Manchester United Revival

A/N: I forgot to save the changes so the unedited version got uploaded and there a few changes in the chapter

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Checking his notes, the interviewer moved into the next segment as the cameras kept rolling, capturing the relaxed dynamic shared between the three men on the sofa.

"Let's go back to the beginning," the host suggested. "Cristiano, when you first met Sir Alex, what was your first impression? And Marcus, what did you think the first time you met Cristiano as his manager?"

Answering before his former player, Sir Alex was typically blunt. "A skinny kid who dribbled too much."

Laughing, Ronaldo nodded. "It is true. My first impression? I was terrified. Being just eighteen years old, I walked nervously into a dressing room containing Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville. The Boss was standing there, demanding perfection. I was scared to make a single mistake."

Pivoting, the interviewer addressed the current tactician. "And your first impression, Marcus?"

Leaning back into his chair and crossing his arms, the younger manager offered a small smile. "I looked at him and thought, 'This man has scored seven hundred goals in his professional career. I had better not waste him by forcing him to press center-backs for ninety minutes.'"

Chuckling, the veteran striker pointed a finger at his boss in appreciation. "Exactly."

"Have any of you ever had a serious disagreement?" the host probed. "Fans assume there is constant conflict behind closed doors."

"Oh, constantly," Sir Alex admitted, shifting his weight in the seat. "The most famous one is probably the flying boot incident with David Beckham, which the papers loved printing. But inside the dressing room, arguments happen when you have winners like Wayne Rooney, Roy Keane, and Peter Schmeichel. We argued often because nobody wanted to lose a training match, let alone a league fixture."

"Did you and Sir Alex personally argue?" the interviewer asked.

"Sometimes," Ronaldo confessed. "But it was always about football. Because we both hated losing, if I played a bad pass, he would let me know immediately. If I thought I was fouled and didn't get the call, I would complain, and he would tell me to get up and run."

"What about you, Marcus? Has Cristiano ever challenged you?"

Nodding, the tactician confirmed. "Yes. Mostly regarding playing time. Last season, he picked up a minor injury—a muscle strain. When the medical staff told me he needed a week off, I informed him he was excluded from the squad for the upcoming weekend."

"And?"

"He knocked on my office door an hour later dressed in his training kit," Marcus recalled, keeping his tone flat. "He told me he was fit. I told him to sit down. We argued for ten minutes as he demanded to play. I told him no, because I needed him recovered for the Champions League match scheduled the following Wednesday. He was angry, but he eventually accepted it. He just hates resting."

Smiling sheepishly, Ronaldo defended himself. "I always want to be out on the pitch. But he was right. I scored on Wednesday."

"Marcus," the host continued. "When you arrived at the club and assessed the inherited squad, which player surprised you the most?"

Answering without hesitation, the manager stated, "Scott McTominay."

Looking surprised by the choice, the journalist prompted, "Why Scott?"

"He is the type of player every manager likes to have in a squad," Marcus explained. "He is adaptable. If I want to score in the final ten minutes, I will put him inside the opposition penalty box because he is tall, wins headers, and possesses good shot accuracy. Conversely, if I want to defend a narrow one-goal lead, I will drop him into a double pivot in midfield to break up play. While every team demands a flashy superstar, every team needs a reliable player like Scott. He gets the business done with no drama, following tactical instructions."

"And which player has improved the most under your system?"

"Luke Shaw," came the immediate answer. "People judged him too quickly in the past. Once he understood the mechanics of my system, he became one of the best left-backs in Europe for me. He executes what he is told to do. That is what I ask from all my players; there is no need to attempt anything extra. Just execute the plan. Luke executes the plan every week."

Flipping a page, the interviewer pivoted. "Sir Alex, Cristiano. What is the funniest moment you can recall from the Carrington training ground?"

Starting to laugh before the question was finished, Ronaldo struggled for composure while Sir Alex chuckled and shook his head fondly.

"Anderson," the striker gasped out, trying to catch his breath. "It has to be Anderson. We were having a serious team meeting once. The Boss was furious about a sloppy match we had just drawn. He was shouting, giving us the hairdryer treatment. Suddenly, he turned to Anderson and started yelling at him in a thick, angry Scottish accent."

Grinning, Sir Alex nodded. "He didn't understand a single bloody word."

"Exactly!" Ronaldo laughed harder. "Because Anderson didn't speak a word of English, he just sat there nodding seriously. Then, he turned to Rio Ferdinand and whispered in Portuguese, 'Why is he shouting so much about fish?' Rio lost his mind and started laughing right in the middle of the shouting. The Boss kicked Rio out of the room."

Even Marcus let out a soft laugh picturing the image.

"Sir Alex," the journalist posed a hypothetical. "If you could take one current player from Marcus's squad and drop them into your 1999 or 2008 teams, who would it be?"

