Returning to League One after their European campaign, New Manchester United found themselves two points behind Portsmouth.
Mourinho was not particularly worried.
The remaining fixture list contained three matches he regarded as decisive, and all three would be played at home.
Portsmouth.
Leicester City.
Sheffield United.
Better still, those fixtures fell during relatively manageable periods of the schedule.
Mourinho was confident that if New Manchester United won all three, then avoided unnecessary dropped points elsewhere, they would still finish the season as League One champions.
That belief was one of the reasons he had been bold enough to declare that the Red Rebels intended to challenge for the UEFA Cup.
Meanwhile, the draw for the European quarter-finals had been completed.
New Manchester United would face Málaga.
The Spanish side occupied a respectable mid-table position in La Liga. Their domestic performances had been solid rather than spectacular, but in Europe they had been excellent.
They had already eliminated AEK Athens and Paris Saint-Germain, whose squad included Ronaldinho.
Nobody at Newton Heath underestimated them.
Málaga were dangerous.
...
March began with a rare week of relative calm.
Then the schedule intensified again.
First came the sixth round of the FA Cup.
After that, the thirty-sixth round of League One.
Then the first leg away to Málaga in the UEFA Cup.
Finally, another league fixture.
The two league matches had already been shifted into midweek because of New Manchester United's cup commitments.
The club attempted to have one postponed again, but the FA refused, arguing that the remainder of the domestic calendar was already too congested.
Their FA Cup opponents were familiar.
Everton.
David Moyes's side had already eliminated the Red Rebels from the League Cup earlier in the season.
Everton had enjoyed an excellent Premier League campaign and currently sat sixth, earning widespread praise as one of the season's surprise packages.
Their League Cup run had eventually ended in the semi-finals against Liverpool.
Now Moyes had turned his attention towards the FA Cup.
Winning it would deliver a trophy and secure European football for the following season.
He was therefore delighted to draw New Manchester United again, particularly after beating them not long before.
This time, however, Mourinho had no intention of rotating heavily.
At Old Trafford, he selected his strongest available side.
The result was a fiercely contested match in which New Manchester United gradually established control.
One individual battle attracted particular attention.
Curtis against Rooney.
Two of England's brightest young players, one a defender and the other an attacker.
Curtis won comprehensively.
As captain for the day, he shadowed Rooney relentlessly and allowed him almost no influence on the game.
At the other end, Drogba scored the decisive goal.
1-0.
New Manchester United were through.
They had avenged their League Cup defeat.
It was also Redondo's first start since returning from injury.
Mourinho allowed him to play the opening forty-five minutes before replacing him with De Rossi at half-time.
The decision was not a criticism.
If anything, it showed how carefully Mourinho was planning Redondo's return.
He wanted more from him later in the season.
After Everton were eliminated, New Manchester United learned the identity of their FA Cup semi-final opponents.
Southampton.
The same Southampton who had knocked the Red Rebels out the previous season.
When Ethan heard the news, he could not help smiling.
Football had given them another opportunity.
Last season, Southampton had ended their run.
This time, the Red Rebels could answer.
...
Whenever Redondo was not involved in a match, his routine remained extremely controlled.
He usually completed about half an hour with the first team before heading to the sports science department for massage, recovery work, and individual rehabilitation.
If anything, he had become even more cautious since returning to competitive football.
One morning, just as he was preparing to leave the pitch, Mourinho called after him.
"Fernando."
Redondo turned in surprise.
Mourinho approached with a smile.
"You've had a full week to recover. How do you feel?"
"Good."
"Good enough to play?"
Redondo paused for barely a second.
"Of course."
Mourinho nodded.
"Then prepare yourself.
"You're travelling to Spain with us tomorrow.
"And you're starting."
He patted Redondo on the shoulder and walked away.
For several seconds, Redondo remained where he was.
Mourinho had effectively given him confidential team news a day early.
Naturally, Redondo had no intention of repeating it to anyone.
What surprised him was the match itself.
This was not a routine league fixture.
It was the UEFA Cup quarter-final.
Then he understood.
Redondo had spent most of his career in Spain.
He knew Spanish football intimately.
He understood its rhythms, habits, and weaknesses.
And Mourinho clearly wanted a result in Málaga.
With important league fixtures still waiting, the manager did not want the European tie dragging unnecessarily into the second leg.
The thought of starting in Europe excited Redondo more than he expected.
More than that, he would be playing competitively in Spain again.
The feeling spread through him almost instantly.
For the first time in years, he felt that old competitive fire.
He wanted to prove himself again.
Especially there.
...
After finishing the recovery programme prescribed by the medical staff, Redondo showered and went to the car park.
He drove home in a black Audi provided through the club's sponsorship arrangements.
His wife was preparing dinner when he arrived.
She took one look at his face and smiled.
