In their dressing room in the depths of the Stadio Olimpico, the Manchester United players sat in silence as Sir Alex Ferguson, crimson-faced, entered the room. Nobody knew what was coming, but the message was benign. “I could stand here and shout but I’m not going to do that,” he told them before instructing them to dwell on the disappointment long enough to ensure that it leaves them desperate to make amends when they return for pre-season training.

The tone was measured, but the message reflected Ferguson’s long-held belief that defeats must be dwelt on longer than successes. This had been a chastening experience for him and his players, humbled as they lost 2-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League final, and it is one that he expects them to learn from, just as he will strive to take his own lessons from a defeat that might have led him to wonder whether this United team is quite as “special” as he had thought.

Some of United’s players tried to drown their sorrows as the post-match party dragged on long after the sun rose over Rome yesterday morning, but by the time they touched down in dreary Manchester, the hangover had kicked in. Rather than a victorious open-top bus tour of the city, they went their separate ways to mull over the memories that will stalk them wherever this summer may take them, first to far-flung locations on international duty and then to the beaches of Dubai, Barbados and beyond as they attempt to recharge their batteries.

Carlos Tévez did not fly back with his team-mates and will instead fly to Argentina, unsure who will be paying his wages after his contract at Old Trafford expires on June 30. Cristiano Ronaldo will fly to Portugal on international duty and to wrestle with his own future as he continues to send out conflicting signals to both United and Real Madrid. Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville will wonder if they will see another Champions League final, whether from the starting line-up, the bench or the stands. And Ferguson will fly to the Côte d’Azur, where even the maître d’ in his favourite restaurant might be advised to think twice about asking: “Cava?”

Kneejerk reactions should be avoided at the end of a season when United have won the Barclays Premier League title, the Carling Cup and the Club World Cup and reached the Champions League final, but, as they were comprehensively outclassed in Rome on Wednesday, as Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández embarrassed them with some beautiful football, nagging suspicions about Ferguson’s team were reinforced. Talk of greatness, even immortality, would have taken hold had they won the game, but that is not to say that their performance level this season would have matched their attainment.

An unsuccessful end to a Champions League campaign always brings a bout of soul-searching for Ferguson. After defeat by Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals in 1997, he concluded that United needed to be more like Marcello Lippi’s tactically astute Juventus team, who lost 3-1 to the German club in the final. In 2003 he talked of the need to match the flair of Real Madrid, their conquerors at the quarter-final stage, hence the pursuit of Ronaldinho and the eventual capture of Ronaldo.

In the years that followed, he briefly attempted to reconstruct his team along the lines of José Mourinho’s Chelsea before going back to the drawing board and starting to play to United’s more traditional strengths, albeit with a more solid defensive base than ever before.

How, then, does Ferguson respond to seeing his team outclassed by Barcelona? If you cannot beat them, do you try to join them or do you learn to stop them? United looked ill equipped to do either on Wednesday and, while they had disappointing performers all over the pitch, it was in midfield that they were most desperate. Michael Carrick had a poor game — he has not been close to his best form since March — but he was given little if any assistance by Anderson and Giggs, who appeared to be deployed too far forward.

Ferguson’s midfield options can at times look an embarrassment of riches, but, with Darren Fletcher suspended and Owen Hargreaves absent with a knee injury since September, there was no aggression against Barcelona, reinforcing the long-held belief that there are times against top-class opponents when they lack a truly authoritative player in the middle of the park. It fell to Anderson to occupy the Fletcher role and, while the young Brazilian has certain qualities, he has yet to carve a niche for himself since joining United from Porto two years ago with a reputation as one of the most gifted youngsters in world football.

Anderson was ostensibly signed to replace Scholes, but, while the former England player has not aged gracefully, his heir apparent has much growing-up to do. More alarming is the way that Nani, who was signed to replace Giggs, has regressed. A successor for Edwin van der Sar is another requirement, no matter what records the goalkeeper may have set earlier

in the season, but neither Tomasz Kuszczak nor Ben Foster has yet staked a strong claim.

Ferguson will be looking for progress in his younger players next season, as well as a return to fitness for Hargreaves and a dramatic improvement from Dimitar Berbatov, who scored only once in his final 13 appearances of a season that ended with him on the bench for the Champions League final.

The picture is suddenly a confused one, which could yet be complicated further if Florentino Pérez, Real’s president elect, wakes up one morning and decides to make Ronaldo an offer he cannot refuse. Some awkward times may lie ahead for United. Perhaps this summer will not be as enjoyable as they thought.