With a bang, the door to the Bernabéu home-team dressing room was shoved open.
One after another, Real Madrid's players filed in. Each was gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. They went straight to their seats, dropped into them, and had no desire to stand again.
Tired. So tired!
Real Madrid had enjoyed the advantage in possession during the first half, which was the strength of La Liga teams, but Manchester United had also put up fierce resistance.
Yang Yang and Xabi Alonso both knew that Ferguson was different from other head coaches. He was not the kind of manager who compromised easily. Not to mention facing Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinal—even if it were the Champions League Final, Manchester United would probably still play with great courage.
Of course, courage here did not mean that they would completely attack head-on. It meant they would not play conservatively.
Manchester United were nicknamed the Red Devils. There was simply no such word as "conservative" in their blood.
Go wild or go home!
Ferguson's team had reached its peak in 1999. That year, Manchester United won the Treble through one comeback after another, and every one of those comebacks had been legendary and incredibly dangerous.
The FA Cup final had been a comeback. The Champions League semifinal against Juventus had been a comeback. The Champions League Final against Bayern Munich had been the grand finale of them all.
For the Red Devils to achieve such results, the fighting spirit Ferguson had instilled in the team had been crucial.
And that fighting spirit meant Manchester United would never play conservatively.
Playing against a team like Manchester United was undoubtedly exhausting. Even when they controlled possession, it was still no easy task.
They had been pressed hard at the start, but