"Liverpool have always been capable of producing difficult performances at Old Trafford, and they're doing it again today against New Manchester United. This match could decide whether they qualify for next season's Champions League. They're fighting Chelsea for fourth place, so Liverpool are giving absolutely everything."
Andy Gray's voice drifted down the otherwise quiet hospital corridor.
Outside the maternity ward at Manchester Royal Infirmary, Ethan paced back and forth, unable to settle. At the nearby nurses' station, several staff members were watching the live broadcast of New Manchester United's match.
"New Manchester United are fighting just as hard," Martin Tyler replied, "but they've come through an exhausting UEFA Cup quarter-final against Juventus, winning both legs 1-0. They're still competing on two fronts, and Mourinho has one eye on the semi-final against Benítez's Valencia in three days, so he's rotated heavily today. That's made this match much more difficult."
"Competing on two fronts takes an enormous toll," Tyler continued. "The players coming in are talented, and Ribéry and Robben have caused Liverpool problems out wide, but the physical fatigue is obvious. More importantly, there's the mental strain. When players have to maintain this level of concentration and pressure week after week, sooner or later it affects their performances."
Gray gave a rueful laugh. "And the schedule hasn't helped them. Arsenal played yesterday and beat Leeds United 5-0 at home. They're currently top of the table, five points ahead of New Manchester United. Manchester United, on the other hand, suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat away to Portsmouth."
"So if New Manchester United win today, the gap to Arsenal drops to two points and the pressure stays on. But if they lose, with only four league matches remaining, a five-point deficit would be extremely difficult to recover."
"Exactly. Two months ago, New Manchester United were five points clear. Now they're five behind, although they still have a game in hand. Their league form has clearly suffered because of Europe. They've drawn three consecutive league matches, and if this group didn't have such resilience, the title challenge might already have fallen apart."
Gray sounded genuinely impressed. "That resilience has probably been the most striking thing about them recently. Whether they're leading or trailing, they keep fighting. Sometimes they look almost reckless."
If the first half of the season had seemed almost effortless, the previous month had been anything but.
Ethan knew that better than anyone.
Eva had been in hospital waiting to give birth, and he had remained by her side rather than travelling to matches, but he still followed every detail of the team's situation. The UEFA Cup run had become increasingly brutal. PSV Eindhoven had been followed by AC Milan, then Juventus, and now Valencia awaited in the semi-finals. Every round had brought another opponent capable of ending the campaign.
New Manchester United had somehow survived them all.
Walsh and Davey had both passed on the same advice from outside experts. Some argued that the club should abandon the UEFA Cup and concentrate entirely on the Premier League. Winning the top flight immediately after promotion would secure a place in English football history.
Then Arsenal overtook them after a run of league draws, and the advice changed. Suddenly, people were saying the club should accept that the title had become unlikely and focus on Europe instead.
After all, New Manchester United had already done enough to secure Champions League qualification for the following season. Why not concentrate on becoming the first club since Real Madrid in the mid-1980s to retain the UEFA Cup?
The Red Rebels had already created one remarkable piece of history the previous year by winning the competition while outside the top division. Successfully defending the trophy would create another.
Ethan rejected both arguments almost immediately.
He called Mourinho personally and asked only two questions: how was the squad coping, and what did the manager want to do?
Mourinho's answer was simple. The atmosphere inside Newton Heath remained excellent, the players were united, and they wanted to keep fighting on both fronts.
Ethan immediately told Walsh and Davey to give him everything he needed.
"We've collapsed before. We've been beaten heavily before. We've lost close matches before," Ethan told them. "But New Manchester United have never chosen not to fight."
So the club kept going.
The two-legged tie against Juventus had been especially brutal. Essien had insisted on playing through a leg problem after receiving painkilling injections, while Curtis had emptied himself so completely in the second leg that he remained lying on the pitch for several minutes after the final whistle, too exhausted to stand.
The league had become no easier. Opponents now treated New Manchester United as a major scalp, and every fixture seemed to demand maximum concentration. In their previous two away matches, the Red Rebels had fallen behind and been forced to fight back for draws.
The pressure on the players was obvious.
Against Liverpool at Old Trafford, Mourinho had committed plenty of bodies forward, but after seventy-five minutes his side still could not find a way through. Frustration was beginning to show.
