United returned to Manchester the following day.
Mourinho gave the players recovery time, but Ling still found himself driving toward Carrington.
He had never been particularly good at resting.
After spending part of the morning wandering around his house with no clear purpose, he eventually decided to visit the youth teams.
The moment Ling appeared beside the training pitch, the academy players straightened and increased their effort.
Years earlier, almost every young player at Carrington had idolized Cristiano Ronaldo.
They still looked toward Manchester United's number 7.
The person wearing it had changed.
Faria had just finished several administrative tasks when he noticed Ling near the pitch.
"You've got Aston Villa next week," he said. "Shouldn't you be resting?"
"What are you doing here?"
Ling watched one academy winger attempt to beat his defender.
"When I first joined the senior team, I spent most of my days off training, didn't I?"
"You did."
Faria shook his head.
"You also dragged me into it."
"I barely had a holiday for months. The overtime payments from your extra sessions became higher than my normal salary."
Ling laughed.
He remembered the period clearly.
He had been younger, less complete, and terrified of allowing his opportunity to disappear.
The urgency pushed him through hundreds of repetitive days that would have bored most people within a week.
Training.
Recovery.
Eating.
Sleeping.
Then repeating the cycle.
"I heard you're planning to manage your own team after the season," Ling said.
A hint of reluctance entered his voice.
Faria scratched his head.
"Well... I'm not getting younger."
"My salary here is enough for my family, but nobody has ever complained about earning more."
He lowered his voice slightly.
"I originally thought I'd remain at United. Then Al-Duhail made an offer."
"How good?"
"One year there pays roughly what I earn in three here."
Ling understood immediately.
"I always thought you were capable of managing on your own."
"Of course I am!"
Faria straightened proudly.
"I've worked with José for seventeen years. My tactical knowledge may be so deep that even I haven't discovered the bottom."
He looked toward the distant future.
"Perhaps I'll dominate Qatar, return to England, take charge of a giant club, and defeat all of you."
A dreamy grin spread across his face.
SMACK!
A hand struck the back of his head.
Faria turned.
Mourinho stood behind him.
"Boss."
Faria's confidence disappeared instantly.
"Let me explain."
"I have only understood the surface of your genius. Not the core."
Mourinho stared at him.
"And the part about returning to defeat me?"
"Pure fantasy."
Faria spoke rapidly.
"I'm only going to Qatar to collect a large salary and perhaps negotiate some severance pay. Once they sack me, I'll come straight back."
Ling burst out laughing.
He had not expected Faria's grand managerial ambition to include a plan for extracting money from wealthy club owners.
Then again, the club was offering it willingly.
Mourinho said nothing.
He looked across the green training pitches instead.
Football was built upon departures.
Players left coaches.
Coaches left clubs.
Assistants pursued their own careers.
Even partnerships that seemed permanent eventually ended.
Perhaps one day Mourinho himself would leave Manchester United in search of another challenge.
Nothing in football lasted forever.
...
May 5th, 2020.
Premier League Matchweek 34.
Aston Villa hosted Manchester United.
Despite the approaching second leg against Juventus, Mourinho selected a strong side. The title race remained too close to sacrifice points.
United dominated from the opening whistle.
In the 26th minute, Grealish entered the penalty area and was brought down by his former club.
The referee pointed toward the spot.
Ling placed the ball down.
He waited for the goalkeeper to move and calmly sent the penalty into the opposite corner.
0–1.
"LING CONVERTS!"
"Manchester United's European momentum has followed them back into the Premier League!"
Before the opening half-hour had ended, United had already attempted eight shots, seven of them on target.
Only an excellent goalkeeping performance prevented the score from becoming embarrassing.
The second goal eventually arrived through Ling again.
He received in his favorite inside-left channel, opened his body, and curled the ball toward the far corner.
The shot bent beyond the goalkeeper and settled into the net.
0–2.
"FROM THE TERRITORY THAT HAS BECOME HIS OWN!" Tyler exclaimed. "Ling enters the left channel, draws the arc, and places the ball beyond reach!"
Maguire added the third during the second half, rising above the defense to head home from a corner.
Aston Villa 0–3 Manchester United.
Ling scored twice.
Maguire scored once.
United retained their position at the top of the Premier League and moved one step closer to the title.
The Champions League record awaited at Old Trafford.
Juventus awaited with it.
...
May 7th, 2020.
