New Manchester United attached considerable importance to the Newton Heath Cup, but Mourinho regarded the Community Shield a week later rather differently, even with Manchester United as the opposition.
That was not because winning the Premier League had made the Red Rebels arrogant. Ferguson himself had already indicated that Manchester United were likely to rest several first-team players in the Community Shield so that the main squad could prepare properly for the new league season and continue working on their understanding.
For the leading Premier League clubs, the Community Shield had effectively become the final friendly of pre-season.
Mourinho therefore fielded a strong side in the Newton Heath Cup. Čech started in goal, with Evra, Terry, Curtis, and Kolo Touré across the defence. Beckham partnered Essien in central midfield, Kaká played ahead of them, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robben started on the wings, and Drogba led the line.
Droylsden also selected their strongest available eleven, with Mascherano, Muntari, Micah Richards, Joe Hart, Džeko, and several of their other young players all involved.
Neither side treated the match casually. New Manchester United controlled most of the game, however, particularly in terms of tempo and collective movement. Their understanding was simply far more developed than Droylsden's.
The match finished 4-1. Džeko scored Droylsden's goal, while Mascherano, Micah Richards, and several others also impressed.
Ethan watched the entire ninety minutes from his seat and repeatedly praised Droylsden's progress to David Pace. Their passing was cleaner, their support angles were better, and the transitions between attack and defence were far more organised than they had been before Pellegrini arrived.
There was little doubt about Pellegrini's ability. Ethan believed Droylsden would be among the strongest contenders for promotion to the Premier League that season, particularly with so many talented young players beginning to mature together.
New Manchester United also looked sharper than they had in their earlier friendlies, although Cristiano Ronaldo and Robben still lacked some of their usual intensity after Euro 2004. The Lab regarded it as a normal consequence of tournament fatigue and believed both players simply needed time to recover physically and mentally.
Messi, who replaced Robben, looked much livelier. He scored once and created another from the right, while his understanding with Kaká was particularly striking. The two seemed to recognise each other's intentions almost instinctively.
As the first proper match played at the new stadium, the Newton Heath Cup received overwhelming support from the fans. All 55,000 seats were filled, while season-ticket sales for the coming campaign were expected to pass 40,000.
That level of demand suggested New Manchester United's average attendance would reach another record. Combined with the sale of all executive boxes and corporate seating, the commercial department believed matchday ticket revenue could exceed anything the club had earned before, possibly even surpassing the previous season despite having played at Old Trafford while winning the title.
The opening of restaurants, bars, retail outlets, and other service businesses around the stadium would add another layer of matchday income. Together with sponsorship, broadcasting revenue, commercial operations, and the rent generated by the surrounding entertainment district, the club was increasingly likely to reach profitability earlier than projected.
The bigger question was how much profit New Manchester United could generate, and whether they could eventually overtake Manchester United.
Real Madrid's Champions League triumph the previous season had already pushed their global commercial value even higher. Catching them in the short term would require sustained success on the pitch as well as major stars capable of drawing attention beyond England.
Beckham provided some of that appeal, but one star alone was not enough. Nor was a single Premier League title enough to establish the club alongside Real Madrid and Manchester United permanently.
Ethan understood that. Sporting prestige and global star power had to be built over time, and he was in no hurry.
For now, the new Premier League season was approaching, and the first event on the calendar was the Community Shield.
Before the match, Ferguson and Mourinho both approached the FA with essentially the same request. They wanted the freedom to field heavily rotated teams because the league mattered far more, and both squads still contained players recovering from Euro 2004 and the Copa América.
The Community Shield was being staged at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, meaning both Manchester clubs had to travel south on August 8 despite opening their league campaigns only six days later.
Neither manager was particularly pleased.
The FA, however, refused to make concessions and made it clear that both clubs were still expected to treat the match as a senior fixture. There were even suggestions that if Ferguson or Mourinho attempted to stay behind and send assistants in their place, disciplinary action could follow.
Mourinho responded by taking only part of his first-team squad to Cardiff. Cristiano Ronaldo, Robben, Beckham, Lahm, and several others remained in Manchester, where Cassell supervised their training.
Ferguson did much the same.
Manchester United started with Howard in goal; Fortune, Silvestre, O'Shea, and Gary Neville across the back; Djemba-Djemba, Keane, Fletcher, Giggs, and Richardson in midfield; and Alan Smith as the lone striker.
New Manchester United fielded Almunia behind Evra, Vidić, Curtis, and Kolo Touré. Fàbregas and De Rossi formed the midfield pairing, Ribéry and Messi played wide, Kaká operated centrally, and Drogba started up front.
Neither side approached the match with any intention of taking unnecessary risks. Avoiding injuries mattered far more than lifting the trophy.
That became obvious in the first half when O'Shea landed awkwardly after challenging Drogba for a header. The injury initially appeared minor, but Ferguson immediately replaced him with the young American Jonathan Spector rather than take any chances.
New Manchester United led 1-0 at half-time.