"Something good happened?"
"Yes."
Redondo could barely conceal his excitement.
"I'm travelling to Spain tomorrow.
"UEFA Cup quarter-final.
"Málaga.
"And I'm starting."
His wife's expression brightened immediately.
"Málaga?"
Redondo laughed.
"An old opponent.
"I only faced them twice in La Liga, back when they had just come up.
"We destroyed them."
Once he started talking about those years, he could not stop.
He began naming former teammates, remembering their qualities, habits, personalities, and little details from matches and training sessions.
As the heart of that Real Madrid midfield, he remembered almost everything.
His wife listened patiently.
Whenever the conversation slowed, she asked another question.
Sometimes the questions sounded almost deliberately simple.
Redondo never noticed.
They were simply an excuse to keep him talking.
By the time the children returned from school, he was still reminiscing.
When they learned that their father would be starting in Spain, they became just as excited.
They wanted to attend the match.
His wife also mentioned visiting her brother while they were there.
Santiago Solari was still playing for Real Madrid.
"Then I'll call and arrange the flights," Redondo said.
Before he could reach for the telephone, it rang.
He answered.
The conversation lasted only a few moments.
When he hung up, his wife looked curious.
"Who was it?"
"The club.
"Mr Yu asked his secretary to call.
"He's already booked flights to Spain for all of us.
"He also spoke with José.
"We've been given three days off after the match."
His wife stared at him.
"For the whole family?"
Redondo nodded.
She smiled and squeezed his hand.
"That's incredible."
Redondo said nothing for a moment.
The gratitude on his face was obvious.
"He really does think of everything," she said softly.
Redondo nodded.
Ethan had already done far more than help him return to football.
He had helped arrange his role with UNICEF and was planning for his future after retirement.
Now there were discussions about establishing a football academy in Argentina under Redondo's name, with the Solari family involved.
Naturally, such an academy could also become part of New Manchester United's South American scouting network.
The Solari family possessed extensive connections throughout Argentine football.
Redondo understood that.
He did not mind.
Whatever the club gained from the arrangement, Ethan had still given him an opportunity to build something meaningful in his own country.
Redondo felt he owed him enormously.
One day, Boss.
I'll repay all of this.
...
When New Manchester United landed at Málaga Airport, they encountered something nobody had quite expected.
More than a thousand supporters were waiting.
They had travelled from different parts of Spain specifically to see Redondo.
Most were Real Madrid fans.
Two years away from football had not erased their affection for him.
They had followed news of his recovery.
They had watched footage of his comeback.
And the moment they learned he would return to Spain with New Manchester United, many decided they had to be there.
Airport staff were forced to create additional barriers and organise the crowd.
Redondo stopped several times to acknowledge the supporters.
The reception clearly affected him.
For a moment, the scene looked less like the arrival of a League One club and more like the reception for one of world football's biggest celebrities.
It was a reminder of how deeply Redondo was still loved in Spain.
Ethan watched from nearby with a smile.
Then his thoughts drifted towards another player whose future had suddenly become uncertain.
David Beckham.
Things at Manchester United were deteriorating rapidly.
After an FA Cup defeat in February, Ferguson had kicked a boot across the dressing room.
It struck Beckham above the eye.
The incident had become front-page news and pushed an already strained relationship towards breaking point.
Ethan knew both men well.
He had no intention of interfering.
What happened inside Manchester United's dressing room was Manchester United's business.
Ferguson had mentioned the incident privately on more than one occasion, insisting it had been an accident.
Perhaps it had.
But accident or not, the damage to the relationship was obvious.
Publicly, both Ferguson and Beckham issued statements suggesting that everything had been resolved.
Few people inside football believed them.
By the summer, it seemed increasingly likely that one of them would have to leave Old Trafford.
The person facing the greatest headache was probably Peter Kenyon.
On one side, Manchester United were already dealing with Ferguson's increasingly bitter dispute with John Magnier over Rock of Gibraltar.
On the other, the relationship between Ferguson and Beckham had virtually collapsed.
And Beckham was probably the last player Kenyon wanted to lose.
As a businessman, he understood the midfielder's value better than almost anyone.
At that moment, there was arguably no other footballer in the world capable of generating such an extraordinary commercial impact while remaining genuinely important on the pitch.
Beckham was not merely a footballer.
He was a global phenomenon.
Naturally, Europe's biggest clubs had noticed the situation.
Barcelona were interested.
So were AC Milan and Inter.
Several of them had admired Beckham for years.
Now, for the first time, there appeared to be a genuine possibility of prising him away from Manchester United.
Officially, nothing had happened.
Nobody had announced a transfer.
Everyone continued insisting that Beckham remained a Manchester United player.
But throughout European football, people understood what was happening.
David Beckham might be available that summer.
It was an open secret.
(To be continued.)