The evening before the second leg of the Champions League semifinal, Manchester United's players gathered at Carrington for a team dinner followed by one final tactical meeting.
Mourinho stood in front of the board.
"I won't waste your time."
He moved several magnetic pieces representing Juventus.
"They will probably change shape tomorrow. Based on their recent matches and the first leg, I expect a 4-3-3."
"So we return to the 4-3-1-2."
He tapped the three central midfield positions.
"We protect the middle, deny them easy combinations with Cristiano and Dybala, and make them work for every attack."
United carried a 2–0 advantage back from Turin.
That changed everything.
"We do not need to attack like we are chasing the match," Mourinho continued. "Be patient."
"Juventus have weaknesses throughout their structure. If they become desperate and force the tempo, their midfield will separate from the forwards."
He drew a large gap between the two lines.
"That is where we counter."
Mourinho moved Cristiano's marker toward the left side of Juventus's attack.
"Our primary defensive target is still Cristiano Ronaldo."
"But do not become so obsessed with him that you ignore Dybala. If Dybala starts centrally, his close control will allow him to receive between the lines and connect with Cristiano."
He turned toward the midfielders.
"When you defend, stay close enough to pressure without diving in."
"Force them toward crowded areas. Let the second defender make the tackle."
"If one of you lunges forward and gets beaten, Pogba and Dybala possess enough quality to punish the space immediately."
Finally, Mourinho looked toward Ling.
"You remain our highest player."
"Read the match. If we need another body in midfield, come back and help. If Juventus throw players forward, stay high and make them afraid of the counterattack."
"Communicate before you change the role."
Ling nodded.
Mourinho surveyed the room one final time.
"Remember what we are trying to do."
"Three Champions Leagues in a row."
"Nobody has managed it in the modern era."
His voice hardened.
"So there is no such thing as being too careful."
"Do not become the team that understands the value of the opportunity only after it disappears."
...
Ling understood the warning.
United's season had gone almost unnervingly well.
There had been defeats and difficult matches, but nothing had truly derailed them.
They remained alive in the title race, had reached the FA Cup final, and carried a commanding advantage into the Champions League semifinal.
Success created its own danger.
When a team kept winning, players could slowly begin assuming victory would arrive simply because it usually did.
That was when mistakes appeared.
Barcelona had already demonstrated what complacency, structural weakness, and emotional collapse could produce at this level.
United could not allow the same disease to enter their own dressing room.
...
Juventus arrived in Manchester later that day.
Sarri faced the media shortly afterward.
"We came here to win," he said. "Our objective remains reaching the Champions League final."
"To do that, Juventus must produce our best performance."
He adjusted his glasses.
"Manchester United have become extremely difficult to play through since Mourinho strengthened the center of midfield."
"Kanté is exceptional at recovering possession, and the players around him immediately turn those recoveries into counterattacks."
Sarri paused.
"And up front they have one of the best players in the world."
A faint smile appeared.
"Perhaps I should remove 'one of.' I suspect many people would agree."
The reporters laughed.
"We know the difficulty."
"We also have a plan."
"And we have Cristiano Ronaldo."
Cristiano had recently completed an eleven-match scoring streak in Serie A, matching one of the longest runs in the competition's modern history. His league form remained excellent even if Juventus's attack had not always functioned smoothly around him.
Sarri leaned forward.
"The Champions League naturally contains clubs of extraordinary quality. There are several teams capable of winning it."
"We believe Juventus are one of them."
...
The Italian press remained far less optimistic.
📰 Corriere dello Sport: Ronaldo's Workload Raises Questions Before Old Trafford
Cristiano had played heavy minutes during the domestic run-in and remained behind Immobile in the Serie A scoring race. Some journalists questioned whether Juventus had demanded too much from a thirty-five-year-old forward immediately before their biggest European match of the season.
📰 The Guardian: Juventus Need Historic Old Trafford Performance After Turin Defeat
Cristiano had produced spectacular European comebacks before, but Juventus now required at least two unanswered goals merely to force extra time.
And if Manchester United scored once, the equation became even more dangerous.
📰 Sky Sports: One Goal from History—Ling Enters Second Leg Level with Ronaldo's Seventeen-Goal Record
Ling's brace in Turin had taken him to seventeen Champions League goals for the season.
One more would establish a new single-season record.
Bookmakers considered another Ling goal increasingly likely.
The attention surrounding the match grew throughout Manchester.
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator