IT HAS always been easier to get your kids to listen to the manager of Manchester United than to the president of the United States. At the end of a momentous week, one could understand, even applaud, their preference. In a tight corner, which would you want at your side?
It was also a week that reminded us of sport's minor role in the greater scheme of things. How irrelevant it seemed in the aftermath of the Denver school mmassacre. On Wednesday, President Clinton said young people must be shown how to resolve conflicts peacefully. "Then why are they bombing Serbia?" enquired one of the youngsters to whom he spoke. "Look son," I said, "the United match is about to start on the other channel."
Facetious? That's not how it seemed. In the circumstances, the Turin match wasn't simply an escape, it was a reassuring journey. It is in the darkest moments that we need sport's illumination.
As an exercise in resolving a conflict, United's performance was perfect. Two goals down after 11 minutes, they didn't descend to recklessness and didn't try to kick Filippo Inzaghi. They ran harder, passed more inventively and refused to accept anything was lost. Roy Keane's goal which got them back into the game epitomised their character. Everybody knows United are hopeless attacking corners. Steve Bruce used to routinely get on the end of them, but since him, nobody. Keane himself is rarely a threat. But the situation on Wednesday was a great deal worse than serious, hence Keane's brave near-post run and the wondrous header. It was as if the Irishman was saying: "I'm captain around here, I've got to get us out of this."
Others responded similarly. This wasn't simply a good team getting it right on the night, rather it was a very good side enjoying the rewards which come to those who do things correctly over a long period. Ferguson has taken plenty of time to get this far. The team's ethos has been nurtured and refined over a decade and the side is now a credit to a great club and to the Premiership in general.
Consider one simple difference between the teams on Wednesday - fitness. Many of the United players had noticed it at Old Trafford. After their impressive first-half performance, Juventus tired; by the end, they had had enough. The United players reckoned it would be the same in Turin and, by God, it was. Outplayed, the Italians were also outrun. Italy, we had long agreed, was the home of footballing excellence. They trained harder, spent more time developing their technique and, of course, took better care of themselves. At last, the inquest takes place in Turin.
But there should be no surprise that United reported for duty in such fine fettle. Ferguson is a Scot and hard work was never going to be a small part of the regime; without it, nothing else could be achieved. But the achievement has been greater than the feat of physical preparedness, greater too than the excellence of the team's football. Ferguson has shown us what can be achieved when young people are well managed. It has been a tough road. From the pioneering days of the Paul McGrath transfer to the trauma of Eric Cantona at Crystal Palace, through to the brave off-loading of Ince, Hughes and Kanchelskis, Ferguson gradually became certain of what he wanted and, just as importantly, what he didn't want. He understood, too, that his own response to the pressures of management needed to be refined. Nowadays he is calmer, less vulnerable to losing his temper and in a better position to demand the highest standards of behaviour.
This season, the team have played well and behaved impeccably. It was entirely predictable that in the heady aftermath of Wednesday's victory, Keane would suppress his own disappointment at being ruled out of the final. This is how it is when the team environment is right. There would be time for personal sadness.
There is, too, a compelling chemistry to the United side. It has the best of young England: the Nevilles, Beckham, Scholes, Butt; plus two determined Irishmen, a Welsh poet, two varieties of Scandinavian and the free spirit of the West Indies. Yet for all the nationalities, the character of the team remains emphatically British/Irish, in a way that Chelsea's cannot be and in a way that Arsenal's will not be once Tony Adams and his old cronies go to pasture.
But less of the carping, this was a sporting week to celebrate. When United perform, they represent more than themselves and their great club. Last week you didn't have to be a fan to shout for Manchester United. Not all of us were.
