The Rise of Millwal

The time on the Old Trafford scoreboard ticks away, second by second. There are 3 minutes of stoppage time, and 2 minutes have already passed.

Millwall was still attacking, while Manchester United had completely lost control of the ball. After every defensive clearance, they could only hurriedly boot it away, only for Millwall's midfield and defense to recover and initiate yet another wave of attacks.

Ronaldinho had become the focal point of Manchester United's defense in the penalty area, and Pirlo, too, was tightly marked.

As time ran out, Southgate decided to throw caution to the wind. If they couldn't score, conceding another wouldn't make much of a difference.

He charged forward with long strides, and Ronaldinho, noticing his movement, used his heel to pass the ball to Southgate. The charging Southgate disrupted Manchester United's defense, driving past Beckham and, as Barthez came to cover, passed the ball to Pirlo, who was now unmarked on the other side.

Keane was marking Ronaldinho, and Barthez was on Pirlo just moments ago, but now, Pirlo was free and had time to scan the situation in the box before receiving the ball.

Even with Henry, Klose, and Larsson making their intricate runs, there was just no room inside the box.

Pirlo didn't hesitate. As he stopped the ball, he quickly found space for a long shot and fired it towards the bottom left corner of the goal.

It was a low, driven shot. Although Pirlo aimed for the top corner, he slightly aimed toward the center to ensure it stayed within the target range.

Barthez dove and stretched out his right hand, making contact with the ball, but it deflected away.

Just as the crowd was about to show their appreciation for Barthez, Zambrotta made a well-timed cut inside, receiving the ball and moving toward the left side of the box. Neville immediately closed him down, but behind him, Henry spotted a gap. Zambrotta delivered the ball to him.

Henry. He controlled the ball, shifting it sideways. What now?

If the space had been wider, Henry would have taken off like a flash, leaving the defenders in the dust. It was his signature move—quick, explosive, and unstoppable when the opportunity arose.

At that moment, everyone expected Henry to spin and take a shot on goal.

And Brown, naturally, was thinking the same thing, so he made a move to block the shot.

But Henry surprised him with a clever touch, pulling the ball back and turning around!

The two were almost glued together, and as Brown lost his balance while trying to block the ball, Henry slid past him. The ball rolled through Brown's legs and away.

By the time Brown regained his stance, Henry was already facing away from him, leaving no opportunity for a tackle. Any attempt to challenge him could very well result in a foul.

In a split second, Henry bypassed Brown with a clever touch! With the goal now at an angle so tight, he took a steady shot, barely 5 meters from Barthez.

Barthez had no idea what was happening until it was too late.

The ball rolled through his legs and straight into the back of the net!

Seeing the goal, Henry immediately turned and sprinted towards the corner flag, his face cold but determined. As he ran, he nodded to himself with satisfaction, before sliding on the turf in front of the sideline, fists tightly clenched and swinging them wildly in celebration.

"Millwall has done it! They've equalized in the dying seconds! It's a dramatic last-minute goal! Pirlo's long-range strike was just the beginning. After that, Millwall controlled the ball outside the box and launched a second attack. By now, Manchester United's defense had begun to loosen, and Henry was no longer tightly marked by Neville and Brown. One-on-one with Brown, Henry took the ball inside the box, then pulled off a brilliant turn, shaking off Brown with ease. From a tight angle, he slotted the ball past Barthez—straight through three goals! Brown's, Barthez's, and finally, the biggest one of all—Manchester United's. 3-3! When England's two best teams face off, it's always a match full of passion, no matter the circumstances. And this time, despite all the challenges, Hall's team came out of Old Trafford with a draw, and he's done it again!"

The entire Manchester United squad stood frozen in place. Ferguson bent slightly at the waist, hands pressed to his thighs. That goal—just as the three points were within their grasp—slipped away!

Wait, why again?

Aldrich clenched his fists, eyes closed, nodding repeatedly. While failing to take all three points was disappointing, walking away with a draw, rather than a loss, especially on Christmas Eve, was a positive outcome. Not only did it lift the team's spirits, but it was also beneficial for their upcoming schedule.

This was Manchester United's home ground. Despite the goal and the ensuing celebrations eating up much of the game time, the referee would likely give United around 30 more seconds.

Aldrich didn't waste time. He made his final two substitutions, taking off Ronaldinho and Henry, and brought on Lampard and Pedretti to strengthen the defense.

It wasn't that he didn't hope for a goal in the last 30 seconds to turn the game around. But with the kickoff back in Manchester United's hands, had Millwall been taking the kickoff, he definitely wouldn't have made the change.

Manchester United resumed play, organizing their attack patiently, but in the end, it was yet another cross from the wing. After Materazzi cleared it with a header, the referee's final whistle blew. The match ended 3-3, both teams shaking hands. Millwall still trailed United by one point in the standings.

Aldrich approached Ferguson, extending his hand for a handshake. Neither of them had much to say, and Ferguson quickly dismissed the idea of asking Aldrich for a drink afterward.

Every match against Millwall felt like a tough exam, one that revealed his team's flaws. The desire to rebuild and strengthen the squad lingered in his mind, an ever-present thought after each encounter.

Today was special, Christmas Eve. Aldrich didn't want to take up any more of the players' time, letting them get home to their families. Before leaving the pitch, he quickly told Klinsmann: "The team will leave Manchester directly."

