Three days after the new stadium project was announced, demolition work officially began at New Manchester United's City of Manchester Stadium, marking the first step towards building the club's new home.
Heavy machinery moved onto the site, while Herzog and de Meuron assigned a team to remain there throughout the construction process.
Local television stations covered the demolition, and many supporters came to watch.
Although the City of Manchester Stadium had brought them plenty of joy, they were not deeply attached to it. The ageing ground had always seemed ill-suited to the young and ambitious Red Rebels.
Even so, many supporters took photographs of the stadium before it disappeared, hoping to preserve a reminder of the club's early years.
It was only April, but New Manchester United's remaining four league matches were all away from home. Since this was also an ideal time to begin construction, Ethan decided to start the work early.
Demolishing the stadium and clearing the site would take a considerable amount of time. As Ethan stood beside the two architects and watched the first stage of their plans unfold, he felt nothing but anticipation and confidence in the new ground.
To manage the project more efficiently, the construction team divided it into several phases.
Work would begin on the southern side of the stadium before additional construction teams were gradually introduced. Once the separate sections were completed, they would be connected to form the main structure.
Development of the surrounding land would begin only after the stadium itself had been completed.
As a passionate football supporter, British Prime Minister Tony Blair accepted Ethan's invitation and personally attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
During an interview, Blair said that he and Ethan were friends, that he greatly respected the Red Rebels, and that he was eagerly anticipating the completion of such a remarkable stadium.
The Prime Minister's appearance at the ceremony once again drew widespread media attention.
Reporters followed every stage of the project, covering its progress with almost the same enthusiasm they devoted to stories about David and Victoria Beckham.
The stadium would contain seven levels, including a multi-storey underground car park with space for more than 10,000 vehicles.
Because of that design, the 350 concrete support columns were crucial.
To ensure that they could withstand the enormous weight above them, the concrete first had to be poured into moulds before being placed inside centrifuges and compressed under immense gravitational force, creating an exceptionally strong material.
Producing those columns alone required 200,000 cubic metres of concrete.
That was enough to construct a tower measuring ten metres by ten metres and standing 2,000 metres high, or to fill a train stretching for more than 40 kilometres.
When Herzog and de Meuron explained those figures, Ethan was astonished.
He had already learned a great deal about stadium construction, but standing on the site was an entirely different experience.
As he watched the workers and heavy machinery operating amid the constant rumble of construction, an immense sense of pride rose within him.
This would be Ethan's stadium.
It would belong to the Red Rebels.
...
While construction began on the new ground, the team continued to excel in League Two.
After winning both the League Cup and the Football League Trophy, the Red Rebels returned to league competition in outstanding spirits.
News that work on their new stadium had begun made the players even more motivated.
A succession of victories allowed New Manchester United to secure the League Two title with two matches remaining, making them the first club in the division's history to complete a treble.
Although the three trophies were among the less prestigious prizes in English football, the achievement still delighted the supporters.
After the title was confirmed, Ethan fulfilled the promises he had made to both the players and the fans.
The squad received a generous bonus, while the club arranged a distinctive celebration for the supporters.
New Manchester United had secured the championship early, but the battle for second place remained fierce.
Brentford, Reading, and Brighton all showed remarkable resilience. Their points totals remained close enough to keep the contest alive until the final round.
Reading ultimately handled the pressure best.
They came from behind to win their final match and claim all three points, while Brentford and Brighton both faltered at the decisive moment.
Reading overtook them and secured the second automatic promotion place.
The teams finishing third through sixth were Brentford, Brighton, Stoke City, and Cardiff City, who entered the promotion play-offs.
Under the play-off format, third-placed Brentford faced sixth-placed Cardiff, while fourth-placed Brighton met fifth-placed Stoke City over two legs.
Perhaps their failure to secure automatic promotion had damaged their confidence.
Brentford and Brighton, both of whom had performed impressively throughout the season, struggled badly in the play-offs.
Cardiff and Stoke finished the season with much greater momentum and defeated them in both legs, advancing to the final at the Millennium Stadium.
Stoke performed considerably better than Cardiff in the one-off final.
They adopted a more cautious approach, while Cardiff, despite possessing a dangerous attack, remained unable to overcome their long-standing defensive weakness.
That ultimately led to Cardiff losing 1-0.
The three promoted clubs from League Two were therefore confirmed: treble winners New Manchester United, Reading, and Stoke City.
Stoke's promotion was particularly unexpected.
