While New Manchester United were eliminating Southampton, Arsenal defeated Sheffield United to reach the FA Cup final for the third consecutive year.
This would be the third time New Manchester United had faced Arsenal in the FA Cup.
In their previous two meetings, each side had won once, leaving them level at one victory apiece.
Now they would meet again in the final on May 17 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, to settle the score once and for all.
After the two semi-finals, the major media outlets immediately began building up the FA Cup final as another showdown between New Manchester United and Arsenal.
Coincidentally, each team had hosted one of their previous two meetings. This time, their third encounter would take place at a neutral venue, making it feel like the perfect opportunity to decide which side was truly superior.
Relatively speaking, however, the upcoming Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United attracted even greater attention.
Meanwhile, New Manchester United began preparing for their UEFA Cup semi-final against Lazio.
Almost every media outlet believed the Red Rebels' remarkable run would end in the semi-finals.
Lazio were simply considered too strong.
Their performances in Serie A had also been consistently impressive in recent years, and they had even won the league title in 2000.
Although the current Lazio could no longer compare financially with the side from three years earlier, they were still one of Serie A's strongest teams.
Even in decline, Lazio remained a formidable opponent.
More importantly, while Lazio could field something close to a full-strength side, New Manchester United would be without Kaká and Juninho.
Their absence would have a significant impact.
Mourinho had previously used De Rossi in Juninho's place.
Although the young Italian performed well, he could not reproduce Juninho's influence.
New Manchester United's emphatic victory had been more a reflection of the team's overall strength than De Rossi's ability to dictate the rhythm of the match.
That also persuaded Mourinho to abandon the idea of developing De Rossi into a deep-lying playmaker.
After watching him for an entire season, Mourinho had become convinced that De Rossi was much better suited to playing as one of the two deeper midfielders in a 4-2-3-1.
Because of that, when Mourinho discussed the squad with Ethan, he made it clear that he wanted to sign a strong playmaker who could provide another option in midfield next season.
Several names immediately came to Ethan's mind.
Deco from Porto.
Xabi Alonso from Real Sociedad.
Mikel Arteta from Rangers.
Yoann Gourcuff from Rennes' academy.
And Cesc Fàbregas from Barcelona's academy.
All of them would later become known for their ability to organise a midfield, and none had yet reached the height of their reputation.
Of those players, Xabi Alonso was undoubtedly the one most capable of immediately stepping into the team and making an impact.
He also possessed defensive qualities that some of the others lacked.
During his conversations with Redondo, the Argentine had repeatedly mentioned Alonso.
In Redondo's opinion, there were only two midfielders in world football at that time who most resembled him stylistically.
Barcelona's Xavi and Real Sociedad's Xabi Alonso.
Promotion to the Premier League was already virtually assured.
The only remaining question was whether New Manchester United would go up as champions or runners-up.
Mourinho's goal was to overtake Portsmouth and win the league while also challenging for the UEFA Cup and FA Cup.
Signing Xabi Alonso would undoubtedly be an ideal solution.
He already had considerable La Liga experience and was capable of contributing immediately.
Moreover, as a Real Madrid supporter, Ethan had always liked Alonso.
Because of this, Ethan immediately asked Walsh to contact Real Sociedad and inquire about Alonso's price.
Real Sociedad showed little interest in discussing the matter.
Through other contacts, New Manchester United also approached Alonso's agent, but he likewise showed little enthusiasm for the idea of his client joining a newly promoted Premier League club.
That frustrated Ethan.
At the same time, it also convinced him to abandon any thought of trying to sign Cambiasso from Real Madrid.
If Alonso was reluctant to join a newly promoted club, Cambiasso was even less likely to consider it.
So Ethan turned his attention towards Arteta.
The midfielder was not yet particularly famous, but Ethan knew how good he was, and Arteta had performed very well for Rangers that season.
There was also Michael Johnson in the academy.
But at not even fifteen years old, the youngster obviously could not be relied upon for the first team yet.
Ethan therefore instructed Walsh to begin contacting the players he had identified.
At the same time, he asked Villas-Boas and the scouting department to compile detailed reports on each of them and send everything to Mourinho so that the manager could take part in the selection process.
However, just as New Manchester United began looking for another midfield organiser, other clubs were also showing interest in their players.
...
"This is obviously psychological warfare!"
The moment Ethan saw reports claiming that Lazio were interested in Juninho, Hleb, Drogba, and several other New Manchester United players, his first reaction was that the Italian media were trying to unsettle their opponents before the semi-final.
It was a common tactic when major clubs faced supposedly weaker opposition.
If even one of the targeted players became distracted by the speculation, his performance could suffer.
And just look at the names Lazio were supposedly targeting.
They were all key players.
"I'm just wondering one thing," David said with a mocking smile. "Does Lazio still have enough money to buy anyone?"
Everyone burst out laughing.
"Then why don't we turn it around on them?" Ethan said with a grin.
