Joaquín Peiró sat on the bench with both hands pressed against his temples, staring blankly at the pitch.
The former Spanish international striker was widely regarded as the greatest manager in Málaga's history.
Under his leadership, the club had climbed from the third tier, secured consecutive promotions within two years, and reached La Liga.
More remarkably, they had immediately established themselves in the top flight.
In Málaga's first La Liga season, they finished twelfth, an excellent achievement for a club without significant financial backing.
The following year, they climbed to eighth, narrowly missing out on UEFA Cup qualification.
They came close again the season after that.
Those near misses only strengthened Málaga's determination to achieve something in Europe after qualifying for the UEFA Cup through the Intertoto Cup.
Peiró, once a celebrated player himself, had no interest in mediocrity.
Throughout Spain, his coaching ability was widely respected.
At sixty-seven, he was the architect behind Málaga's rise.
His teams were known for their resilience and discipline.
Even against giants such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, Málaga rarely looked completely outmatched.
For several years, they had earned a reputation as one of La Liga's toughest sides.
Aggressive in the challenge.
Relentless.
Extremely difficult to break down.
But lacking creativity.
That was the conclusion Villas-Boas had delivered in his scouting report to Mourinho.
Much of that weakness could be traced to Málaga's financial situation.
Reports in Spain suggested the club had fallen behind on player wages for extended periods.
More recently, chairman Serafín Roldán had even announced substantial reductions to the bonuses promised for avoiding relegation and qualifying for Europe.
Payments that had originally been set at €1.5 million and €1.8 million were reportedly cut to €400,000 and €900,000.
The controversy caused an enormous uproar in Spain.
More importantly, it affected the players.
Peiró had been a famous striker during his playing days.
As a manager, however, his reputation had been built on defence.
Málaga reflected that perfectly.
Yet in one of the most important matches of their season, Peiró felt increasingly uneasy.
Part of his concern had existed before kick-off.
The chairman's decision to reduce the players' bonuses had clearly damaged morale.
Then New Manchester United made matters worse.
Instead of attacking recklessly, Redondo and Juninho controlled possession from deep.
They moved the ball patiently through midfield, deliberately exploiting Málaga's preference for defensive counter-attacking football and their discomfort when forced to take the initiative.
The Red Rebels were effectively saying:
If you want the ball, come and take it.
Twenty minutes had passed.
New Manchester United had already created several dangerous openings.
Málaga were being dragged around the pitch, unable to impose their preferred rhythm.
Redondo was at the centre of everything.
Pass.
Move.
Receive.
Intercept.
Switch play.
Again and again, he dictated the tempo.
For those who remembered his greatest years in Madrid, there were unmistakable flashes of the elegant midfielder who had once controlled matches in white.
Juninho complemented him perfectly.
Rather than competing for influence, he gave Redondo another passing option and helped establish complete control of the centre.
For long periods, the visiting side dictated the match inside La Rosaleda.
Peiró's expression darkened.
His players were becoming frustrated.
That worried him more than the possession statistics.
He stepped towards the touchline and gestured repeatedly for them to stay calm.
Keep their shape.
Do not become reckless.
The response was hardly encouraging.
Peiró glanced towards Mourinho, who was also standing near the edge of his technical area.
For all his frustration, the veteran Spaniard could not help admiring the Portuguese manager's tactical intelligence.
Málaga wanted opponents to attack.
They wanted to defend, win the ball, and break into space.
So Mourinho simply refused to give them what they wanted.
Instead, he selected two technically gifted central midfielders and kept possession.
Even a 0-0 draw would suit New Manchester United.
The return leg would be played at Old Trafford.
And everyone in European football was beginning to hear about the Red Rebels' extraordinary home record.
Their reputation as an almost impossible side to beat at home had once been known primarily in England.
Now it was spreading across Europe.
Even Arsenal had failed there.
...
"This is slightly unexpected," Andy Gray said from the commentary box.
"New Manchester United have come to La Rosaleda and decided to dominate possession.
"Are we sure this is an English team?"
Martin Tyler laughed.
"After twenty minutes, possession is roughly forty-two percent to Málaga and fifty-eight percent to New Manchester United.
"That isn't an overwhelming difference statistically.
"But if you're watching the match, it feels much more one-sided because Málaga are spending so much time reacting to what the Red Rebels are doing."
Suddenly Gray raised his voice.
"Drogba wins it back high up the pitch!
"He finds Kaká arriving from midfield.
"Kaká drives through the centre and releases Robben on the left.
"Robben cuts inside...
"He shoots!
"Wide!
"Very close."
Gray sighed in disappointment.
Tyler picked up the analysis.
"I think part of the reason New Manchester United look so dominant is the movement.
"Everybody is constantly repositioning.
"From Drogba at centre-forward all the way back to Terry and Curtis, there is almost no one standing still.
"It creates the impression that the Red Rebels are everywhere."
"Absolutely," Gray replied.
"And the front four aren't simply waiting to attack.
"The moment possession is lost, they press immediately.
"That has caused Málaga enormous problems.
