Some people regarded Chelsea's Premier League triumph under Roman Abramovich as a turning point in English football.
There was some truth in that.
Chelsea had demonstrated how quickly enormous investment, when combined with the right manager and recruitment, could transform a club into champions.
English football had seen wealthy owners before, but rarely anything on this scale.
Even the great spending sprees of Serie A had usually been built around clubs that already possessed several established stars.
Chelsea were different.
Of the players who formed the core of Ancelotti's title-winning side, Frank Lampard was one of the very few important figures who had been at Stamford Bridge before Abramovich arrived.
Almost everything else had been reconstructed.
That was what made Chelsea significant.
A genuine turning point was something others could follow.
And Manchester City were following.
Since the Abu Dhabi takeover, City had approached the transfer market with almost unlimited ambition.
Van Gaal had been given the resources to build the team he wanted.
Van der Vaart and Sneijder arrived.
Patrick Vieira arrived.
Kolo Touré arrived.
Mark van Bommel arrived.
Ibrahimović had already joined in January.
Yaya Touré had come from New Manchester United.
One expensive signing followed another.
More importantly, there was an obvious plan behind them.
Manchester City's likely starting eleven for the opening day had already become clear during pre-season.
Shay Given in goal.
Wayne Bridge at left-back.
Sylvain Distin alongside Kolo Touré in central defence.
Danny Mills on the right.
Van Bommel, Yaya Touré and Vieira formed a physically imposing midfield base.
Ahead of them, Van der Vaart and Sneijder operated between the lines.
Ibrahimović played as the lone striker.
It was difficult to look at that team and call Manchester City anything other than one of Europe's new financial powers.
The established names were impressive enough.
Vieira had captained Arsenal.
Kolo Touré was already a Premier League and Champions League winner.
Van Bommel had been one of PSV's leaders.
Ibrahimović was being compared increasingly with the great Dutch and Scandinavian centre-forwards of previous generations.
Then there were the younger Dutch stars.
Van der Vaart had once been regarded as the brightest player of his Ajax generation.
He now operated almost as a second striker, drifting behind Ibrahimović and exploiting pockets of space with his movement and left foot.
Sneijder played slightly deeper.
His passing range was excellent.
So was his shooting.
His late arrivals around the penalty area made him particularly dangerous.
At Ajax, the pair had played together for years.
Now they had been reunited with Ibrahimović in Manchester.
There had once been stories about tension between Van der Vaart and Ibrahimović in Amsterdam.
Whatever had happened in the past, there was little sign of hostility now.
During City's open training sessions, the three were regularly seen joking together.
Van Gaal appeared to have brought them onto the same page.
Manchester City had gone unbeaten throughout pre-season.
Five matches produced four wins and a draw.
Their opponents included strong sides such as PSV and Feyenoord.
It was further evidence that Van Gaal's rebuilding had not begun that summer.
The foundations had already been laid during the second half of the previous season.
The summer transfer window simply gave him the specialists he needed to complete the structure.
After Chelsea had shown that a rapidly rebuilt squad could win the Premier League, nobody was dismissing City.
When reporters reminded Van Gaal of Mourinho's public promise to take three points from the opening match, the Dutchman laughed.
"I expected José to say something like that."
He knew Mourinho better than most.
They had worked together at Barcelona.
Van Gaal respected his former assistant's intelligence, ambition and extraordinary confidence.
He was not intimidated by any of them.
"José always wants to prove something," Van Gaal said. "He is very capable, but he will not prove it against Manchester City."
A reporter immediately asked whether that meant City would win.
Van Gaal smiled.
"I know José very well."
"I know how he thinks."
"And I know how to prepare against him."
That was as far as he went.
The newspapers would have preferred a promise of victory.
They did not get one.
So they returned to the previous season instead.
The last meeting between the two managers had become one of the defining matches of the campaign.
Manchester City had held New Manchester United to a draw.
On paper, it had looked like two dropped points.
In retrospect, the consequences had been much greater.
