"August 10th, 2 PM. We're outside the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. As you can see, supporters are continuing to pour into the stadium. The Red Devil Derby, a match eagerly anticipated by fans across England and even Europe, will officially kick off at 3 PM sharp!"
"Manchester United, the Red Devils, will be wearing their white away kit for this match. Red is the dominant colour in the stadium today, and the easiest way to distinguish the two sets of supporters is by the stripes on their shirts. The team wearing green and gold stripes is New Manchester United, while Manchester United's shirts have no green and gold."
"According to New Manchester United's official website, the green and gold stripes represent the spirit and identity of the Green and Gold Army. They believe Manchester United abandoned those traditions long ago. So even though Adidas has designed several fashionable kits for New Manchester United over the past two years, the club has always insisted on retaining the green and gold stripes."
Just then, a group of supporters wearing red shirts with green and gold stripes walked past and waved towards the camera. Three young men even rushed in front of it and shouted excitedly, "Down with the Red Devils!" before quickly moving on.
A few Manchester United supporters in the distance heard them and immediately rushed over.
"Down with the rebel scum!"
"Haha, 'Red Devils' and 'rebel scum' are what the two sets of supporters call each other. For now, though, the atmosphere between them is still relatively friendly compared with some of football's fiercest rivalries. Once they get inside the stadium, however, who knows what will happen?"
"The weather here in Cardiff today is extremely hot, with temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius. I'm sure that will make an already heated match even more intense and the atmosphere in the stands even louder. This is one of the most eagerly anticipated matches of the summer, New Manchester United against Manchester United. It's difficult to imagine another fixture attracting more attention right now!"
"If you look closely, you'll notice supporters from both New Manchester United and Manchester United wearing black armbands. This is in memory of Jimmy Davis, who tragically died in a car accident yesterday. He was considered a very promising young player and had even been described as the next Beckham. He was due to spend this season out on loan from Manchester United, but tragically lost his life in a serious road accident."
"Before kick-off, both teams will observe a minute's silence for Jimmy Davis. At a moment like this, club rivalry is put aside."
...
The broadcast returned to the inside of the stadium.
As the camera swept across the Millennium Stadium, the stands were already almost completely full. New Manchester United's red shirts and Manchester United's white shirts formed clearly separated sections, with the two colours filling almost every part of the ground.
"Without question, this is a match that belongs to Manchester, and one that means an enormous amount to the Green and Gold Army!" Andy Gray exclaimed.
He believed this could very well become the Community Shield with the largest attendance and the greatest level of interest in the competition's history.
"According to the information I've received, tickets sold out a month ago," Martin Tyler said with a chuckle. "Outside the stadium, some are now being resold for ten times their original price, and people are still struggling to find one. That tells you everything about the attention surrounding this match."
He would be commentating alongside Andy Gray.
"Manchester United's recent form has been frighteningly good," Gray continued. "They defeated several strong opponents during their preseason tour of the United States and looked extremely sharp. New Manchester United, on the other hand, have been somewhat disappointing in their friendlies. Perhaps expectations were simply too high, particularly after they brought in a superstar like Beckham."
"Beckham still has an important role to play," Martin Tyler interrupted. "Mourinho is determined to turn him into a central midfielder and make him one of the key players in the team. Plenty of football experts have wanted to see Beckham play centrally for years. The question is how Mourinho will make it work."
Tyler continued, "Beckham has rarely played regularly in that position. How quickly he adapts, how well he integrates into the system, and whether he can replace Juninho's influence will all be crucial."
"Yes, Martin. Speaking of Juninho, the Brazilian performed very well during Real Madrid's preseason friendlies. His midfield partnership with Makélélé has attracted plenty of praise from Del Bosque. Many observers believe Juninho's arrival has brought much greater structure to Real Madrid's midfield while also freeing Zidane to concentrate more on attacking."
Martin Tyler laughed.
"To borrow a line I saw on a supporters' forum, 'There's no such thing as a useless player coming out of New Manchester United!'"
There was a hint of amusement in his voice.
Juninho had already established himself in Real Madrid's starting lineup. It was still too early to describe him as an undisputed key player, but he had clearly become an important member of the squad.
Hleb had also performed very well at Barcelona and appeared likely to start regularly in the coming season.
Olić and Abidal had both been first-team players for Bayern the previous season and had performed excellently.
A saying had gradually begun spreading around European football.
Buying a player from New Manchester United was rarely a mistake.
The price might be high, but the quality was almost always guaranteed.
Several clubs were still closely monitoring New Manchester United's squad.
AC Milan, for example, had shown interest in Kaká and Palacio, but Ethan had already made his position clear to Berlusconi.
After allowing Juninho and Hleb to leave, New Manchester United would not sell any more important players that summer.
"Besides the two teams playing today, I've also got an interesting statistic here," Andy Gray said. "Since the beginning of the new millennium, every Community Shield has featured at least one newly signed player making his competitive debut. And in each of the last three years, whenever one of those debutants scored, his team went on to win the trophy!"
