Mourinho had originally planned to give several fringe players an opportunity in the fourth round of the League Cup, including Bosingwa, who had yet to start a match that season.
However, shortly before the squad list was submitted, Bosingwa was unexpectedly omitted.
None of the players reacted strongly to his exclusion.
On their first day at New Manchester United, every player found a small handbook inside his locker containing the Red Rebels' club rules.
One of the first, and most important, rules stated that the manager's office door was always open.
The message was simple.
If a player had a problem, he could speak directly to the manager and try to resolve it.
If even the manager could not solve the issue, the owner was still available.
And if something was so serious that neither the manager nor Ethan could deal with it, then it was difficult to imagine what kind of problem it could possibly be.
Bosingwa, however, had complained publicly during a media interview.
He said he deserved more playing time and that, if opportunities continued to be limited, he would rather return to Portugal.
According to him, his agent had already informed him that several Portuguese clubs were interested.
Everyone knew that he had crossed a line.
Bosingwa had also begun to look increasingly isolated within the dressing room.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo, his Portuguese compatriot, barely knew what to say to him anymore.
Whenever they met, they usually exchanged little more than a nod.
...
New Manchester United's opponents in the fourth round of the League Cup were Derby County.
Derby were struggling near the bottom of League One, but their performances in the cup had been considerably better, carrying them all the way to the fourth round.
Mourinho selected several players generally regarded as reserves.
He refused to describe them that way.
As far as he was concerned, New Manchester United did not have substitutes.
They had first-team players who happened to receive fewer minutes.
Anyone good enough to belong to his senior squad was capable of contributing.
Mourinho also refused to place unnecessary pressure on the team for the League Cup.
Another league fixture was approaching, followed by both legs of the UEFA Cup tie against Austria Wien.
The schedule ahead promised to be difficult enough.
Drogba, Curtis, and Essien, who were serving three-match league suspensions, all returned to the starting lineup.
None had played competitively for more than two weeks, and Mourinho wanted to use the cup tie to restore their rhythm.
Ribéry and Palacio started on the wings.
De Rossi, Yaya Touré, and Essien formed a three-man central midfield.
The back four consisted of Philipp Lahm, Vidić, Curtis, and Kolo Touré.
Almunia started in goal.
The midfield structure had been developed specifically for matches in which Juninho was unavailable.
De Rossi and the other two midfielders would share responsibility for controlling the tempo.
Mourinho had frequently trained the trio together.
Now it was time to see whether those sessions would survive contact with a competitive match.
Training and competition were completely different.
No matter how intense a training session became, it could never reproduce the pressure of a real match, when every mistake mattered and every challenge was contested at full intensity.
The three midfielders had looked good in training.
Against Derby, however, something was missing.
All three were strong in both directions and possessed excellent stamina.
Defensively, they performed well.
The problem appeared during the transition from defence to attack.
Again and again, New Manchester United struggled to establish a coherent tempo.
Possession became hurried.
The attacking structure looked disjointed.
At half-time, Mourinho adjusted the midfield.
De Rossi was instructed to become the primary tempo-setter, with Essien and Yaya supporting him.
Of the three, De Rossi possessed the strongest attacking instincts and the best overall awareness of the pitch.
After the change, New Manchester United gradually improved.
De Rossi's technique was already better than Ethan remembered from his previous life.
Two or three years of intensive technical work at Newton Heath had refined him considerably.
More recently, his sessions with Redondo had also given him a deeper understanding of how to control a match from midfield.
Essien and Yaya concentrated primarily on defensive work, but also offered De Rossi passing options whenever New Manchester United moved forward.
Slowly, the midfield began functioning again.
In the seventy-third minute, Palacio created the breakthrough.
He attacked from the flank and supplied Drogba, who finished the move.
1-0.
The Red Rebels protected the lead until the final whistle and advanced to the quarter-finals.
They were also the only club outside the Premier League still remaining in the competition.
...
The match exposed an important truth.
New Manchester United had become heavily dependent on Juninho.
The Brazilian had remained remarkably understated throughout the season.
Apart from his set pieces, everyone understood that he was one of the team's central figures.
What many had failed to understand was exactly why.
Now the answer was obvious.
He organised everything.
Kaká had unquestionably been one of New Manchester United's best players that season.
His influence in the attacking third was enormous.
