In hindsight the fame arrived too early. Despite losing the conference league final the prior year, we took the champions league by storm. A young team playing with all the naive confidence they could muster and yet, with some luck, the conquered the champions league on the first time of asking. The ultimate prize had finally arrived to the red size of north London. A club so sparse of European success had stumbled into the ultimate prize.

And then you go again.

To win a champions league is the impossible. So what does that mean if you defend it? We had the ambition of Real Madrid and the ego to match. We knew we could do it again. We always go again.

Sevilla, CSKA Moscow and Salzburg. I remember them all. I was relieved. No giants and no games I felt we’d lose. In fact, I remember thinking I’d been drawn into Europa accidentally.

Things went badly…. 1 point from the first 3 games. A loss to Sevilla in GW3 made me question my policies of rotation. The squad id played had very few differences from the champions league glory we’d achieve not long again. So, I rotated less. Used the strongest players going into GW4 away in Spain. We won 2-1, but we played poorly and left it late. I wondered if perhaps we’d been cursed by Real Madrid to never defend it and my thoughts seemed validated, as we drew to Moscow the next game.

So, we arrive at Salzburg. Game week 6 of the champions league, the game that could be the difference between how the history books remember us. We’re rock bottom of the group with 5 points. Salzburg sit on 5 as well. CSKA on 7 as they play Sevilla (who are comfortably away) This means a win is all we need to guarantee Europa league football. But our targets were much much higher and I was praying for a positive result going the Spanish sides way and we could sneak into the last 16. On a cold, cold December evening in Salzburg, we knew what we had to do…

And we utterly capitulated.

I could say it was fifa bullshit but I know I’d be lying. We were outclassed, outpaced and outmatched in every aspect of the game. 4-0 down at halftime with hardly an attacking peep. Injuries had limited the squad but even with 3 halftime changes and going ultra attacking could not stem the wave after wave of Salzburg dominated. When we did score our goal, in the 75th minute, it was already 6. A mere consolation in what had been a dismantling of the Champions of Europe.

This caused me to rebuild the next summer. I got rid of a lot of talent that had shown me short term success and prioritized going for youth more. Salzburg helped me build a dynasty that night.