The draw result immediately appeared on the big screen at UEFA headquarters.
Júlio César awkwardly stuck out his tongue toward the crowd, he had originally hoped to draw a favorable, easy matchup for Mourinho!
Who would have thought he'd end up with arguably the toughest possible draw?
Although Barcelona was eliminated by Roma last season in a shocking collapse, their overall combat strength was still evident for all to see.
No one would underestimate the team currently leading the La Liga standings by a wide margin.
Moreover, Barcelona still has Lionel Messi.
Although football pundits often say the era of the "peerless duo" is coming to an end as they age, there's no visible sign of either Messi's or Cristiano Ronaldo's abilities declining.
On the contrary, they always step up in crucial matches, with their goalscoring statistics still leading across Europe's top leagues.
Ling glanced to his left, where Messi was also looking directly at him.
After a brief moment of intense eye contact, they both tacitly averted their gazes back to the stage.
To be honest, Messi was quite curious about Ling.
After all, winning the Champions League and the Premier League Title in his debut season, while also breaking the English scoring record—he's simply too strong to be considered a rookie.
Moreover, his devastating, physical, direct dribbling style is the complete opposite of Messi's own intricate, low-center-of-gravity approach.
Ling's formidable physicality even made Messi feel a twinge of envy.
However, Messi felt no fear whatsoever.
He has historically been a massive thorn in Manchester United's side.
Take that famous header goal back in the 2009 Rome final, for example.
Looking at the historic head-to-head record between Barcelona and Manchester United, the two teams had faced each other 11 times in European competitions.
In the Champions League, Manchester United had 1 win, 4 draws, and 3 losses against the Catalans, while in the old Cup Winners' Cup, Barcelona had 1 win and 2 losses.
Overall, Barcelona held the historic advantage with 4 wins.
The most recent encounter between the two historic giants was the 2010-11 Champions League final.
At Wembley Stadium, Manchester United was systematically dismantled 3-1 by Pep Guardiola's prime Barcelona, marking their second final loss to the Spanish side in just three years.
In the invited guests' seating at the back of the venue, Sir Alex Ferguson's hands resting on his thighs trembled slightly.
If not for Barcelona, Manchester United might have achieved the historic feat of back-to-back Champions League titles before Real Madrid.
If not for Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo might not have left Manchester United out of frustration, staying on to become a legendary player for the club, much like he did at Madrid.
If not for Barcelona…
Guardiola's Barcelona was the nightmare that haunted the legendary Scottish manager's thoughts, sending a shiver down his spine whenever he remembered that night at Wembley.
Beside him, Paul Scholes pursed his lips tightly.
In truth, he didn't think Barcelona was all that unplayable.
During the 2008 season when Manchester United reached the pinnacle of European football in Moscow, didn't they advance to the final by defeating Barcelona in the semis?
And it was his own thunderous long-range strike at Old Trafford that sealed the victory!
"Boss, if I recall correctly, didn't we also park the bus in that tie?" Scholes asked quietly.
Upon hearing this, Sir Alex's hands immediately stopped trembling.
He murmured softly, "By tightening the defense with a narrow block, quickly transitioning the ball to the front three, and avoiding excessive midfield battles, such pragmatic tactics succeeded even against a Barcelona side that had Xavi and Iniesta at their peak."
"Then what about facing this current Barcelona team, whose midfield control has significantly weakened since those days?" Scholes pointed out.
As Scholes finished speaking, a competitive gleam returned to Sir Alex's eyes.
He planned to have a private chat with Mourinho after the draw ceremony concluded.
Not to command him, of course, but simply to offer a veteran perspective.
Little did he know that Mourinho had already considered a similar tactical issue and devised a strategy to counter Barcelona months in advance.
Though it was still in its early, conceptual stages, with the match between the two teams scheduled a full month away, he had ample time to make targeted tactical adjustments.
"Hope to see you in the final, Pep!" Mourinho snapped back to reality and greeted his old friend and rival in the aisle.
"See you in the final, Jose," Guardiola replied with a polite nod, though his thoughts were churning.
From his personal perspective, Manchester United should advance by drawing away at Camp Nou and winning at Old Trafford, as their squad is more physically balanced than Barcelona's, with a major, fast attacking threat up front.
However, Barcelona is not without their own strengths.
Guardiola is arguably the person in the world who understands Messi best and the most famous "Messi admirer" among football coaches.
Add to that the fact that Ling had "stolen" his precious daughter Maria, and for a petty moment, Guardiola even harbored the thought that it would be best if Manchester United lost—just to let that brat experience a crushing European defeat!
That would teach him to stop swaggering around in front of him all the time!
With these complicated thoughts in mind, Guardiola walked over to Messi, and the two former colleagues exchanged warm pleasantries.
As for Mourinho and Ling? They had already slipped out of the venue and returned to Manchester overnight on a private jet.
Because there was another crucial knockout match waiting for them in just two days.
...
Meanwhile, a massive storm had already erupted on the internet, with the Champions League quarter-final draw results being heavily analyzed by global media.
Among them, the draws for Juventus vs. Ajax and Porto vs. Liverpool didn't attract too much mainstream attention, as their opponents were not viewed as traditional European powerhouses.
But Manchester City vs. Tottenham (an all-English clash) and Manchester United vs. Barcelona (a battle of historic royalty) captured the absolute attention of most neutral fans.
They were incredibly excited about the Champions League matches in mid-April, wishing time would speed up and take them directly to those epic nights under the lights.
...
March 17th. Molineux Stadium.
FA Cup quarter-final: Wolves vs. Manchester United!
Nuno Espírito Santo's Wolves had performed exceptionally well in the middle of the Premier League season, climbing steadily from 11th to 7th in the table.
If they could maintain this giant-killing form, they could even secure a Europa League spot.
So Mourinho didn't take them lightly in the cup and fielded a near full-strength lineup.
Ling and Mahrez started as the two strikers in a 4-3-1-2, with Pogba pulling the strings in the attacking midfield role.
The defensive midfield trio consisted of Nemanja Matic, N'Golo Kante, and Scott McTominay to win the physical battle.
The backline lined up with Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, David Luiz, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Sergio Romero was chosen as the cup goalkeeper over De Gea.
Wolves also fielded their absolute full-strength lineup.
This season, their only remaining goals were a European spot and the FA Cup, so their schedule was much lighter and fresher than Manchester United's.
Before the match, this game had already attracted a massive amount of attention from Asia, especially from Chinese fans.
Wolves had smartly signed Chinese winger Wang Jiahao during the winter transfer window.
Chinese fans had high expectations for him to make an impact in England, especially with Ling's phenomenal success as a precedent.
Unfortunately, the two didn't have a chance to face each other directly today, as Wang Jiahao had immediately been loaned to Sporting CP until the end of the season for development.
Guy Mowbray: "Manchester United's aggression is intense right out of the gate! They started with a relentless high press right from the kickoff, and it's working quite well to disrupt Wolves' passing rhythm!"
Alan Shearer: "Wolves don't have a traditional deep-lying playmaker in their defense, so under this pressure, they can only hoof the ball forward aimlessly. But Manchester United has already smartly positioned their tall players at the landing spots, waiting for those exact long passes!"
Guy Mowbray: "Beautifully done! Maguire heads it cleanly to Kante, and as soon as United regain possession, they launch a rapid counterattack!"
Alan Shearer: "This direct, transition-heavy tactic feels familiar—did Mourinho learn a thing or two from Jurgen Klopp?"
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