The Ryanair flight to Barcelona was the rowdiest this correspondent has experienced for a European away. It is half-term in Greater Manchester this week and some of the lads barely looked out of school.
"Taking over Barcelona," a few sang after their boarding passes were scanned. They were not born when that chant was first hollered on Las Ramblas in 1999.
An air stewardess pleaded for silence in vain. A young child was undeterred by the boisterousness and expletives. The average age of the assembled United supporters had to have been the mid-20s at the oldest, an impressionable age.
Also read: How United should line up vs Barcelona in Europa League fixture
This was on Tuesday, two days before tonight's match. Tens of thousands of Mancunians descended on Catalonia In late May for the zenith of Sir Alex Ferguson's epoch and, 24 years later, thousands lurk around every plaza and the Gaudi landmarks. An estimated 8,000 United fans are travelling to Barcelona this week.
United's last five European campaigns have ended against Spanish opposition and, including the December friendlies with Cadiz and Real Betis, this is the fifth Spanish city they have played in within the last year.
The last time a United manager held court at Camp Nou it was the man who scored their most famous - and last - goal at the stadium and Diogo Dalot. The incumbent United manager was flanked by another full-back in Luke Shaw, destined to start at centre-back.
Shaw will line up in the sensory-like tunnel of Camp Nou for the first time, having withdrawn through injury on United's last appearance in 2019. He played at centre-back for the first ever time in the first leg four years ago and under Ten Hag he has flourished in a defensive duo, keeping Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire on the bench.
Shaw sniggered ruefully when reminded of his first two performances this season against Brighton and Brentford. "I think not just myself but the team in the first two games was nowhere near where we should be.
"We've learned from that and grown as a team and I think it's showing in our performances. The manager has been really good, he's shown a lot of trust in me and I want to repay that with my performances."
Erik ten Hag has an affinity with Barcelona through his Ajax tenure, clubs culturally aligned through the pioneering Johan Cruyff. A vintage football in the glitzy Camp Nou store bears Cruyff's quote, "If you play on possession, you don't have to defend, because there's only one ball."
In the cavernous bowls of Camp Nou, Ten Hag paraphrased Cruyff: "It's very clear when you see the stats Barcelona are impressive. They defend well but I think their biggest skill is that they have so much possession.
"I refer to Johan Cruyff, one of his big sentences was when you have the ball the opponent doesn't have the ball and they can't score.
"I like it, I was here before in Spain: Madrid, Valencia, but it's great to face Barcelona. I like the philosophy of this club, the football, they bring up so many good players and great teams. We look forward to facing them.
"The reality is we're in the Europa League, it tells you both clubs needed a reset. I think we're both in the right direction so I think it's exciting to face each other tomorrow night. It will help both clubs to know where you are. It's a good test. You get challenged from such tests and you get better."
Springtime has arrived early in Spain. Catalans are strolling around in their sunglasses and Frenkie de Jong discarded his long-sleeved tracksuit top for a shirt and shorts ensemble for Barcelona's training session at the vast Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, around a half-hour's drive from the Sagrada Familia.
On the Camp Tito Vilanova pitch at Ciutat Esportiva, the atmosphere was relaxed and the keep-ball drills often broke the double-digit barrier. Frenkie de Jong was not subjected to a press conference that English journalists attended but he was mentioned to Xavi, happy to answer English questions in English.
"I think he was really clear to me - he wanted to stay with us," Xavi said of United's failed move for De Jong, "so there was not a doubt.
"Now he is our player and I am really happy with his performance, with his leadership. He is enjoying himself on the pitch and that is the most important thing."
Xavi talked nearly as good a game as he played. He was introduced to European football as an 18-year-old at Old Trafford in 1998 for the first of two breathless 3-3 draws in that season's Champions League group stage.
A goal kick away from a stadium named after him, Cruyff's name was uttered in a question that centred on Ten Hag, a coaching kindred spirit. "Ten Hag has changed the face of the team. It's been hard for them but they're doing a great job. He is a great coach. Reversing the situation at United was not easy.
"He makes variants in attack and defence, they work very well. He is an attacking coach and he shows it in almost every game. He is a reference for coaches who like this kind of football."
The respect was mutual. "I think Barca is also a very difficult club and I think Barcelona is in this moment playing its best football in several years," Ten Hag enthused.
"It's in the mind and inspiration of Johan Cruyff, you still feel it here. If you see Barcelona, you see the way of play and that is the inspiration of Johan Cruyff."
Ten Hag also spoke glowingly about his old protege De Jong, a player he would gladly pursue again in the summer.
Barcelona have clamped down on selling tickets in the home section to away fans after 30,000 Eintracht Frankfurt fans infiltrated their stadium for last year's Europa League defeat. The away end is in the highest tier and those United supporters with tickets will be closer to the clouds than the players.
They may take over Barcelona, but not Camp Nou.
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