Ferguson had not appeared in the media or before the fans for a long time.
The last time he had shown up was at the FIFA awards ceremony, but he had merely been there as a also-ran for the Best Coach award. Now that he had appeared again, it was as a special guest, seated in the main stand of Lisbon's Stadium of Light.
After the match ended, he would present the award to the best player of tonight's final.
But during the match, he was mostly appreciating this clash at the highest level.
As a former world-class manager, especially after stepping down from Manchester United, Ferguson's mindset had become much more relaxed. He could also see more in this match and had a deeper understanding of the tactical arrangements of two world-class managers like Ancelotti and Simeone.
To some extent, this final represented the most advanced tactical trends in European football at present.
Neither side had made any major mistakes. Simeone's problem was that Diego Costa had gone off after only nine minutes. That was certainly an unfortunate accident, proving that Simeone's gamble had failed, but he could not be blamed for it.
Diego Costa was simply too important to Atletico Madrid—important enough for Simeone to gamble on him.
Ancelotti was mature, experienced, shrewd, and practical, and his overall tactical setup was airtight. However, there had been some problems with the players' execution, especially Casillas's mistake when coming off his line. It really should not have happened.
That was the kind of elementary mistake that absolutely should not have appeared on the stage of a Champions League Final.
"Without realizing it, Casillas is already thirty-three." Ferguson suddenly thought of the matter and sighed emotionally.
Since retiring, his mindset had improved considerably, but there were more and more things to