Mourinho began rotating aggressively after the interval. Michael Johnson replaced Fàbregas in the fiftieth minute, Mikel came on for De Rossi five minutes later, and Agüero soon replaced Kaká after the Brazilian had scored New Manchester United's second goal.
Three changes in quick succession disrupted their shape, and Manchester United immediately took advantage. Giggs broke down the left and crossed into the area, where Alan Smith finished to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Even then, Ferguson showed little interest in chasing the match with his strongest available players. Smith was withdrawn for the academy youngster Chris Eagles, following earlier substitutions that had also introduced younger players.
The Community Shield had effectively turned into an extended development match.
Television pictures showed large sections of empty seating inside the Millennium Stadium. Even the rivalry between the two Manchester clubs was not enough to generate enormous interest in a fixture both managers were openly treating as preparation.
The previous season had already produced three intense meetings between them, and with Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool all strengthening heavily during the summer, neither Ferguson nor Mourinho had any reason to exhaust his players over the Community Shield.
New Manchester United's youngsters gradually began to take control. Michael Johnson was particularly impressive, producing several sharp vertical passes and accurate diagonals from deep.
In the 81st minute, one of those passes found Agüero between the lines. The Argentine controlled it and immediately backheeled into Messi's path. Messi accelerated beyond the defence and delicately lifted the ball into the far corner.
3-1.
The flashes of quality from the younger players could not prevent the media from describing the match as little more than a glorified friendly.
Most reports agreed that neither side had shown any particular desperation to win. If the game proved anything, it was that New Manchester United's emerging generation currently looked more advanced than Manchester United's.
The Times highlighted Messi, Ishmael, Michael Johnson, Mikel, and Agüero as exceptional prospects who could become important first-team players over the next several seasons. By comparison, Spector and Eagles had shown promise without exerting the same influence on the match.
That, more than anything tactical, was presented as the difference between the sides in Cardiff.
Few journalists were prepared to draw conclusions about the league from it. If the two clubs met again with their strongest elevens, the result could be very different.
While the Community Shield was taking place, Chelsea were playing their final pre-season friendly in London.
Ancelotti's team demolished lower-league opposition 7-0.
After nearly two months of experimentation, the Italian appeared to have settled on the system he believed suited Chelsea best: the Christmas-tree formation that had brought him so much success in Milan.
Its greatest strength was its ability to concentrate Chelsea's quality through the centre.
Shevchenko or Crespo could lead the line, with Lampard and Joe Cole given considerable freedom to arrive from behind. Deco, naturally an attacking midfielder, had been moved deeper, where his passing, movement, and ability to support attacks added greater control to Chelsea's build-up.
Shevchenko scored a hat-trick in the final warm-up, Crespo added another, Deco struck from distance, Verón scored directly from a free kick, and Lampard finished from close range.
Chelsea's seven-goal performance felt like an early warning to the rest of the Premier League.
The opening weeks of the league offered few direct clashes between the leading contenders, which reduced some of the immediate spectacle but gave each club a chance to develop rhythm before the biggest fixtures arrived.
The first major confrontation would not come until the fifth round in mid-September, when New Manchester United travelled to Chelsea.
Even so, August would be demanding. Four league matches in roughly half a month left little room for a slow start, particularly for clubs expected to challenge for the title.
The strongest teams needed to accumulate points before European competition and the domestic cups began crowding the calendar. Once Champions League group matches started, managers would have to divide attention among several competitions at once.
That was why everyone treated the August fixtures so seriously, even if it meant sacrificing the Community Shield.
After returning from Cardiff, Mourinho immediately placed the squad into a five-day closed training camp. Media interviews were cancelled, outside appearances were refused, and even the commercial department was forbidden from arranging sponsor events involving first-team players.
For those five days, Mourinho wanted nothing except football.
Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool did much the same. All five clubs became unusually quiet as the opening weekend approached.
Each had something to prove.
Manchester United and Chelsea had spent enormous sums and would be expected to justify that investment immediately. Abramovich was even rumoured to have told Ancelotti that anything short of the league title would be a disappointment.
Arsenal and Liverpool intended to re-establish themselves among the strongest sides in the country, while New Manchester United entered the season as defending champions and still carried an unbeaten league run from the previous campaign.
The consensus was increasingly clear: the Premier League had developed into a five-way title fight.
Behind them, clubs such as Newcastle, Tottenham, Manchester City, Everton, and several others had strengthened as well, making the overall competition even more difficult than the season before.
The title race could begin from the very first weekend.
Across Europe and beyond, attention turned towards England. Supporters wanted to know whether Chelsea's extraordinary spending would produce immediate success, whether Ferguson's rebuilt Manchester United could reclaim the championship, how long the Red Rebels could preserve their unbeaten run, and whether Arsenal or Liverpool could force their way back to the top.
At last, after an entire summer of transfers, speculation, friendlies, and predictions, the Premier League returned.
And from the opening round, it delivered exactly the kind of drama everyone had been expecting.
(To be continued.)