"Yes, I've heard that one too," Martin Tyler replied. "It's a remarkably strange pattern. And there's another part to it. Every player who scored on his debut in those matches went on to have an excellent Premier League season afterwards."
"The clearest example is Hasselbaink in 2000. He had just arrived at Chelsea from Atlético Madrid, then scored as Chelsea beat Manchester United in the Charity Shield. He went on to finish as the Premier League's top scorer that season."
"Van Nistelrooy scored in the 2001 Community Shield, and during the following league campaign he scored 23 Premier League goals and enjoyed an outstanding season. Then last year there was Gilberto Silva. The Brazilian international made his Arsenal debut in the Community Shield and scored as well. His performances throughout the season were equally impressive."
Andy Gray shook his head with a smile.
"It really is bizarre. Three consecutive years."
He glanced down at the team information in front of him.
"So now we can look at this year's squads. Manchester United's new signing is Howard, while Kleberson has already been ruled out of the match. For New Manchester United, the newcomers are Beckham and Brazilian right-back Maicon."
"So in terms of new signings in the starting lineup, this will essentially come down to Howard and Beckham," Martin Tyler said. "Maicon is on the bench. Mourinho was never likely to abandon the defensive unit that worked so well last season for a match like this."
Under unusual circumstances, Mourinho was certainly capable of springing tactical surprises.
But this was a match attracting enormous attention, and despite the Community Shield not being the most important trophy of the season, Mourinho would still want a degree of stability.
Just then, Andy Gray received the confirmed starting lineups.
"Manchester United start with Howard in goal after his impressive performances in the United States. Across the back from left to right are Fortune, Silvestre, Ferdinand, and Phil Neville. The midfield is Giggs, Butt, Keane, and Solskjaer. Up front are Van Nistelrooy and Scholes."
Martin Tyler immediately shook his head.
"Manchester United may officially be lining up in a 4-4-2, but Scholes will almost certainly operate more like an attacking midfielder than a conventional second striker."
He looked towards the pitch.
"So I think we'll actually see something closer to a 4-5-1 without the ball. When Giggs and Solskjaer push forward, it can easily become a 4-2-3-1. We already saw signs of that during Manchester United's preseason matches."
"Yes. New Manchester United will start in their usual 4-2-3-1. Čech is in goal, Evra starts at left-back, and Kolo Touré is at right-back. Maicon remains on the bench."
Martin Tyler nodded with a smile.
That was exactly what he had expected.
"The two centre-backs are Terry and Curtis, a partnership many people believe could become England's first-choice central defensive pairing in the years ahead."
"The midfield two are Beckham and Essien. Kaká plays as the attacking midfielder, Cristiano Ronaldo starts on the left, and Palacio is on the right after being one of New Manchester United's standout performers during preseason. Drogba leads the attack."
There were few major surprises from either team.
Manchester United's tactical adjustment had been developing throughout preseason, while New Manchester United had retained the same basic system they used the previous season.
Both sides knew plenty about each other.
Now the only question was how the match itself would unfold.
"In my opinion, Ferguson starting Butt and Keane together is clearly intended to restrict New Manchester United's four attacking players," Andy Gray said. "Their Magic Four caused enormous problems last season, even against Lazio. Hleb may have left, but Ferguson clearly isn't taking any chances."
"Yes. Those four attacking positions caused havoc in the First Division and the UEFA Cup last season, helping New Manchester United become one of the greatest dark horses in the competition's history. Now they've reached the Premier League, everyone wants to know the same thing. With Hleb and Juninho gone, can they still surprise people this season?"
"Absolutely," Martin Tyler replied immediately.
Andy Gray looked at him.
"You sound very sure."
"Juninho has left, but they've brought in Beckham. As long as Beckham can reproduce the level he showed at Manchester United, I believe New Manchester United's overall quality will improve. I don't think signing Beckham was an impulsive decision. It was clearly part of a plan."
"As for Hleb, I don't think his departure will hurt them as much as some people expect."
"Of course, Hleb is extremely talented. But I also believe some of his outstanding performances last season were a product of how well the entire team functioned."
Tyler gestured towards the pitch.
"Look at Palacio. The moment Hleb left, he seized the opportunity. Then you have Cristiano Ronaldo, Robben, Ribéry, and even Messi, who has only just been promoted to the first team. All of them are enormously talented players with great potential."
"They have enough options to replace what Hleb gave them, and some of those players may eventually become even better."
"But New Manchester United's preseason performances have still been disappointing," Andy Gray pointed out.
Martin Tyler laughed.
"We all know preseason friendlies are primarily for preparation. They're where managers experiment, make mistakes, and discover problems."
"Mourinho clearly wanted to test different things. New Manchester United already have a mature tactical structure. The important thing is integrating the new players into it."
He smiled.
"So yes, I still expect them to have a good season."
"All right. The players are heading back towards the dressing rooms now. We'll take a short break, and when we return, we'll bring you the Community Shield live from Cardiff."
"The Red Devil Derby is almost here!"
(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.)