"It's the 75th minute now, and Mourinho has called Lionel Messi over from the warm-up area," Andy Gray said. "He's giving the young Argentine instructions and pointing out positions on the pitch. Messi's about to come on."
"He's been excellent whenever Mourinho has used him this season," Tyler replied. "Almost every appearance seems to change something. In the previous two league matches, he came on late and scored in both, helping New Manchester United rescue draws and preserve their unbeaten record."
Gray laughed. "The supporters have started calling him their Wonder Boy."
Messi had made a number of substitute appearances during the season, but the moments that truly established his reputation had come against Manchester United and in those two recent league matches, where his contributions had been decisive.
"Calls for him to start are getting louder," Tyler said, "but Mourinho still refuses to rush him. He keeps using Messi from the bench, and the boy keeps responding. Maybe he'll do it again today."
The sound from the television suddenly swelled as Messi stepped onto the pitch.
"Listen to that reception. He's become one of the favourites here already."
Messi touched the ball almost immediately.
His first involvement was a sharp turn under pressure. A Liverpool defender tried to hold him back, but Messi slipped away and drove down the right into the visitors' half.
"Beautiful turn from Messi. He's running at Carragher now... and he's gone past him! Messi into the area, low ball towards the near post..."
"Kaká!"
"GOAL!"
The nurses' station erupted.
"Seventy-seventh minute! Messi's been on the pitch for less than two minutes, and he's created the breakthrough. Brilliant work on the right, a perfectly weighted low cross, and Kaká arrives from midfield to finish."
Tyler's voice rose over the crowd. "That's Kaká's eighteenth goal of the season, and the timing between those two was superb."
Gray laughed. "They've combined brilliantly again. Kaká and Messi seem to understand each other immediately whenever they play together."
After the goal, the two players ran towards the touchline hand in hand. Beckham, Curtis, De Rossi, and several others joined them. Together they faced the television cameras, lifted their shirts slightly, and mimed sucking on dummies while grinning.
Gray burst out laughing.
"Oh, I think we know what that's about."
"They're dedicating the goal to Ethan's baby."
Tyler chuckled. "Our reporters at Manchester Royal Infirmary have told us that Eva is still in labour, but apparently the players have decided they're going to celebrate early."
Ethan stopped pacing.
He stared towards the nurses' station.
For a moment, the match disappeared from his thoughts completely.
Eva's mother suddenly touched his arm.
The delivery-room door opened.
A midwife emerged carrying a tightly wrapped baby.
Ethan moved towards her immediately.
"He looks like you," Eva's mother said with a smile.
Ethan took the child into his arms.
He had imagined this moment countless times and expected some overwhelming rush of emotion, perhaps tears, perhaps trembling hands. Instead, he felt strangely calm. His grip was steady. His thoughts were simple.
This was his son.
That one fact seemed to fill everything.
Before the birth, Ethan had imagined all sorts of things he might say when he finally held his child. Now none of those words seemed necessary, and none seemed adequate. He could only look down at the baby and smile, then look up at the people around him and smile again.
Another explosion of sound came from the television.
News of the birth had already reached Old Trafford.
The crowd reacted almost instantly.
"Son of the Red Rebels!"
The chant began in one section and spread around the stadium.
"Son of the Red Rebels!"
Tens of thousands of supporters joined in.
The players heard it too.
When they realised what had happened, their celebration became even more exuberant, and New Manchester United's attacking intensity increased again as though the news had given them another surge of energy.
Andy Gray sounded almost incredulous.
"I've covered football for a long time, Martin, and I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this. The owner has a child, and the entire stadium is celebrating as though one of their own has just been born."
Tyler was equally struck by it. "People have said for years that Ethan occupies a very unusual place at this club. You can see it in the players, and you can hear it in the supporters. Whatever relationship exists between him and New Manchester United, it goes far beyond the normal owner-and-club arrangement."
There was truth in that.
Ethan had spent years building New Manchester United around a particular idea of what a football club should be. He had invested money, time, energy, and a significant part of his life into the players, the supporters, and the wider community.
Now, in their own way, they were giving something back.
The club anthem rolled around Old Trafford while players, staff, and supporters celebrated together.
At the hospital, Ethan held his son in his arms and listened.
For once, the noise of football did not feel distant from his private life.
It felt like part of the same moment.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)