On the same night that New Manchester United defeated Liberty Professionals, Ajax Cape Town drew 2-2 with ASEC Mimosas in the other match of the charity tournament. That result left New Manchester United at the top of the table with 3 points.
Two days later, New Manchester United faced ASEC Mimosas.
Drogba started once again and showed a strong desire to score against a club from his homeland. He was very active throughout the match, but ASEC Mimosas were no easy opponents. With New Manchester United's players still some way short of full match sharpness, the Ivorian side caused them considerable trouble.
After the first half ended 0-0, Mourinho decisively changed the formation for the second half.
He brought on Olić to partner Palacio in attack. Alou Diarra and De Rossi formed the central midfield partnership, while Ribéry and Wright-Phillips played on the wings. Evra came in at left-back, Chiellini partnered Curtis in central defence, Hanke started at right-back, and Čech replaced Almunia in goal.
During the first 20 minutes after the changes, New Manchester United's performance was chaotic. In particular, Chiellini made a mistake at centre-back that led to the team conceding in the 58th minute.
However, Mourinho persisted with the tactical adjustment.
He instructed the players to press their opponents, with De Rossi and Alou Diarra working together to shut down ASEC Mimosas' midfield. Combined with Curtis occasionally stepping forward from defence, New Manchester United gradually suppressed their opponents' attack.
Once ASEC Mimosas were forced back, New Manchester United slowly began to find their attacking rhythm.
The strike partnership of Palacio and Olić offered plenty of pace. Palacio had the better technique, while Olić covered more ground and possessed decent strength. With Ribéry and Wright-Phillips also pushing forward from the wings, New Manchester United gradually turned the match around.
In the 81st minute, Evra won possession on the left and passed to De Rossi, who launched the attack.
Ribéry received the ball on the left, beat a defender, and cut inside. After drawing the opposing centre-back toward him, he slipped a through ball into the box.
Palacio escaped his marker and scored the equaliser.
1-1!
After drawing level, New Manchester United's momentum grew even stronger. However, ASEC Mimosas gradually dropped deeper and focused entirely on defending.
Although the match became increasingly one-sided, New Manchester United were unable to turn their advantage into another goal and could only watch as their opponents escaped with a point.
That same evening, at the same stadium, Liberty Professionals unexpectedly defeated Ajax Cape Town.
Yaya Touré was particularly active, scoring with a long-range effort and assisting one of his teammates, while Kolo Touré remained as reliable as ever.
The final score was 2-1.
After two rounds, New Manchester United led the table with 4 points. Liberty Professionals were second with 3 points, while ASEC Mimosas and Ajax Cape Town were tied behind them.
In the third round, New Manchester United faced Ajax Cape Town.
Although the South African side showed considerable resilience, they could not prevent New Manchester United from winning.
The 1-0 scoreline left Mourinho somewhat frustrated because, based on the team's performance, the margin of victory should have been greater.
The match between Liberty Professionals and ASEC Mimosas was far more intense.
The score was 2-2 at half-time. ASEC Mimosas took the lead again in the second half, but Kolo Touré surged down the right flank and assisted a teammate, helping Liberty Professionals equalise.
Unfortunately, shortly before the final whistle, an ASEC Mimosas player found space inside the penalty area and was brought down by a Liberty Professionals centre-back.
The referee awarded a penalty, and the ASEC Mimosas striker converted it.
3-4!
With that, all six matches of the Ghana Charity Tournament came to an end.
New Manchester United finished first with 7 points, ASEC Mimosas were second with 4 points, Liberty Professionals finished third with 3 points, and Ajax Cape Town came last with only 1 point.
According to the agreement made before the tournament, each club would receive prize money based on its final position in addition to its appearance fee.
However, New Manchester United donated all of their prize money to the Red Rebels Foundation, which then distributed it to the families of those who had died in the Accra stadium disaster.
According to Mark's figures, the six matches attracted a combined attendance of around 100,000 supporters.
With an average ticket price of $10, the tournament generated $1 million from ticket sales alone. Including other matchday income and sponsorship revenue, the total amount raised was estimated at nearly $1.5 million.
After expenses, appearance fees, and other necessary costs were deducted, the remaining sum of roughly $1 million was handed over to the Red Rebels Foundation.
Within a week of receiving the money, the foundation had distributed all of it to the victims' families.
The event attracted considerable attention in both Africa and Europe.
The Accra stadium disaster, in which more than 130 supporters lost their lives, had shocked the world. Many organisations had expressed sympathy and provided assistance to the victims' families, but New Manchester United were undoubtedly among the leading contributors from the football world.
