New Delhi: The demons of Gelsinkirschen 2006 were put to rest by Manchester United. All throughout their match against Schalke 04, United finally showed that they they did have gear-shift capability.
Had the team exactly played the way the cynics would have expected United to play all season, Raul would have added another feather to his cap, the Veltins Arena would have been jumping with joy singing praises of the legendary Spanish hitman and the dream would have continued from the surprise package of the season.
But neither Man United nor the world believes in the concept of free lunches.
What followed was the display Sir Alex Ferguson had been warning the scribes and telly hosts about, a display which vindicated the legendary Scot, a performance which screamed out the word 'Unity' in every pass, in every tackle, in every break.
The home and away colours of the three-time European champions have the word 'Believe' embossed on the inside of the crest. Any takers that the sponsors would have envisioned the importance of the word in the due course of the season?
All throughout the campaign of the Red half Manchester in Europe, you might have heard this word in many a press conference, because it is sheer belief by United, not on their individual abilities but their collective ones which has brought them on the cusp of European immortality.
The Red Devils have now equalled Ajax to keep the maximum amount of clean sheets away from home, and after the German job, United have just bettered the record.
And suddenly the world is talking about the meteoric rise of Manchester United, but when were the Reds a team of the first half?
Be it a 90-minute game or a 50-odd game season, the real United have turned up in the latter half, the only difference being the crop on 2010-11 prides itself on sheer grit and the never-say-die spirit.
With the absence of talents like Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, Manchester clearly misses that individual flair that was there in the golden campaign of 2007.
But bring together the genius of Wayne Rooney, the timeless grace of Ryan Giggs and Van der Sar, the flamboyance of Nani, the immovable Nemanja Vidic and the Reds shall be marching on and on!
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