“I’m really jealous of Alastair Cook. Not just because of the 12,000 Test match runs he made for the England cricket team. Or the calm resilience he showed under fire as captain of his country. Or even because of his rakish good looks. No, what really makes me envious of Sir Alastair is the fact that he doesn’t sweat. That’s a characteristic that would have come in incredibly useful at the RhineEnergieStadion in Cologne on Monday night.
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Simply sitting still and commentating for 120 minutes led to me and Ben Thornley turning into pools of water by full-time. Even though kick-off wasn’t until 21:00 CET, the heat was still stifling. That horrible feeling of trickles of sweat falling from your neck and making their way down to the small of your back became very familiar!
“It was hardly surprising that the pitch resembled a battlefield hospital at full-time with players cramping up and desperate for liquid refreshment.
“Physical and mental resilience has been at the heart of Ole’s managerial philosophy in his time as United manager – and we saw that in action versus Copenhagen. As the pressure rose and the stakes grew ever higher, the Reds didn’t crumble and got the job done.
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