They had attracted little attention for most of the season, only to surge forward at the end and become the campaign's true dark horses.
...
Once the season ended, the players departed for their holidays.
Ethan, however, was left facing a succession of problems.
"Manchester United have submitted another offer," Walsh said with a helpless smile.
"They want Curtis and Essien as part of a joint deal. They're offering £15 million."
Manchester United's determination to strengthen their defence was hardly surprising.
Their back line had looked unstable throughout the season.
Since Stam's departure, they had been desperately searching for a replacement.
Their leading target was Rio Ferdinand, but his transfer fee would be enormous.
Leeds United's debt crisis had forced the club to consider selling its best players, and Ferdinand was undoubtedly their most valuable asset.
His departure appeared inevitable.
Leeds continued to insist that he was not for sale, but everyone could hear how unconvincing those claims sounded when measured against the scale of their debts.
The real question was which club would offer the most money.
Arsenal were also interested in Ferdinand.
Although they already had Sol Campbell, Wenger hoped to create an all-English central defensive partnership.
Signing Ferdinand would also represent a major blow to Manchester United.
At this stage of his career, Wenger was not yet the excessively cautious manager Ethan remembered from his previous life.
He was still prepared to spend heavily, particularly after leading Arsenal to a league and FA Cup double that season.
"Reject it," Ethan said without hesitation.
"We have already signed new contracts with both players. No one is taking them from us."
Curtis had been the defensive cornerstone of New Manchester United's team that season and was also the club's vice-captain.
His partnership with Terry had been extremely reliable. Their understanding was excellent, and both were undisputed first-choice defenders.
Curtis had also come through the club's academy.
Ethan had no reason to consider selling him.
Essien was equally important to the first team.
When Mourinho used three central midfielders, Essien could regularly secure a starting place.
In the 4-2-3-1 formation, he and Senna competed for the role alongside Juninho.
Essien's greatest strengths were his relentless running, his ability to cover ground across the pitch, his physical power, and his commitment during matches.
As he gained experience, his importance to the team became increasingly obvious.
The coaching staff intended to continue developing his defensive ability while also encouraging him to contribute more in attack.
Their long-term plan was to turn him into a complete box-to-box midfielder.
He was one of the club's most important players for the future.
"Arsenal have made another offer for Čech," Walsh continued with another bitter smile.
"They've increased their bid to £8 million."
He had realised that the better New Manchester United performed, the more aggressively other clubs would pursue their players.
That was inevitable.
The real question was how the Red Rebels would respond.
A settled team could not afford major changes every summer.
At the same time, intelligent recruitment and carefully chosen sales could strengthen a squad, much like a healthy process of renewal.
"Tell Wenger that Arsenal's private contact with Čech's agent has already interfered with our club's interests," Ethan said.
"He should forget about signing anyone from New Manchester United.
"Not one player, including Čech."
Whether it was Wenger or Ferguson, their approach to transfers was often similar.
PSV Eindhoven had publicly criticised Ferguson over the Ruud van Nistelrooy negotiations, while Wenger had faced plenty of accusations of his own for approaching players indirectly.
New Manchester United, however, was not a club that would allow larger teams to take whatever they wanted.
Ethan had already secured the players on new contracts and retained complete control over their futures.
Unless he agreed to a transfer, no one would leave.
"All right, Andy. You deal with the offers.
"Reject every one of them. We can discuss anything else after I return."
The 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan was about to begin.
He also planned to observe a number of players while he was there.
New Manchester United had several internationals in the squad, but unfortunately, the Czech Republic, Ghana, and Ivory Coast had all failed to qualify for the World Cup.
That meant Čech, the Touré brothers, Drogba, and the club's other internationals would not be involved.
Olić, however, had unexpectedly been selected for Croatia.
The Croatian forward had made 28 appearances for New Manchester United that season and scored 17 goals, making him an important member of the squad.
Mourinho admired him greatly, particularly because of his tireless movement and relentless effort.
Even so, everyone had been surprised by his selection for the national team.
Regardless, Olić would be New Manchester United's only representative at the World Cup.
Watching the tournament was not Ethan's only reason for making the trip.
He also intended to meet Kaká.
Ethan hoped the Brazilian would join New Manchester United the following season and play for the first team.
Palacio had performed well as an attacking midfielder, but Ethan could tell that Mourinho still wanted a more complete specialist for the position.
Kaká seemed perfectly suited to the manager's tactical system.
Ethan hoped he could finally provide the missing piece.
(To be continued.)