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, the Scot looked at his successor. "Denis Zakaria. He is a powerhouse. Roy Keane would have loved playing next to him. Because he does the dirty work, wins the ball, and moves it fast, he would have fit into my midfield."

"And Marcus, if you could take one former United player from Sir Alex's era to manage today, who would you choose?"

"Cristiano Ronaldo," the younger man noted dryly.

A brief silence fell over the room. Sir Alex blinked, furrowing his brow. The host looked visibly confused, glancing between Marcus and the striker sitting on the sofa. Ronaldo tilted his head, a mixture of amusement and bewilderment crossing his face.

"Marcus," the host said slowly. "You do realize Cristiano is currently in your squad, right?"

"I am sitting right here," Ronaldo added, pointing to himself with a grin.

Marcus remained unfazed. "I know. But for me, there are four versions of Cristiano Ronaldo."

Sir Alex leaned in, while Ronaldo listened intently.

"The first version," Marcus explained, "was when he was at Manchester United. He was the most prolific winger, full of showboating and skills. Then came the second version, from 2010 to 2014. He evolved into a lethal goal scorer. The third version was from 2015 to 2018. He became a clutch player, rescuing the team time and time again."

"And the fourth version?" the host asked.

Marcus looked at the striker. "The present version is a predator. Give him an inch and a split second of time in the opposition box, and the ball is inside the goal. But if I had to choose one to drop into my current starting eleven to play, I would take the 2008 version."

Ronaldo chuckled, shaking his head, while Sir Alex smiled at the breakdown.

"Let's talk about leadership," the host prompted. "Who is the best captain you have ever worked with?"

"Roy Keane," Ronaldo declared. "He demanded everything. If you dropped your focus during a passing drill, he would tackle you to wake you up."

Nodding, Sir Alex offered a nuanced view. "Roy was an incredible leader on the pitch. But in terms of managing the dressing room, I would say Rio Ferdinand. Rio was brilliant at gelling the local English lads with the foreign players. Ensuring everyone felt welcome, he organized the team dinners and the locker room banter, keeping the squad united."

Looking expectantly at the current boss, the interviewer waited.

Shrugging, the manager stated, "I have only had one captain since I took the job. Therefore, I have to say Harry Maguire."

"Fair enough," the host chuckled. "Next question. Which match kept you awake at night afterwards? Not necessarily because you lost, but because you could not stop thinking about it."

"The 1999 Champions League final," Sir Alex answered. "I stayed awake for three days after that win, replaying those final three minutes in my head. You cannot sleep after experiencing an adrenaline rush like that."

"Sporting Lisbon away," the superstar added thoughtfully. "When I played against United as a kid. Because I knew I played well, I knew my life was going to change after that night. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling."

Adjusting his coat, Marcus answered. "Liverpool away. Last season."

"The two-nil win?" the interviewer clarified.

"Yes."

"Football has changed since Sir Alex retired," the journalist noted. "Marcus, how do you view the modern game? The introduction of VAR, social media, sports science, and the obsession with possession?"

Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, the tactician offered his perspective. "It is necessary evolution. VAR is a technological tool; sometimes it is good, and sometimes it disrupts the natural flow. Sports science is vital because it helps me manage minutes and prevents injuries. But social media? While it is good for engaging with fans, if you put too much thought into what random people say online, it will eat you from the inside out. The praise makes you soft, and the criticism makes you angry. You should only believe in yourself and your family, friends, and coaches. Never care about the outside noise."

"What about tactics on the pitch? Everyone wants to play possession football now."

"Possession is the most overrated statistic in football," the manager stated. "If you hold the ball for eighty percent of the game in your own half, you have achieved nothing of value. If every elite team plays a high press paired with a slow possession game, football becomes boring because it becomes predictable. You need tactical variety. You must have stubborn managers like Diego Simeone or Jose Mourinho, who bring a different spice to the match. I think that in a few years, the possession trend will break, and football will change once again."

Nodding in agreement, the veteran Scot chimed in. "The game is about putting the bloody ball into the net, not passing it in sterile circles. The truly great teams can do both. They can keep the ball, but they also know how to counter-attack in three seconds."

"If you could steal one legendary player from any era to put into your current team, who would it be?"

"Paolo Maldini," the young tactician answered. "The perfect defender. You would never concede a goal."

"Zinedine Zidane," Sir Alex countered. "He glided across the pitch. A truly beautiful footballer."

"Let's talk about youth development," the host suggested. "What is the biggest mistake young footballers make today?"

"They think they have made it too early," Sir Alex answered firmly. "They secure a lucrative contract at nineteen, buy a fast car, and stop working on their weak foot."