The post-match talk in the dressing room was brief. With Christmas the following day, the players had a day off. Some would likely spend the holiday elsewhere, flying out in the evening, so Aldrich decided to let them handle their own schedules.

Aldrich walked to the press conference.

The reporters' questions were direct and to the point.

"If Butt hadn't been injured, could Millwall have taken all three points away from home? After all, Manchester United's goal came from a mistake by the substitute keeper."

"I don't deal in hypotheticals. What if Butt hadn't been injured? Would things have been different? Of course, but that's football. There are no 'what ifs'."

"If Butt's injury is as bad as it seems, can Millwall rely on Keller going forward? You're still trailing in the league, and the Champions League group stages are just around the corner."

Aldrich paused for three seconds before replying: "There are no 'what ifs.' I'll check on Butt's condition first and consider things from there. It's too early to say anything now."

In truth, Aldrich was already considering signing a new goalkeeper. Aside from bolstering the backup strength, Butt's injury was a major concern. The reporters were right—if Butt were out for a long period, Keller could not be trusted as the starting keeper. Keller could handle cup matches or games against lower-league teams in the league where the attacking pressure was minimal. But for Champions League matches or crucial Premier League games against top sides, performances like Keller's today could jeopardize Millwall's season.

Aldrich wouldn't shift the blame onto his players. To be fair, the players weren't good enough, but if they failed, the responsibility ultimately rested with him. He needed to assess Butt's injury first, and then make his decision. However, the initial diagnosis from the medical team already gave Aldrich some clarity: it was a minimum of a month's injury. If it turned out to be more serious, the recovery could stretch from three to six months, given the importance of a goalkeeper's arm injury, which was nearly as critical as a striker's leg injury.

When asked about the significance of the draw in this match, Aldrich replied seriously, "First of all, we haven't fallen further behind. If Manchester United had won, they would have had a 4-point advantage going into the second half of the season. Four points may not sound like much, but at our level of competition, it's a huge gap. Although I'm disappointed that we didn't win, at least we didn't lose. Keeping the gap to Manchester United at one point is an acceptable result. If we analyze Manchester United's performance over the past few years, we can see a pattern: after Christmas, they always show incredible resilience in the second half of the season. They make few mistakes, and they will certainly fight hard to maintain their lead. But let me tell you this—Millwall won't give them the chance to lift the league title in May. Manchester United, they better enjoy their time at the top of the table, because they won't stay there long. By the end of the season, we'll overtake them. There's no doubt about that."

Manchester United is the halfway leader in the league, that's true. They're sitting at the top, but Aldrich, without even leaving Old Trafford, had already started playing a psychological game, applying immense pressure on them.

As for Millwall, they have already developed a championship mentality and big-game heart. The championship should be ours!

The external doubts about us only fuel our ambition.

On the other hand, Manchester United's ability to hold on to the top spot will be a huge test for them. With every match, they can't help but wonder: Will Millwall overtake them?

In terms of player performance, Aldrich gave special praise to Klose. The hardworking "little carpenter" didn't show much in the first half, but in the second half, after Millwall signaled their attacking intent, he was the standout player for the team. His one assist and one goal are solid proof of that. As for Ronaldinho, Aldrich felt that his performance had merely improved to the expected level, after recovering from a lackluster first half.

The journalists' main focus was on Henry.

Throughout the game, Henry seemed to climb out of a slump, gradually improving from the first minute until he reached his peak in the 93rd minute, scoring the crucial goal that leveled the score for the team.

Aldrich responded to the media with a simple comment.

"Henry scored, and it was an important goal. That's convincing enough."

The life of a forward is the opposite of a defender's. A forward may go unnoticed for most of the match, but a goal can redeem a poor performance. A defender can have a brilliant 89 minutes, but if they have just one minute of failure, they'll be torn apart by criticism.

Aldrich flew back to London alone. The team's private jet had already left with the rest of the squad.

He took a taxi from the airport to his parents' house in the eastern suburbs. On Christmas Eve, his parents had prepared a feast at home. The Hall family was gathered together for the holiday, along with Bert and Earl, the two little ones. It was a warm and cheerful Christmas.

His elder brother Barnett had been frequently making headlines in American business magazines, with news reports focusing on the disastrous losses of this British investor!

The year 2000 marked a slump in the internet industry, with rapid development followed by overly high expectations and a burst of the bubble.

In this process, Barnett had been frequently restructuring his investment companies, and some of his moves were seen as failures in line with the overall market trend.

But in reality, the worst failures in the internet industry were still more profitable than those of outdated winners.

Take Netscape, for example. Its merger with AOL had a tragic end, but how much did Netscape ultimately sell for? 10 billion dollars! Who could imagine a browser product selling for such a high price outside of the internet industry? And the founders of Netscape surely cashed in.

Barnett's company, just like the internet giant Microsoft, was making a series of investments that outsiders might call "wasted resources," but these moves were necessary. Without them, how would there be any future survival space? During this massive industrial revolution, those who didn't participate or chose to withdraw would regret it in the future. Only those who bravely became major players could reap the largest rewards. Instead of worrying, it's better to forge ahead boldly.

Barnett had always been barefooted—his courage to take risks was the foundation of his survival. He had been low-key while in the United States, but after returning to the UK, he had become more flamboyant. For Christmas, he gave Aldrich a luxury yacht worth 200 million dollars.

With such a lavish gift, the man who had once been mocked as a failed tycoon by Wall Street—had he really lost or made a profit?