"You don't often see this level of coordinated counter-pressing in La Liga."
"Drogba nearly created a goal from one of those recoveries just now."
Tyler nodded.
"For me, one of the most impressive things about New Manchester United over the last three years has been their consistency of ideas.
"They haven't abandoned their principles every time they've moved up a division.
"They've refined them.
"Movement without the ball.
"Quick combinations.
"One-touch passing.
"Short, sharp exchanges at speed.
"Those have become part of the club's identity.
"And because the players understand the system so well, individual departures don't destroy the structure."
He continued.
"When Abidal left, people thought the defence would collapse.
"Instead, Evra stepped in and developed rapidly.
"Now clubs all over England, and increasingly across Europe, are looking at Newton Heath as a treasure chest of young talent."
Gray laughed.
"I've watched some of their academy matches.
"They're excellent.
"Messi and Ishmael are only fifteen, yet neither looks frightened playing against older reserve players.
"They're encouraged to take risks."
"That may also have something to do with the fact that teams are less enthusiastic about trying to intimidate Red Rebels players these days," Gray added mischievously.
Tyler immediately understood the reference.
The Millwall incident had shaken English football.
Millwall's reputation for violence had been notorious.
Yet when the confrontation exploded, their players had ended up considerably worse off.
Tyler laughed.
"Perhaps.
"It probably helps when your owner has already been photographed covered in blood and holding a baseball bat while standing between his supporters and a mob of hooligans.
"That image alone would make most people think twice.
"Off the pitch, Ethan protects the club fiercely.
"On it, you have players such as Curtis, Terry, Essien, and Drogba.
"Not exactly a group anyone would rush to provoke."
Gray chuckled.
"And yet tonight those same hard men are playing some remarkably delicate football."
...
New Manchester United's possession game was not identical to the Barcelona style Ethan remembered from his previous life.
There were similarities.
Both relied on a deep central organiser.
Both valued short passing and intelligent movement.
But the Red Rebels played faster and more directly.
They were less interested in keeping possession for its own sake.
They also embraced physical confrontation rather than avoiding it.
That reflected their English environment.
The speed and simplicity of their passing meant they would never dominate possession to the same extreme as Barcelona.
But possession percentage was not the true objective.
Control was.
And tonight, they controlled the rhythm completely.
On paper, a midfield pairing of Juninho and Redondo lacked defensive power.
Neither offered the relentless physical protection of Senna or Essien.
But New Manchester United's collective counter-pressing reduced that weakness.
The moment possession was lost, the entire team reacted.
Curtis also stepped forward aggressively from defence whenever necessary, closing the space behind the midfield.
That gave Redondo freedom.
And he was brilliant.
Everything flowed through him.
His teammates trusted him completely.
Whenever New Manchester United needed an escape route under pressure, they looked for Redondo.
Málaga recognised the problem.
Peiró tried assigning players to mark him.
It made little difference.
At times, two opponents surrounded Redondo.
Yet he almost always found a way out.
Juninho moved close.
Kolo surged forward on the right.
Curtis offered himself behind.
Kaká dropped deeper between the lines.
As long as everyone around Redondo kept moving, Málaga could not isolate him.
The only way to truly shut him down would have been to commit several players around him and block every nearby passing lane.
But that created another problem.
New Manchester United had four extremely dangerous attackers waiting farther forward.
Drogba.
Kaká.
Hleb.
Robben.
Even Manchester United or Arsenal would hesitate before leaving those four with additional space.
Málaga certainly could not afford to.
It was a tactical trap with no comfortable answer.
If Peiró committed more players to Redondo and Juninho, he weakened his defence against the Magic Four.
If he protected his back line, Redondo and Juninho controlled midfield.
Peiró knew perfectly well that no tactical system was unbeatable.
There was always a weakness somewhere.
The problem was that he could not find New Manchester United's quickly enough.
All he could do was watch his team being dragged into the match Mourinho wanted.
Worse still, Málaga's frustration was growing.
Professional footballers were expected to ignore distractions.
In reality, that was impossible.
When a team struggled, everything outside the match suddenly became heavier.
The unpaid wages.
The reduced bonuses.
The pressure from the crowd.
Every frustration began feeding the next.
Then came the thirty-sixth minute.
Curtis rose and headed away a Málaga pass.
The ball dropped towards Redondo.
A midfielder immediately closed him down from behind.
Redondo used his body beautifully.
One subtle shift of weight placed him between the defender and the ball.
He controlled possession.
Juninho moved towards him.
A quick one-two.
Redondo received the return pass near the halfway line.
Then he looked up.
One glance was enough.
He threaded a magnificent pass straight through Málaga's midfield.
Drogba received it with a centre-back tight against his back.
He braced himself and held the defender off.
Robben and Hleb were still some distance away.
Kaká had not yet reached the final third.
Drogba was isolated.
Or so the defender thought.
The striker cushioned the ball with his chest.
Then, with his right foot, he delicately nudged it around the defender's left side.
At the same instant, Drogba spun around the man's right shoulder.
Ball one way.
Player the other.
And suddenly Drogba was through.
(To be continued.)