London - It was surreal sitting in the stands at Wembley watching the FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.
The teams wore the same colours - United in white kit and Palace in their traditional blue-and-red stripes - they wore when the Red Devils beat the Eagles 1-0 in a replay in 1990 after a first final saw the teams locked 3-3 after extra-time.
I had conditioned myself not to shout and celebrate when United scored because I was initially under the impression that I would be sitting among Palace fans, but I was pleasantly surprised to be sitting with the United faithful. By then the conditioning had taken hold and I instead sat quietly in awe of the organisation and spectacle of it all.
A Wembley final - particularly if you’re a Red Devils fan and they’re in the final - is a special thing and a personal bucket-list item has been ticked.
But I appreciated the Palace fans a lot. Even in defeat they showed their appreciation on my long tube ride back to central London. Their chants made little sense to me, a visitor from many kilometres away, but were catchy nonetheless.
I was super impressed with the passion of the Palace fans yesterday - even after their team lost. #FACupFinal pic.twitter.com/89J9CJgNNk
— Gasant Abarder (@GasantAbarder) May 22, 2016
Apart from the kits worn by the teams, there were many other similarities with the 1990 final. Back then Sir Alex Ferguson was under fire after United finished 13th in the then English First Division. But the FA Cup victory over Palace was a turning point. A Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup followed the following season before one of 13 Premier League titles, two years later.
But it is unlikely Saturday’s FA Cup victory will set off a similar chain of events to mimic the glory days of the past. Louis van Gaal’s 2016 side finished fifth in the league this season - crucially missing out on Champions League football next season.
United were willing to persevere with Ferguson after the FA Cup victory in 1990. But immediately after this year’s success, the British press was already speculating about an imminent deal to usher in Jose Mourinho.
The FA Cup victory of 1990 that set United on their way to winning trophies was quickly forgotten thanks to the success that followed. It was clear in Ferguson’s estimation that the FA Cup was considered a lesser prize as he chased further league titles and Champions League trophies.
Today is one I'll never forget! Saw @ManUtd win the #FACupFinal at Wembley Stadium. pic.twitter.com/evl8ppCLnU
— Gasant Abarder (@GasantAbarder) May 21, 2016
But Saturday’s FA Cup victory was different, after a tough season.
The hunger was there. The players wanted it. Van Gaal was desperate for silverware and Wayne Rooney epitomised just how much it meant to the club as he played like a man possessed.
But it was far from vintage United. Rooney hardly had a flawless performance. The team played at a pedestrian pace and lacked concentration at crucial moments.
Several corners were tame and ineffective. Daley Blind, ambled the width of the Wembley pitch from one corner flag to the other, floating the ball into the box, with little purpose or pace, as if hoping for the best.
Deep into extra-time it was assistant manager Ryan Giggs who left his seat in the dugout to deliver instructions from the technical area.
The United fans, one could sense, were resigned to the idea that their once dominant team had forgotten how to kill off opposition. The fact that the best player in the team by far this season has been goalkeeper David de Gea, speaks volumes.
Our Cape Town Stadium is not dissimilar to Wembley. But how do we fill our's and make it financially viable? pic.twitter.com/O567XutXLg
— Gasant Abarder (@GasantAbarder) May 22, 2016
Teams once thought getting a point off United was a great result. Now the Red Devils are very beatable.
This has been the Manchester United under David Moyes and now Van Gaal, characterised by a negative brand of football when the club has a philosophy that is plastered across the banner flags fans carry to the ground that read “Attack! Attack!”.
In fact, United had the dubious claim as the club with the most passes going backwards this Premier League season. The belief of youth appears to have fallen away and been replaced with a psyche of uncertainty and a fear of failure.
If Mourinho is indeed being lined up to replace Van Gaal, he will be under pressure from the minute he takes charge. The modern game doesn’t offer honeymoon or probation periods for managers.
Mourinho knows how to win league titles but while the fans want trophies they also want to be entertained whereas the “Special One” likes nothing better than “parking the bus” after taking a lead.
But what can the Cape Town Stadium glean from my Wembley experience?
It didn’t matter that my journey back to the hotel took more than an hour, or that there were crazy queues for food or the toilet.
What mattered was the experience for the fans. We are as capable of pulling off a sporting event that draws in excess of 88 000. But we have to do it our way. It works.
*Gasant Abarder is the edior of the Cape Argus
Cape Argus