The result came at the beginning of the Red Rebels' worst spell of the season.
Their sixty-match unbeaten league run ended soon afterwards.
Mourinho became visibly more impatient.
The team began dropping points at precisely the moment Chelsea were at their most consistent.
New Manchester United recovered brilliantly later, but the damage had already been done.
They eventually lost the title by a single point.
For that reason, the opening fixture carried far more emotional weight than an ordinary first-round match.
Mourinho wanted revenge.
Van Gaal wanted confirmation.
Manchester City wanted to prove that their transfer spending had created a genuine contender.
New Manchester United wanted to demonstrate that the champions of Europe had not lost their authority.
The media could hardly have designed a better opening day.
The match was scheduled for 12:45 in the afternoon.
Manchester City were still temporarily based at Gigg Lane in Bury while construction continued on their new stadium.
The ground was only a short distance from central Manchester.
New Manchester United therefore followed their normal morning routine at Newton Heath before travelling north.
Ethan joined the directors and senior staff on the trip.
Andy Walsh was there as well.
By the time the team bus moved through Manchester, groups of Red Rebels supporters were already travelling in the same direction.
Some drove.
Others travelled together on coaches organised by supporter groups and commercial partners.
One of the travel companies that had worked with New Manchester United since the club's earlier years was still an official partner and now ran regular away-day packages for supporters.
The company's business had grown almost as quickly as the club itself.
For a Manchester derby played only a few miles away, demand was enormous.
Supply was not.
Gigg Lane simply did not have enough seats.
Manchester City understandably prioritised their own supporters, leaving only around two thousand away tickets for New Manchester United.
Those who obtained them intended to make themselves heard.
The Red Rebels contingent arrived in Bury singing almost continuously.
There were flags.
Scarves.
Drums.
Supporters chanted through the streets as though they were heading towards a home fixture.
Gigg Lane felt strangely familiar to some of them anyway.
New Manchester United had played there during the club's earlier rise, long before European finals and global sponsorship agreements.
For older supporters, returning now as champions of Europe made the afternoon feel almost surreal.
When the New Manchester United team bus approached the narrow entrance to the stadium, local police cleared a route.
Manchester City had invested heavily in the ground since moving in temporarily.
A dedicated route for team coaches had been created.
The dressing rooms were renovated.
Hospitality areas were improved.
The media facilities were upgraded.
Most importantly for the players, the pitch had been completely relaid.
On television, Martin Tyler immediately noticed.
"That surface looks considerably better than it did last season."
Andy Gray laughed.
"Bury must be delighted with this arrangement."
"They collect the rent, Manchester City pay for improvements, and by the time City move out they'll have a ground in far better condition than the one they handed over."
Tyler smiled.
"Gigg Lane might not be the largest stadium in the division, but the facilities are improving quickly."
"If City's own stadium is delayed much longer, there might be a queue of Football League clubs volunteering to host them."
The joke worked because City's situation remained inherently strange.
Here was one of the richest clubs in Europe.
Their squad contained Vieira, Ibrahimović, Van Bommel, Van der Vaart, Sneijder, the Touré brothers and Given.
Yet they were playing home matches in a compact stadium in Bury.
City had explored alternatives.
Old Trafford was never realistic.
Manchester United had no interest in allowing their newly wealthy neighbours to use their ground, particularly while the Glazer takeover placed additional pressure on the club's finances and agreements.
There had also been enquiries about using New Manchester United's stadium.
Those were rejected just as firmly.
The Red Rebels had no financial need to rent the ground to a direct rival, and the scheduling complications alone would have been significant.
Frank Arnesen was reportedly furious when the idea went nowhere.
There were even persistent rumours that City's temporary home had harmed their recruitment.
The most popular story concerned Fernando Torres.
Manchester City had pursued Atlético Madrid's young captain aggressively and were believed to have discussed an enormous transfer.
According to the gossip columns, Torres visited the club, saw Gigg Lane and decided almost immediately that he had no interest in moving.
