The substitutes and first-team coaches had already stepped outside. Robertson and his staff were the last to leave, after bidding farewell to Richard, who met them and the players outside the locker room.
Richard offered words of encouragement as he patted each player on the shoulder, one by one, before heading toward the VIP box to rejoin Marina and Miss Heysen.
However, before that, he paused for a moment as he noticed Manchester United's future legendary manager, Alex Ferguson, lingering in the tunnel. Soon, the two head managers met, exchanging a firm handshake before walking together past the players and eventually stepping out of the tunnel side by side.
After a brief exchange, Ferguson patted Robertson on the shoulder, then raised his hands to applaud as he made his way toward the home team's bench.
The technical area at Old Trafford was unique—it wasn't positioned along the sidelines, but instead integrated into the stands.
