Before Christmas, UEFA held a draw at its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
As the Group B winners, Ajax still did not have much luck. They perfectly avoided Schalke 04 and Lyon, only to draw their old rivals, Manchester United.
Mourinho's team had lost the upper hand in their contest with Juventus and failed to finish top of the group, being forced to settle for second place. Yet they were very lucky in the draw, pulling Ajax.
The two teams had met in the Europa League final two years earlier, but Ajax had been unable to stand up to Manchester United. They had been passive throughout the match, suppressed by United, and ultimately missed out on the Europa League title, helping Manchester United achieve glory.
Two years later, the two teams met again in the Round of 16 knockout stage. There was no doubt that this added plenty of intrigue to the match.
The only blemish was that, not long before, Manchester United head coach Mourinho had been dismissed because of poor results. United had then hurried to find a new manager and ultimately chosen Solskjær, the head coach of Norwegian club Molde.
Having this former Manchester United legend take charge of the club was certainly a wonderful thing. Still, everyone was curious: could Solskjær lead Manchester United, which had been turbulent for years, toward stability?
If drawing Manchester United could be considered unlucky, then Ajax's greatest gain was undoubtedly a decision officially announced by UEFA.
After extensive study and consultation, UEFA had formally passed a resolution to make an exception and award Yang Yang UEFA's highest-level coaching certificate. This made Yang Yang the youngest head coach in the history of the Champions League knockout stage.
At thirty-two, a professional footballer would be considered a veteran entering the twilight of