Nodding, the current boss added his perspective. "It is the hype, especially generated by the English media. They hype young English players too much. An academy kid has one good season, scores fifteen goals, and suddenly the media crowns him the next Messi or Cristiano. Because the young players read it, they get horns over their heads, thinking they are the best in their position. That is why we see a lot of promising players crumbling under pressure or fading into obscurity. They stop doing the boring, basic things."

"Discipline," the Portuguese legend added. "They want the shiny rewards without enduring the daily sacrifice."

Smiling, the interviewer segued. "Speaking of sacrifice. Which manager ran the toughest training sessions?"

Laughing while holding both hands up defensively, Sir Alex admitted his guilt. "We ran them hard. Our pre-season campaigns were brutal."

"My sessions are not physically harder than other managers' routines," the younger tactician noted. "However, they are mentally harder. I compel them to think constantly. If they switch off their brains for a second during my drills, the session breaks down."

Nodding in agreement, the striker confirmed. "It is true. Under Marcus, you are exhausted in your head long before your legs get tired."

"If you could change one established rule in football, what would it be?"

"I would like to see rolling substitutions implemented," Marcus proposed. "Like the NBA. If a tired player is substituted, you should be able to bring him back onto the pitch later in the game if the tactics require it."

"There are simply too many matches," Sir Alex grumbled. "There are too many bloated tournaments now. The modern players are being run into the ground."

"I would change the yellow cards handed out for celebrations," Ronaldo added, shaking his head. "Football is about raw emotion. If you score a last-minute winner, you should be able to celebrate passionately without getting booked."

Looking at his star player out of the corner of his eye, the manager fired a deadpan warning. "So every week you can do a shirtless celebration after scoring?"

The room burst into laughter again. Covering his face in amusement, the forward laughed while pointing a playful finger at his boss.

"Moving on," the host chuckled. "Name one player you worked closely with who never received enough credit from the media or fans."

"Park Ji-sung," Sir Alex declared. "He never stopped running. He carried out tactical instructions perfectly. I could tell him to mark a dangerous player out of the game, and he would do exactly that for ninety minutes."

"For me, it is Fred," Marcus answered. "I use him frequently whenever I need to defend a narrow lead or close down a chaotic game. Operating alongside Scott McTominay, he is one of the hardest working players I have. Covering massive ground to fix other players' mistakes, he rarely gets the headlines, but the system needs him."

"Michael Carrick," the striker added. "He made everything look easy anchoring the midfield."

"We are nearing the end," the presenter warned gently. "Which trophy means the most? The domestic league, the FA Cup, or the Champions League? The answer usually reveals a lot about a manager's philosophy."

"The league," the Scot stated firmly. "It is a marathon. It tests your squad depth, your consistency, and your character over thirty-eight games."

"I agree," the current boss confirmed. "The league proves who the best team is. Cup competitions involve a massive amount of luck and variance."

"No," the forward disagreed with a smile. "The Champions League. It is the biggest stage. You are playing against the best teams in Europe under the brightest lights. The pressure is higher, and the moments are bigger."

Laughing, Sir Alex diagnosed the split. "Strikers always prefer the big nights. Managers prefer the marathon."

"Final question," the host requested softly, looking at all three figures. "I want you to describe each other using only one word."

Looking at his successor, Sir Alex delivered his verdict. "Obsessive."

Offering a nod, the younger man accepted the label. Looking back at the older man, he returned the favor. "Legend."

Looking next at the man who discovered him, the superstar's expression softened. "Father."

Smiling, the veteran accepted the tribute.

Turning to his current tactician, the striker thought for a second before delivering his assessment. "Genius."

Turning to the left for the final word, the interviewer prompted, "And Marcus, describe Cristiano in one word."

Looking into the camera lens with a deadpan expression, the manager delivered his truth.

"Goals."

Erupting into laughter again, the room filled with warmth as the striker clapped his hands together, satisfied with the answer.

"Brilliant," the host praised, snapping his notebook shut. "Sir Alex, Marcus, Cristiano. Thank you all for your time."

"Cut," the director called out from the shadows behind the cameras.

Dimming slightly, the studio lights cooled as the crew began packing up their equipment. Standing up, Sir Alex was assisted by Ronaldo, the two men sharing a few quiet words. Marcus unclipped his microphone and handed it to a sound technician.

Shaking hands with the crew, the veteran patted his former star on the shoulder one final time before turning to the current boss.

"Good luck on Sunday against City," Sir Alex encouraged. "Give them hell."

"We will," came the calm reply.

Bidding his farewells, the legend walked out of the media room toward the main exit. Watching him leave for a moment, the two remaining men turned back to face each other.

"Boots," the manager commanded, returning to his coaching persona.

"I know, I know," the superstar smiled, already walking toward the door. "Time for training."

Stepping out of the media room, they walked down the corridor toward the Carrington pitches, leaving the silver trophies behind them.

The impending Manchester derby was waiting, and there was work to be done.