Champions League 2001: Leeds United vs Real Madrid

The European champions were visiting Elland Road and it was a night Don Revie had dreamed of. Leeds United, playing Real Madrid, at home. It wasn't the whole reason Revie had favoured an all-white kit for Leeds, but the romance was a big part of it, and the sporting challenge. He hadn't just been admiring the five time European Cup winners when he took over as Leeds United's manager. Revie wanted to build a team that would take them on and beat them. It was impressive ambition while the Peacocks were so close to dropping into Division Three. Others would say it was naive, call Revie a hubrista. In that sense Revie would recognise the pre-match chatter, in November 2000, that was pushing the visitors from Madrid down to second billing.

"Eighteen million," said Gary Newbon on ITV, interviewing Peter Ridsdale for an expectant nation. "It sounds a fantastic amount of money to spend on a player, when it's six weeks away from a decision about the future of the transfer market."

The player was Rio Ferdinand. The decision Newbon referred to was forthcoming from the European Union about whether their commission was correct and the current transfer system broke competition and free movement labour laws. If the EU agreed, it would be the transfer system that broke, and players could be rendered essentially worthless.

"It depends why we're spending £18m," countered Ridsdale, who during the week had become used to delivering this lecture on why it made sense to break the British transfer record by paying a world record fee for a defender. "We're spending £18m because there's a player that the manager believes is a missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle. Our income stream comes from being successful in Europe, through advertising, through TV revenue, through sponsorship. That's going to be enhanced if we have players who keep us in Europe year in and year out. We believe that Rio will."

It was, in fact, Dominic Matteo who had kept Leeds in Europe. His header in the San Siro had ensured United's qualification for the second group phase and put £20m in the club's bank account, paying the cheque Ridsdale was now writing for West Ham. Matteo had only just signed for Leeds for £4.75m, despite failing his medical. "We have spent £46m on players in the two years that David O'Leary has been in charge," Ridsdale pointed out, "that is testimony to the belief we have in David's qualities as a manager." It also knocked some bricks out of the facade of 'young babies' O'Leary had built in the press. But an injury crisis, and unexpected ascension to the Champions League's later stages, had shown up that spending £46m on players like Matteo was no longer enough.