"We, New Manchester United, were born for this!"
In the silent dressing room, Ethan's resonant words still echoed. In the eyes of every player, something called fanaticism flickered, quickly igniting the hearts of everyone present.
Even inside the dressing room, they could clearly hear the fans in the stands singing "Wavin' Flag" in chorus, the waves of sound growing louder and louder. Through the live television broadcast, the scale of this chorus not only shook the stadium, but also stunned every viewer watching in front of their television.
Just moments ago, the inauguration ceremony for New Manchester United's City Stadium had been brief. Ethan took the stage on behalf of the club to say a few words, and then, as the performers of the team anthem, the Newton Heath band led by K'naan took the stage to sing "Wavin' Flag," a song that had already spread among the Red Rebels fan base. The passionate music and stirring drumbeats pushed the atmosphere at the scene to its peak.
The long-lost Red Rebels' "Devil's Home Ground" had reappeared!
Infected by this atmosphere, all the players in New Manchester United's dressing room appeared extremely excited and fired up, showing no fear even though they were facing a Premier League giant. Ethan had just said on stage that New Manchester United were born to create one miracle after another.
And everyone at the club, including the coaches, players, team doctors, all the staff, and even the old security guard, a fan responsible for watching the gate, would all become part of that miracle.
Looking at the group of players in front of him, all around twenty years old, Bruce could not help sighing. Ethan seemed like a natural orator. Beforehand, no one would have expected that he would publicly issue a challenge to Arsenal while giving his speech at the stadium inauguration ceremony.
This move was undoubtedly shocking, but it also greatly boosted the team's morale, especially because his speech resonated deeply with the young players in the squad.
After all, which young person would willingly believe they were destined to be inferior to others?
If they did not want Ethan's words to become nothing more than arrogance, they had no choice but to defeat Arsenal and prove it with facts.
"Guys, this is a live television broadcast. Even the stadium inauguration ceremony just now was broadcast. Football fans across the UK have probably seen what just happened. Our club owner publicly issued a challenge to Arsenal. This is incredible, because in everyone's eyes, we are just a National League team, an amateur league team."
"But do you think the boss was wrong?" Bruce suddenly raised his voice.
The players were stunned at first, but soon shouted in unison, "No!"
"He wasn't wrong!"
"The boss was right. We can defeat Arsenal!"
The players' reaction was enthusiastic, which was a good sign. Bruce felt that this morale could be put to use.
"Very good. But on the football pitch, words mean nothing. We must prove it with our strength."
After saying this, Bruce gave Cassel a look, and the latter immediately drew Arsenal's starting lineup on the tactics board.
"Arsenal have sent almost all of their main players for this match. The goalkeeper is Seaman. The back line from left to right is Ashley Cole, Adams, Keown, and Luzhny. The two defensive midfielders are Petit and Vieira. The left and right midfielders are Henry and Parlour respectively, and the two forwards are Bergkamp and Kanu."
"Judging by the starting lineup, Arsenal are taking this match very seriously. Currently, they are level on points with Manchester United in the league, but Manchester United have played two fewer games, which means Arsenal are effectively 6 points behind. Given Manchester United's current form, unless they suffer a heavy blow in Brazil and their form drops significantly after returning, it will be very difficult for Arsenal to catch up."
"Wenger clearly wants to keep the pressure on Manchester United in the league while also achieving success in the FA Cup. In this match, Arsenal's two flanks will pose a major threat to us. Henry and Parlour are both excellent wide players, especially Henry. His movement inside is very sharp, and his finishing is very accurate. I heard he played as a forward in Ligue 1, so we must pay close attention to him."
"The Nigerian target man Kanu is 1.97 metres tall. Although people outside say his heading ability is not particularly outstanding, his height is still there, and his technique is very good, with strong playmaking ability. He is expected to be Arsenal's attacking focal point in this match. Henry, Parlour, Bergkamp, and even Vieira, Petit, and Ashley Cole will become the second and third waves of attackers."
To cope with this match, New Manchester United had sent scouts early to track and observe several Arsenal matches, trying to understand Arsenal's attacking patterns as much as possible. At the same time, over the past two days, Bruce had been constantly showing edited videos to the players, making them more familiar with the playing styles of the Arsenal players.
"For this match, our starting lineup is: goalkeeper Almunia, left and right full-backs Evra and Stenson, centre-backs Abidal and Distin, defensive midfielders Poulsen and Essien, Juninho as the attacking midfielder, Olić and Hleb on the wings, and Žigić up front."
