[Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn. Wednesday 15 August 2018.]
The media room under the main stand smells of wet concrete, cut grass and filter coffee left to scorch on a hotplate.
20 past 9. 40 minutes out. The corridor to that tunnel is 4 feet wide and every inch of it is UEFA suits, television men and armed police.
Marcus has me against a cinderblock wall with a laptop bag on his shoulder.
"They will work out how to play without him." He has a pane open with their pressing numbers on it. "Not tonight. Some time in October, and after that they win 22 on the bounce and they win the league.
"Tonight is the first competitive 90 minutes of their lives without Cristiano Ronaldo. Every man in that dressing room has spent 9 years next to somebody who scored 50 a season and fixed it when the shape broke."
His eyes come level with mine.
"He is in Turin. They are on their own."
Snap. He shuts the laptop.
"Boss, you have got a window. I cannot tell you how many minutes it is open for."