The story was probably exaggerated.
What was certain was that City wanted Torres.
What was equally certain was that Torres had chosen not to join them.
By kick-off, Gigg Lane was full.
The capacity was barely thirteen thousand, but the small size only intensified the noise.
Manchester City supporters occupied most of the stadium.
New Manchester United's travelling section formed a compact block of red at the opposite end.
Both groups were in full voice.
The atmosphere felt closer to a cup tie than the first match of a thirty-eight-game league season.
Tyler looked down at the pitch.
"This is one of the most eagerly anticipated opening fixtures we've had in years."
Gray agreed.
"Last season, there was still a sense that Manchester City were a project."
"That excuse has gone now."
"After this summer's recruitment, Van Gaal has a side capable of competing with anybody in England."
"And that includes New Manchester United."
City's line-up contained no surprises.
Given started in goal.
Bridge played at left-back.
Distin and Kolo Touré formed the central-defensive partnership.
Mills started on the right.
The midfield was exactly the one Van Gaal had been rehearsing throughout pre-season.
Van Bommel.
Yaya Touré.
Vieira.
Ahead of them were Van der Vaart and Sneijder.
Ibrahimović led the line.
Kompany and Sun Jihai were among those waiting on the bench.
Van Gaal was not easing anyone into the season.
He wanted to win immediately.
New Manchester United felt exactly the same.
If the Community Shield had been treated as the final stage of pre-season, this was different.
Points were available now.
Mourinho had spent an entire week talking about three of them.
The television graphic displayed the Red Rebels' team.
Čech in goal.
Evra at left-back.
Terry and Curtis at centre-back.
Maicon on the right.
Beckham had not recovered sufficiently from his minor training injury, so Fàbregas started in central midfield.
De Rossi and Essien played either side of him.
Kaká and Ronaldo supported Drogba.
The formation again resembled the 4-3-3 used against Chelsea.
Gray studied it.
"Mourinho has stayed with the extra central midfielder."
"He tried this in the Community Shield, although it didn't work particularly well there."
Tyler nodded.
"Beckham's absence is the key."
"Without him, they lose their deepest organiser."
"Fàbregas is probably the most natural replacement technically, but asking an eighteen-year-old to control a derby against Vieira, Van Bommel and Yaya Touré would be a massive responsibility."
"That's why Essien and De Rossi are around him."
Manchester City's greatest strength was obvious.
The centre of the pitch.
Vieira, Van Bommel and Yaya Touré offered extraordinary physical power.
Sneijder could drop in and help circulate possession.
Van der Vaart moved intelligently between midfield and attack.
If New Manchester United allowed City to dictate the centre, Ibrahimović would receive service in dangerous areas throughout the afternoon.
Mourinho had responded by filling the same zone.
Essien could press Vieira.
De Rossi could track Van der Vaart or step towards Sneijder.
Fàbregas would have protection around him.
Ronaldo and Kaká, meanwhile, were positioned to attack quickly whenever possession changed hands.
"It looks cautious," Gray said.
"But I don't think Mourinho has come here for a draw."
Tyler agreed.
"Not after everything he's said."
"The shape may be defensive, but Ronaldo and Kaká give them enormous speed on the break."
"And Drogba can occupy both centre-backs by himself."
The question was how much of the tactical picture anyone could really trust.
Manchester City had changed dramatically.
There was plenty of pre-season footage.
Van Gaal's principles were familiar.
But competitive football exposed things friendlies did not.
That uncertainty often helped newly promoted sides and heavily rebuilt teams at the beginning of a season.
Opponents had not yet learned their habits.
Patterns were not fully documented.
Weaknesses had not been repeatedly tested.
Mourinho had therefore chosen caution.
Keep the midfield compact.
Protect Fàbregas.
Allow City to reveal their intentions first.
Then attack the spaces they left.
At least, that was how it appeared from the outside.
Whether Mourinho really intended to spend the afternoon reacting to Van Gaal was another question entirely.
(To be continued.)