From the opening minute, Martin O'Neill left the technical area and barely returned to his seat, standing silently on the touchline as he watched the match unfold.
Farther away, Mourinho stood as usual with his hands in his pockets.
Compared with the younger-looking O'Neill, Mourinho's hair was already streaked with grey, making him seem older than he really was.
In fact, he was younger than the Celtic manager.
On the pitch, New Manchester United had firm control of the match.
Juninho's organisation in midfield was as composed as ever.
And the Magic Four were every bit as dangerous as usual.
Celtic had been built around defensive discipline and counter-attacking football, but even their compact structure was struggling to withstand wave after wave of Red Rebels pressure.
In the 21st minute, the breakthrough came.
Juninho collected possession deep and sent a long pass forward.
Drogba rose above the defender and headed the ball into the penalty area.
Hleb burst through onto it.
One touch.
Finish.
Goal!
1-0!
After taking the lead, New Manchester United became even more patient.
Drogba continued acting as the focal point of the attack, holding defenders off and bringing teammates into play.
Robben and Hleb repeatedly attacked from the flanks.
Kaká moved freely behind Drogba.
Celtic's defence was constantly being pulled out of shape.
O'Neill quickly discovered the problem.
New Manchester United's attacking players were simply too strong individually.
And their understanding of one another made them even harder to defend.
Once ahead, the Red Rebels relaxed.
They stopped forcing the game.
Instead, they circulated possession patiently and waited for Celtic to make mistakes.
O'Neill adjusted repeatedly from the touchline, but nothing fundamentally changed.
His team remained under pressure.
New Manchester United were not afraid of physical confrontation.
More importantly, their technique in tight spaces was excellent.
Against Celtic's more direct and physical style, they could keep possession with relative ease.
The contrast between the two teams' midfield organisers alone made the technical gap obvious.
Petrov was a good player.
Juninho was controlling the entire match.
New Manchester United's players moved constantly.
Passes came quickly.
Touches were clean.
Even against Celtic's aggressive defending, they remained confident in possession.
Celtic, by contrast, repeatedly made mistakes whenever the Red Rebels pressed immediately after losing the ball.
Had O'Neill not ordered his players to retreat quickly into shape whenever possession changed hands, Celtic might already have conceded more.
...
"Celtic really don't have an answer for New Manchester United's possession game," the commentator observed.
"They could try to disrupt it with fouls, but Juninho has already frightened them twice from set pieces.
"You can see they're becoming reluctant to foul anywhere near their own penalty area."
His colleague laughed.
"That's the problem.
"If you don't foul them, their passing becomes even smoother.
"And once they establish rhythm, they're incredibly difficult to contain.
"So Celtic are trapped."
"This kind of control-oriented football isn't particularly common in England.
"Arsenal are probably the closest comparison.
"But New Manchester United are more aggressive.
"More direct.
"More ruthless.
"And they play at a higher tempo."
"Exactly.
"I watched their FA Cup final against Arsenal.
"They played much more defensively that day, but their counter-attacks were devastating.
"They identified Arsenal's weaknesses and attacked them repeatedly.
"Once Arsenal realised how dangerous the counters were, they became reluctant to commit too many players forward.
"And that created even more opportunities."
"But Celtic's counter-attacks aren't working at all."
"Because New Manchester United's forwards press immediately when possession is lost.
"Look at them.
"Drogba.
"Hleb.
"Robben.
"Even Kaká.
"They all react instantly.
"And the thing about counter-pressing is that it doesn't need to work every time.
"If it succeeds once in ten attempts in the right area, that one recovery can decide the match."
Almost on cue, Kaká stepped in and won the ball in midfield.
"There it is!"
Kaká immediately passed to Juninho.
Juninho looked up.
Then switched play towards Robben on the left.
Robben received the ball facing Celtic's defender.
One feint.
Then another.
Both came in rapid succession.
The defender committed.
Robben accelerated inside.
