Not once was Benfica keeper Quim called upon to save him team, even in the desperate last few minutes when a goal would have sealed United's passage into the Champions League knock-out phase.
Leslie Cheung danced before us, alluringly, and only let the seventh veil drop last week, revealing the desperate child beneath the diva's brilliant plumage.
The losing gamester,in hopes of retrieving past misfortunes,goes on from bad to worse,till growing desperate,he pushes at everything and loses his all.
From smog breaks to pollution bonuses, Asia's businesses are promising increasingly inventive perks in a desperate bid to lure executives to a region where toxic air engulfs major cities for much of the year.
Here today, in this very place, in an arena where thousands once found desperate shelter from a 100-year disaster, the kind that seem to be happening more and more frequently.