July 28th, 2017
Copenhagen, Denmark
I was awake before the sun. The sky over Copenhagen was a bruised, pre-dawn purple, the city still sleeping off the previous night's drama. From the window of my hotel suite, I could see the harbour, its waters calm and dark.
The euphoria of the 5-0 win was a fading echo, a pleasant but distant warmth. It was real, it had happened, but in my mind, it was already a data point. A closed file. The satisfaction was being replaced by the cold, clear-headed reality of what came next. I was not basking. I was planning.
An hour later, I had the entire first-team squad and staff assembled in a private conference room in the hotel.
The players shuffled in, some still buzzing with a nervous, joyful energy, others looking physically and emotionally drained. The air was thick with the self-satisfaction of a job well done. I let them settle, a low murmur of conversation filling the room as they grabbed coffees and pastries.