Their actions drew the attention of other European clubs, and even a number of sponsors began to become involved.
Although Africa's economy remained relatively underdeveloped, the market potential of the continent was gradually being recognised.
Whether those organisations were motivated by genuine charity or saw the event as an opportunity to enter the African market was not important. What mattered was that they were helping people who desperately needed support.
...
After returning from Ghana, Kolo Touré travelled back to Manchester with the team, while his younger brother, Yaya Touré, was taken to Belgium by a New Manchester United scout.
Belgian Pro League side Genk had performed poorly over the previous two seasons.
They had won the league title in the 1998-99 season, but had fallen to eighth place in 1999-00. The following season, they had even spent part of the campaign near the relegation zone before recovering to finish eleventh.
Genk intended to rebuild their squad this season, but they had struggled to find a midfielder capable of contributing both offensively and defensively.
At that moment, one of New Manchester United's scouts recommended Yaya Touré.
After watching footage of the young Ivorian, Genk's head coach immediately decided to take him on loan and promised him an important role in the team.
New Manchester United and Genk soon signed a loan agreement.
Yaya would join Genk for one year, with the Belgian club paying his wages. After the first season, Genk would have the option to extend the loan for another year, but New Manchester United refused to include any purchase clause.
Before Yaya left for Belgium, both Ethan and Mourinho spoke with him.
They explained that the club was loaning him out only because he could not currently obtain a British work permit. Even if he moved to England, he would not be eligible to play for New Manchester United.
A loan was therefore the best option, and the club would continue monitoring his matches and development throughout his time in Belgium.
Ethan had already instructed Professor Fryer's laboratory to track Yaya's progress. He also asked the scout responsible for Belgium to attend his matches and report regularly.
He wanted to remain fully informed about the young Ivorian's development.
Although Yaya was not particularly enthusiastic about going out on loan, Ethan and Mourinho's encouragement and assurances gradually eased his concerns.
He repeatedly promised that he would work hard to improve and try to earn a place in the national team as quickly as possible so he could represent his country.
In truth, moving to the Belgian Pro League was not necessarily worse than playing in League Two.
The Belgian league received considerable attention, and Genk remained one of the country's stronger clubs.
Even so, Yaya still felt that playing for the same team as his brother would have been better.
...
After returning to Manchester, New Manchester United immediately resumed their intense preseason training.
The club had arranged three friendly matches, along with the preseason Newton Heath Cup.
New Manchester United and Droylsden had jointly applied to the Football Association for permission to create the competition the previous year, and the proposal had been approved.
It would be held as an annual preseason charity match between the two clubs, with all proceeds donated to charity.
The previous year's match had been staged at Droylsden's Butcher's Arms Ground. This season, it would take place at New Manchester United's City Ground.
Even before the match, New Manchester United's Commercial Department had already begun promoting it.
Since it was a charity fixture, ticket prices were kept low. Despite there still being more than half a month until the match, all 14,000 tickets had already sold out.
According to a survey conducted by the Commercial Department, touts were already selling tickets for three times their face value, and demand remained extremely high.
From this alone, it was clear that New Manchester United's home attendance figures for the coming season looked very promising.
The club's average ticket price for the season had provisionally been set at £15, the lowest in League Two.
However, if all 14,000 seats were filled, ticket revenue from a single match would reach £210,000.
With 23 home league matches during the season, total ticket revenue could reach £4.83 million.
Of course, that was an ideal estimate. In reality, it was impossible to guarantee a full stadium for every match.
Even so, New Manchester United had already sold 5,000 season tickets, and demand remained strong.
This suggested that even if the club did not sell out every match, attendances would still be close to capacity.
According to Mark, once sponsorship and other income were included, New Manchester United's financial position this season should be better than it had been the previous year.
The club might even reach break-even.
However, if they needed to spend heavily in the transfer market the following summer, Ethan would probably have to invest another substantial sum.
Ethan was already very satisfied with the club's financial progress.
If New Manchester United could truly win promotion to League One, he would be more than willing to provide whatever money was necessary.
...
On the third day after returning to Manchester, Ethan fulfilled the promise he had made to Curtis and the others by hosting a party at his new home.
In addition to inviting everyone from New Manchester United, he also invited his new neighbours, the Beckhams, along with several Manchester United players.
To his surprise, Eva, acting as the hostess, had invited even more guests.
As a result, what Ethan had intended to be a relaxed gathering among friends became a major attraction for the media.
The reporters gathered outside his mansion that evening were like bees drawn to honey, arriving in large numbers as soon as word spread.
For someone in Ethan's position, keeping a low profile was becoming increasingly difficult.
(To be continued.)