As if going out and performing in a European final wasn't hard enough, Manchester United will have to recover from the devastation that hit their city when a terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night killed 22 people, several of them innocent children, who had just gone to enjoy a bit of music and have a nice night out with friends and family.
It is difficult to think of anything as trivial as football – and it does become trivial when you think of what happened at the Manchester Arena – when your community has just been hit by such a tragedy, but as professionals, that is exactly what the Manchester United players will need to do.
What football or any sport has the power to do is bring a bit of joy during sadness, and Manchester United will certainly have that extra motivation now – of bringing some happiness, even the slightest hint, to the families that have been hit by the terrible terrorist attack.
And while it might not seem that important anymore, this is a pretty important game for Manchester United.
Indeed, how successful their entire season will be hinges on this one match – the Europa League final against Ajax.
Time and again, Jose Mourinho has insisted as long as Manchester United win the Europa League final, clinch their second major trophy of the season and qualify for the Champions League – the winner of the Europa League get a ticket to play in Europe's elite competition next season – this season will be deemed a success.
Irrespective of where Manchester United finished in the league.
Manchester United players arrived in Stockholm on Tuesday, hoping to crown their sometimes-good-but-most-of-the-time-underwhelming season with a European trophy, and crucially a place in the Champions League next season.
However, in Stockholm, Manchester have a fellow city who also recently suffered a cowardly terrorist attack, when a lorry ploughed through innocent pedestrians last month.
Maybe, that feeling of "we are all in this battle against terrorism together and we are all in it to bring back a bit of normalcy, a little of the joy," feeling will help Manchester United.
The players at Carrington and Mourinho were, understandably, deeply affected by the Manchester Arena attacks, with the manager even cancelling his pre-match press conference.
Suddenly, talking about Manchester United's season salvaging and the injuries that might disrupt their hopes of beating Ajax did not seem too important anymore, when put into perspective.
However, when it comes to matchday and when the players put on their kits and walk onto that Friends Arena pitch in Stockholm, the stadium where a Zlatan Ibrahimovic statue will come up soon, when the referee blows the whistle for the 90 minutes to begin , everything will get back to normal again, just for those minutes on the pitch – two teams fighting it out in the middle for some footballing glory in a deeply troubled world.
