The front two should be Henry alongside either Bergkamp or Wiltord.
"Personally, I think Wenger will choose Bergkamp."
Mourinho rubbed his forehead.
The pressure was beginning to show.
The hopes of an entire season now seemed to rest on the coming finals, and much of that responsibility sat on his shoulders.
"All right, José," Cassell said when he noticed Mourinho's exhaustion.
"You haven't been sleeping properly for days.
"It's almost dinner time."
He stood and brought the tactical meeting to an end.
After Cassell and Villas-Boas left, Mourinho remained in his office.
For a while, he continued reviewing the Arsenal reports Villas-Boas had submitted.
There was little genuinely new information.
Ever since the FA Cup final pairing had been confirmed, New Manchester United had monitored Arsenal closely.
Arsenal were undoubtedly doing exactly the same.
The two sides already knew each other very well.
At this point, the decisive question was no longer information.
It was which manager could impose his tactics on the other.
In that respect, Mourinho arguably had more options available than Wenger.
Almost his entire squad was fit.
The only exception was Redondo, whose workload still had to be managed carefully.
Whenever he played a demanding match, he usually needed several games before he could be considered again.
Thinking about Redondo suddenly made Mourinho want to see him.
He left his office in the training building, went downstairs, and headed towards the recovery pool beside the indoor training pitch.
The pool had been built specifically for rehabilitation work.
Its depth could be adjusted, allowing the Lab's staff to tailor different recovery exercises to individual players.
Redondo's latest programme involved walking through water.
The reduced load on his knee was believed to help his rehabilitation.
When Mourinho entered the indoor facility, he was surprised to find Ethan there as well.
"Haha, we were just talking about you, Fernando and I," Ethan said with a smile.
Mourinho walked over to the edge of the pool, found somewhere to sit, and looked at them.
"Talking about what?"
"The boss was saying you've got even more grey hair lately," Redondo replied with a laugh.
"You look exhausted.
"You're ageing too quickly."
The more Redondo looked at him, the more convincing the observation seemed.
"Being a manager really isn't a job anyone can do," Redondo said.
"The pressure is enormous."
"The satisfaction is enormous too," Mourinho replied.
"Standing on the touchline, watching the players carry out something you've prepared, watching them beat opponents because the plan works..."
He smiled faintly.
"That's a feeling people outside football can't really understand."
Ethan laughed.
"Exactly.
"It depends on the person.
"Someone like me could never live like a manager.
"But you, José?
"I think you were born for it."
Mourinho looked at Ethan for a moment, almost as if searching for a deeper meaning in those words.
Ethan immediately changed the subject.
"I was speaking with Professor Fryer recently about Fernando's rehabilitation.
"He told me walking in water is useful for leg injuries because buoyancy reduces the load on the joints.
"But there's one problem I've been thinking about.
"Water itself creates resistance."
Mourinho and Redondo both looked at him blankly.
Neither understood why Ethan had suddenly started discussing rehabilitation technology like an engineer.
"I mentioned an idea to Professor Fryer," Ethan continued.
"What if you built a treadmill inside a sealed chamber around the lower body?
"Then you could adjust the air pressure inside the chamber so that it partially supports the person's weight.
"That would reduce the load on the legs.
"But unlike water, air wouldn't create the same resistance against movement.
"So the player could walk or run much more naturally while still reducing the impact on the injured area."
Mourinho and Redondo continued staring at him.
Ethan's enthusiasm gradually faded.
They clearly had no idea what he was talking about.
The concept had come from the anti-gravity treadmills Ethan remembered from his previous life.
He had already suggested that the Lab investigate whether they could develop something similar with an engineering partner.
If it worked, it could be extremely useful for rehabilitation from a wide range of sporting injuries.
In his previous life, equipment based on the same principle had eventually become common among NBA players and other elite athletes.
Its effectiveness had been widely praised.
Unfortunately, none of that helped Mourinho or Redondo understand Ethan's explanation.
He might as well have been speaking another language.
"All right, forget it," Ethan said, finally surrendering.
"When you eventually see the finished machine, you'll understand how useful it is."
Mourinho and Redondo immediately burst out laughing.
Ethan looked almost offended, which only made them laugh harder.
But that had been part of the reason he had come.
As the conversation continued, the tension that had been weighing on Mourinho gradually faded.
The pressure of preparing for Arsenal seemed lighter.
Some of the worry disappeared with it.
That was exactly what Ethan had wanted.
He could not help Mourinho design tactics.
He could not make decisions for him during the match.
But he could find other ways to help.
Besides, Ethan had already prepared something else.
A special gift for Arsène Wenger.
(To be continued.)