Whistle!
The defender grabbed him and dragged him down just outside the penalty area.
"Clear foul!"
The referee reached for his pocket.
Yellow card.
"Another dangerous free kick for New Manchester United.
"And this is an excellent position for Juninho.
"He's right-footed, and from this left-sided angle he can bend the ball towards the far side."
Several players approached Juninho.
A quick high-five.
A word of encouragement.
Everyone knew what this moment could mean.
Score here, and Celtic would be in enormous trouble.
Juninho carefully placed the ball on the grass.
He adjusted the turf beneath his boots.
Then took several steps backwards.
The entire stadium seemed to focus on him.
Juninho inhaled slowly.
The referee blew.
Run-up.
Strike.
The ball climbed rapidly.
It bent over the jumping wall.
Then suddenly dipped.
Rab Douglas had read the direction correctly.
He moved across goal and stretched as far as he could.
Not enough.
The ball sailed beyond his fingertips and buried itself in the top corner.
Goal!
2-0!
"In the 38th minute, Juninho scores directly from the free kick!"
The commentator's voice rose.
"New Manchester United lead Celtic 2-0!
"That could be the goal that decides this final!"
His partner agreed.
"Judging by the flow of the match, Celtic were already struggling.
"Going two goals down before half-time is an enormous psychological blow.
"Even O'Neill looks as though he's had enough standing on the touchline. He's finally gone back towards the dugout."
The commentator smiled.
"But this isn't really about Martin O'Neill doing a poor job.
"New Manchester United have simply been outstanding.
"Their individual quality is excellent.
"Their tactical execution is excellent.
"And when you combine those things, they become an extremely dominant side.
"They've already taken apart teams like Lazio.
"They've beaten Arsenal.
"This isn't some ordinary second-division team."
"Exactly.
"O'Neill taking a Celtic side with fewer resources to the UEFA Cup final already says a great deal about his ability.
"His bad luck is that he's run into a very strong New Manchester United side.
"And, of course, a very expressive José Mourinho."
The commentator was clearly referring to Mourinho's celebration after Juninho's free kick.
The Portuguese manager had dropped to his knees and slid across the touchline in delight.
Celtic supporters hated it.
New Manchester United's fans loved it.
There was nothing anyone could do about it.
If Celtic wanted Mourinho to stop celebrating, they had to stop his team on the pitch.
And right now, they could not.
The Estadio Olímpico echoed with the Red Rebels anthem.
Thousands of supporters sang together.
Their voices rolled around the stadium.
"A club from England's second tier has fought its way through one strong opponent after another.
"The final isn't over yet, but simply reaching this stage has already created one of the most remarkable stories in European football."
"Juninho.
"Drogba.
"Kaká.
"Robben.
"Hleb.
"Essien.
"Curtis.
"Evra.
"Terry.
"Kolo Touré.
"Čech.
"And then look at the bench.
"Almunia.
"Villa.
"Cristiano Ronaldo.
"De Rossi.
"So many of these players are still incredibly young.
"Most were barely known outside specialist scouting circles not long ago.
"Now they've shown all of Europe what they can do."
"This is an extraordinary young side.
"With Leeds United declining, New Manchester United's arrival in the Premier League next season could bring something genuinely fresh to English football."
...
Both teams returned for the second half.
O'Neill had made adjustments.
Celtic switched to a 4-5-1.
Sutton, who had struggled badly in the first half, was withdrawn.
Larsson remained as the lone striker.
The midfield was reinforced.
The change helped.
Celtic became much harder to break down.
But New Manchester United already led by two goals.
There was no need to force anything.
They simply kept possession.
Moved Celtic from side to side.
Waited.
And whenever even the smallest gap appeared, they attacked it immediately.
That pattern continued throughout the half.
Then came the 67th minute.
Celtic's left-back fouled Hleb and received a yellow card.
Juninho immediately began gesturing to his teammates.