But Kaká, Hleb, Drogba, Villa, and the other forwards still needed someone behind them to give structure to their attacks.
That player was usually Juninho.
It also explained why Mourinho repeatedly described him as New Manchester United's most important player.
At present, the Red Rebels simply did not possess a genuine replacement.
De Rossi was enormously promising.
But he had not yet reached Juninho's level.
That weakness became even clearer in the fifteenth round of the league.
Juninho was suspended after accumulating too many yellow cards.
De Rossi started alongside Senna in midfield.
Once again, his performance failed to inspire complete confidence.
He worked tirelessly, constantly moving into space and trying to connect the team's attacks.
But he still lacked the authority and timing required to control the midfield completely.
Kaká was repeatedly forced to drop deeper to receive possession and help progress the ball.
That weakened New Manchester United's threat further forward.
The match became extremely difficult.
In the end, the Red Rebels survived through their defensive resilience before Robben created a last-minute winner for Hleb.
Another victory.
But the outside world had noticed the problem.
New Manchester United had become dependent on Juninho.
...
Austria Wien were enjoying an excellent domestic season.
They currently led the Austrian Bundesliga ahead of fierce rivals Rapid Wien, although the league contained only ten clubs.
Their biggest star was Djalminha, on loan from Deportivo La Coruña.
He was already thirty-two and possessed a notoriously volatile temperament.
A falling-out with his manager in Spain had ultimately led to the loan.
Even so, he remained Austria Wien's most dangerous player.
In the UEFA Cup, they relied heavily on his experience and creativity.
Djalminha, meanwhile, viewed the competition as an opportunity to prove that he still belonged at a higher level.
Before travelling to Manchester, he told reporters that Austria Wien had already prepared specifically for the match.
If they wanted to reach the next round, they would have to defeat the Red Rebels.
New Manchester United took the threat seriously.
Mourinho assigned Essien to mark Djalminha closely and deny him space.
He also instructed Curtis to step forward aggressively from defence whenever necessary, ensuring the Brazilian could not settle between the lines.
Mourinho valued Essien enormously.
His endless running and discipline made him ideal for such assignments.
Whenever Mourinho gave him a specific defensive task, Essien carried it out without compromise.
At Old Trafford, Djalminha barely received room to breathe.
Essien knew better than to dive recklessly into challenges against such a technically gifted opponent.
Instead, he remained patient and protected his zone.
Djalminha could feint, twist, and shift the ball from one foot to the other.
Essien refused to be drawn in.
But the moment Djalminha attempted to move through his area, the Ghanaian reacted.
If he could win the ball, he did.
If he could not, he stopped the attack another way.
Essien had also become far more intelligent with his fouling.
Earlier in his career, he had relied too much on obvious physical contact.
Now he understood how to disrupt an opponent without constantly attracting cards.
That drove the hot-tempered Djalminha mad.
He repeatedly complained to the referee.
Nothing came of it.
At the other end, Djalminha's Brazilian compatriots were thriving.
Kaká struck first.
He accelerated through the centre at speed before unleashing a long-range effort from the edge of the penalty area.
Goal.
New Manchester United led 1-0.
Early in the second half, Kaká created another opening and supplied Hleb for the second.
2-0.
Austria Wien became increasingly frustrated.
Djalminha was the worst affected.
During another confrontation with Essien, he lashed out and kicked the Ghanaian in the shin directly in front of the referee.
Essien went down.
Yellow card.
Djalminha immediately chased after the referee, protesting that he had been trying to play the ball and simply could not stop himself in time.
The referee refused to listen.
Djalminha eventually turned away, muttering angrily under his breath.
Unfortunately for him, the referee heard it.
He called the Brazilian back.
A second yellow card appeared.
Then the red.
Djalminha was sent off.
From that moment, the contest was effectively over.
New Manchester United already controlled the match.
Now Austria Wien had lost their most dangerous player as well.
The Red Rebels increased the pressure.
Before the final whistle, Hleb delivered a cross from the right.
Drogba rose inside the box and powered a close-range header into the net.
3-0.
It was a commanding home victory.
More importantly, it left the return leg in Vienna two weeks later looking almost irrelevant.
New Manchester United already had one foot in the next round of the UEFA Cup.
After the match, Ethan left Old Trafford immediately with Walsh and Mark.
Their destination was the construction site of the new Red Rebel Stadium.
Someone special was waiting there to meet him.
(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.)