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As the Bayern Munich players lay dazed and confused on the Nou Camp turf after being mugged by Manchester United, they should not have been surprised at the astonishing way the Champions League Cup was snatched from them.
Alex Ferguson's players have proved repeatedly that they have the strength of mind and stamina to rescue almost any lost cause that confronts them.
The Germans had become the latest team to believe they were home and dry before slapping their pockets and realising they were empty.
Yet, no matter what Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld told his team before Wednesday evening's drama, his priority should have been to brainwash them into believing that although United are sometimes down, they are rarely out.
As Gary Neville insisted: 'We are the team that never dies. We keep going right to the end and that is something that matches the manager's spirit.
'It is something the manager has put into all of us. The guts are there and everyone at this club, right the way through, proves they have what it takes.
'In a way I still don't understand what happened in those final couple of minutes against Bayern. It was baffling - supernatural almost.
'It brought on the kind of feeling I have never had before. Explaining it is probably impossible, except to put what happened down to our spirit.
'We didn't play that well but on bad days or in bad situations there is always that extra ingredient to rely on.'
United's sensational triumph when Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer devastated Bayern provided the most dramatic finish ever to a European Cup Final.
The German side's misery was summed up by defender Samuel Kuffour who was inconsolable at the end after having done so well to subdue Dwight Yorke.
But on several other occasions United have flown by the seat of their pants and survived. In January they were one down to Liverpool who thought they were on the point of a famous FA Cup victory at Old Trafford.
Yorke equalised on the stroke of full time then Solskjaer, on as a desperate late substitute, provided the injury-time winner that broke Anfield hearts.
At the San Siro stadium in March, Inter Milan were a goal ahead and looked capable of reclaiming United's first leg 2-0 advantage in the Champions League quarter-finals. They reckoned without Paul Scholes' late equaliser.
In the Champions League semi-final, first leg Juventus were within seconds of securing the victory that might have demoralised United. Not so.
Sheringham, having had a strike disallowed as a late entrant into the game, flicked on for Ryan Giggs to equalise. Seven days later Arsenal were sure they would triumph in the FA Cup semi-final replay until Peter Schmeichel saved a last-minute penalty.
Roy Keane had been sent off and Arsene Wenger's men had extra time to subdue United's 10. Instead, Giggs shattered them with a wonderful solo goal.
Afterwards Ferguson insisted that the forthcoming second meeting with Juventus in the Stadio Delle Alpi would prove that the Italians could run forever but never beat his team. He was right.
Juventus were 2-0 up within 10 minutes and certain it was enough to take them into a fourth successive Champions League Final. Wrong.
Keane's header gave United a lifeline. Yorke equalised and Andy Cole completed what was then his side's greatest fightback in continental football.
But Wednesday night eclipsed even that brilliant act of brinkmanship when United won for the first time on Italian soil. The party is still going on