Kaká drifted towards the right.
Drogba moved into the same channel.
Kolo Touré began pushing forward more frequently.
The intention was obvious.
Attack the booked defender.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The Celtic full-back became increasingly cautious.
Another badly timed challenge could mean a second yellow card.
That hesitation was enough.
New Manchester United's right-sided attacks became relentless.
One wave followed another.
Celtic's defence struggled to cope.
O'Neill eventually had no choice.
He used another substitution, removing the struggling left-back and introducing a centre-back.
At the same time, he ordered his midfielders to drop deeper and help protect the back line.
Any remaining thoughts of counter-attacking were effectively abandoned.
The clock continued to run.
New Manchester United remained completely in control.
Celtic managed a handful of breaks, but almost all of them died soon after crossing halfway.
At the other end, the Red Rebels came close several times to adding a third.
Then O'Neill made his final change.
Larsson came off.
A defensive midfielder came on.
At that moment, the final was effectively over.
Without Larsson, Celtic had almost no attacking threat left capable of troubling New Manchester United's defence.
The substitution looked like a concession.
But O'Neill had little choice.
The difference in overall quality had been too great.
From the opening stages, Celtic had spent almost the entire match reacting to New Manchester United rather than imposing anything of their own.
They never found a reliable way to threaten Čech's goal.
The final whistle confirmed it.
2-0.
New Manchester United were UEFA Cup champions.
The Estadio Olímpico exploded into celebration.
Red Rebels supporters turned the stadium into a sea of colour and noise.
Their club had become the first team outside a top domestic division to win the UEFA Cup.
More importantly, they had completed the treble.
First Division champions.
FA Cup winners.
UEFA Cup winners.
Three trophies.
For the second season in succession.
But this treble carried far greater weight than the previous one.
Last season, critics could dismiss New Manchester United's success because of the level at which they had been playing.
Nobody could do that now.
They had beaten Premier League opposition repeatedly in the FA Cup.
They had eliminated strong European teams in the UEFA Cup.
They had demolished Lazio.
They had defeated Arsenal.
And now they had beaten Celtic in the final.
Nobody could question the quality of this treble.
Nobody could question New Manchester United's strength.
Attention immediately turned towards the following season.
What would the Red Rebels do in the Premier League?
What kind of shock could this young team create against England's elite?
Mourinho, still delighted after the final, refused to encourage the speculation.
"We're a promoted team," he said calmly.
"Our first objective next season is survival.
"The Premier League and the First Division are completely different environments.
"The Premier League is much less forgiving.
"So our priority will be staying up."
Reporters then asked whether New Manchester United could defend the UEFA Cup.
Mourinho smiled.
"We're happy to qualify again.
"But defending the trophy will be extremely difficult.
"Next season, our main focus has to be the Premier League."
That was the public answer.
Inside the club, the calculations were already becoming more ambitious.
Commercial director Mark David had pointed out something obvious.
If New Manchester United could qualify for the Champions League, how much would anyone really care about defending the UEFA Cup?
The more Ethan thought about it, the less impossible it seemed.
Liverpool's form had been becoming increasingly inconsistent.
Chelsea would undoubtedly spend heavily once Abramovich took control.
But several things were already different from the history Ethan remembered.
Makélélé was staying at Real Madrid.
Terry belonged to New Manchester United.
Chelsea's rise might not be as immediate or dramatic as it had been in Ethan's previous life.
If the Red Rebels could maintain their current level...
If they could keep the squad together...
If the young players continued developing...
Then perhaps competing near the top of the Premier League was not completely unrealistic.
Of course, Ethan knew that was still only ambition.
A promoted club's first Premier League season was always dangerous.
No matter how impressive they had been in the First Division or the cups, the challenge ahead would be far greater.
And before Ethan could even start thinking seriously about next season, there was another problem waiting for him.
The transfer market.
Because after a season like this, every major club in Europe wanted New Manchester United's players.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)