"Let's announce that we're interested in Stanković.
"Better yet, let's actually make an offer for him and see how Lazio react.
"Fifteen million euros.
"Times have changed, after all."
Given Lazio's current financial problems, it was difficult to say who was really in a position to raid whom.
Everyone laughed again.
"Still, we need to keep an eye on the players' mentality," Ethan continued more seriously.
"Our squad is generally very young, so it's especially important to monitor everyone's emotions before a match this big.
"The home leg against Lazio is going to be difficult."
If New Manchester United lost at Old Trafford, the away leg would become even harder.
That was especially true against a defence led by Stam.
Everyone knew Lazio possessed one of the strongest defensive units in Serie A that season.
Mourinho nodded confidently.
"Don't worry. Leave that to me."
"Then I'll leave Stanković to you as well," Ethan said with a laugh.
"If you can actually bring him here, we'll save ourselves a lot of trouble looking for another playmaker."
Sure enough, that afternoon, Mourinho happened to "run into" a reporter from the Manchester Evening News.
Through a series of conveniently chosen questions, the conversation soon turned towards Lazio's players.
Mourinho declared that Stanković would suit New Manchester United perfectly.
He also said he would love to sign Stam, who had already proved himself during his years in English football.
New Manchester United needed another midfielder capable of organising play and an experienced leader in defence.
In Mourinho's view, Stanković and Stam fit those requirements perfectly.
He wanted both of them in Manchester.
"If they're willing to come, then next season New Manchester United will be one of the strongest challengers for the Premier League title.
"Don't doubt it.
"I believe this team is capable of that."
A reporter immediately asked, "Does that mean New Manchester United are planning to spend heavily in the transfer market after winning promotion?"
Mourinho smiled.
"I've just had a meeting with the owner.
"He gave me a blank cheque.
"He told me, 'José, however much money you need, write it down. Whoever you want, I'll bring him to New Manchester United.'
"I was very excited.
"So I told him, 'Boss, I promise you, we'll become the biggest dark horse in Premier League history.'"
Mourinho smiled again.
"You don't believe me?
"You think I'm talking nonsense?
"Then ask Lazio.
"We want Stanković and Stam.
"Twenty million pounds for the pair."
The moment those comments were published, reporters immediately turned their attention towards Lazio.
At first, the Italian club denied having received any offer from New Manchester United.
But it did not take long for the media to uncover evidence that the Red Rebels had indeed submitted a £20 million bid.
And Lazio had taken it seriously.
They desperately needed money.
At the same time, New Manchester United contacted the representatives of both Stam and Stanković.
Both players made it clear that they had no intention of joining a newly promoted Premier League club.
That did little to stop the story.
When Lazio arrived in Manchester, a group of supporters were waiting at the airport with banners calling for Stam to return to the city.
Everything had been arranged so convincingly that it almost looked as though Lazio had already accepted New Manchester United's offer.
In truth, the speculation was not entirely unreasonable.
Lazio were in serious financial difficulty, and the club's finances were effectively under the control of its creditors.
That meant decisions involving player sales were no longer entirely in the hands of the manager or club directors.
From the banks' perspective, if selling Stam and Stanković could generate a substantial transfer fee, there was every reason to consider it.
For a time, reports that New Manchester United were preparing a major bid for Stam and Stanković, followed by an ambitious spending spree after promotion to the Premier League, spread rapidly.
The English media in particular pursued the story relentlessly, constantly questioning Lazio's players about the possible transfers.
New Manchester United were already accustomed to the English media's methods.
Mourinho was sent out to attract all the attention, while preparations at the training ground continued without disruption.
The tactical work Mourinho had specifically prepared for Lazio proceeded exactly as planned.
Lazio were not so fortunate.
From the moment they arrived in Manchester, they were surrounded by reporters.
Even their preparations were affected, and the constant speculation inevitably disturbed the players, particularly Stam and Stanković.
The general perception of Lazio at the time was simple.
If a club could offer enough money, almost anyone was available.
Even a League One side could potentially buy one of their stars.
Nesta was the clearest example.
He had been a world-class centre-back and one of Lazio's greatest symbols, yet the previous summer he had been sold to AC Milan for a fee roughly a third lower than what Manchester United paid for Ferdinand.
At a club suffering from such severe financial problems, where even iconic players could be sold below their true value, uncertainty was inevitable.
Normally, the players might not show it.
But once transfer rumours began circulating, everyone would wonder the same thing.
Who would be sold next?
Would it be you?
Or me?
New Manchester United had clearly identified that uncertainty and deliberately exploited it.
And in Ethan's view, if £20 million, more than €30 million at the time, could genuinely bring both Stam and Stanković to Manchester, it would be an absolute bargain.
As Ethan jokingly put it:
"I'm not worried that you'll sell.
"I'm worried that you won't.
"And the best situation would be if you wanted to sell but were too afraid to admit it."
(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.)