After introducing the team's starting lineup, Bruce and Cassel assigned specific tasks to the players in each position.
"Guys, this will be a very, very tough match. Arsenal are a Premier League giant, and their attacking power is terrifying. So even though we are at home, we cannot be arrogant enough to go toe to toe with them. In this match, we must defend, defend for our lives. We have been practising defensive drills over the past few days, and I hope to see the results today!"
"Michael, in this match, our defensive line needs to drop deeper. Your area will be limited to our own half. Wherever there is a gap, you go there. Ribeiro and the others, the same applies to you. Think about defending first, then attacking. Do you all understand?"
After hearing this, the players responded one after another.
"Christian, remember him!" Bruce called out Poulsen's name, then slammed his right hand heavily on Vieira's name on the tactics board. "He is a hot-tempered guy. Two months ago, he was suspended for spitting at an opponent. Wenger said that after this suspension, he would reflect on it, but I highly doubt it. So go and test him!"
Poulsen smiled and nodded after hearing this. His playing style was fierce and tenacious, and he had plenty of little tricks. If Ethan were present, he would surely have immediately thought of the 2004 European Championship, when Totti, unable to endure Poulsen's words and harassment, spat at him. As a result, Totti was heavily criticised, while Poulsen became famous overnight.
However, although Poulsen was often mocked by opponents for being dirty, he was personally very popular with managers of various teams, because professional football was just like that. To win, some people would stop at nothing.
Since City Stadium only had three stands, many of which were standing-room areas, and no VIP boxes, Ethan had to arrange for Eva and Victoria to sit near the stand where the Red Devils Knights were located. However, he did not expect Beckham to come as well.
Walking through the noisy crowd of fans, Ethan kept greeting people along the way.
"He is really popular with the fans!" Victoria praised with a smile.
Eva, sitting beside her, stared intently at Ethan, forgetting even to respond. She believed that if they were not in public, she would have rushed over without hesitation.
"With the change in Manchester United's management strategy, more and more Manchester United fans have started supporting New Manchester United. I heard that their club membership is expanding rapidly, especially online. Their popularity on the internet doesn't even lose to some Premier League teams," Beckham said meaningfully.
As a direct product of Manchester United, he, like Keane, felt puzzled by some of the club's management strategies. Could the club really, as the outside world said, eventually become a complete slave to commercialisation?
Although Manchester United had achieved glorious accomplishments, it could never cover up one stain, which was also one of the weapons countless rival fans used to attack Manchester United. When this Premier League giant registered on the stock market, it had lost some of its football identity and become only a company.
Ethan walked over with a smile and hugged Beckham, who had stood up. "I really didn't expect you to come, David!" As he spoke, his eyes looked toward Eva beside Victoria, and Eva also looked at him with deep affection.
"It's nothing. I just came to support you while I had time!" Beckham smiled somewhat stiffly.
Ethan was a smart person and knew exactly what was going on. He patted Beckham on the shoulder comfortingly, then the two sat down side by side.
"Looking at this match, you seem very confident, daring to openly issue a challenge to Arsenal!" Beckham said admiringly.
"There's no other way. The opponent is too strong, and we don't want to lose, so we have to grit our teeth and be tough." After speaking, Ethan shook his head helplessly. "In my opinion, this year's Arsenal are stronger than last year, especially in defence. Luzhny has replaced the ageing Dixon, while Sylvinho and Ashley Cole have replaced Winterburn, which has greatly improved their defensive strength!"
Although Manchester United and Arsenal were bitter rivals, Beckham had to agree with Ethan's words. Even though Arsenal had played two more games than Manchester United, they had actually conceded 3 fewer goals. It was just that Manchester United's attacking power was so formidable that they had the advantage over Arsenal in points.
It could be said that Arsenal's defence this season was definitely the strongest in the Premier League.
"But having the best defence doesn't mean they won't concede goals. No back line in this world can be completely watertight, don't you think, David?" Ethan said with a smile.
Beckham could not figure out why Ethan had such confidence. Arsenal's attacking power might not be strong compared to Manchester United's, but looking across the Premier League, Arsenal's attack was definitely top-tier.
But looking at Ethan's expression, it was as if New Manchester United could withstand Arsenal's attacks while also piercing through Arsenal's proud back line.
Was that possible?
(To be continued.)